In today’s digital day and age we automatically default to our mobile phones, computes, and e-readers for everything. However, there is something to be said about old school ways. Now that I have a son, I find myself going back to some of the more tried and true methods. Instead of my Kindle, I am reading actual books with Petit Macaron. One of the biggest surprises, and it’s been quite a pleasant surprise, is my return to the public library. I have found our local library to be a great resource for raising a child.
Books
Okay, this is the obvious one, but I wanted to remind you that they have tons of great books for every age. We head to the library about once a week to pick up a few books to bring home. Getting new books exposes your child to new stories and pictures. It keeps books fresh and interesting. I often go to the library’s website and find books and put them on hold to pick up. This opens the door to even more books since usually the branches will send books to other branches. I rarely find that I can’t find a specific book to borrow!
Don’t forget there are books for the parents, too. I discovered the joy of finding cookbooks that I have always wanted to try. I don’t buy a lot of cookbooks because I don’t have a ton of space and they can get pricey. But this allows me to try it out and see if I might want to buy it.
Lastly, if you are stuck on having things digital (eh hem, I still love reading on my iPhone Kindle app) then you can also borrow books digitally. I have been doing this myself as well and find it very convenient.
Music & Movies
Did you know the library also has music and movies? I did know but completely forgot over the years. When I walked in to explore our library, it was a great to reminded we pick up a DVD or CD, too.
At our library there is a ton of children’s music available. If your car still has a CD player you can find fun new tunes to groove to as you drive around town (or do you still have a CD player?!).
Alternatively, you can check out movies and TV series for your children. This way you aren’t cluttering your house with having to store DVDs or if you’re trying to keep TV watching to a minimum, there is less temptation having them always in your home.
Babytime & Storytime
Okay, this is the favorite thing I wanted to share with you on this post. In fact, it’s probably the main reason I am writing about the library. I want to spread the word about what a great activity this is as it’s been such a joy for us to discover.
I first learned that my local library offered baby time when Petit Macaron was just a few months old from another mom friend. We went once and had a great time, but unfortunately we moved to another town. I was so glad to learn that my new neighborhood had a library just a five minute drive away. Even better, I learned there was a baby time every Thursday.
This is actually quite common for the library to have available. When I visited my parents in San Diego, I also saw the local library had these types of play and story times. These tend to be more than just reading a book. For example, our babytime begins with all the moms, dads, and caregivers getting in a circle with their child(ren). We will sing nursery rhymes and songs while bouncing our child on our knees or doing fun gestures to the songs. Next the children’s librarian will hand out a book to each person, and we all read a story together. Then it’s time for the parachute and singing, followed by bubbles. We finish up with the children playing with toys, and the caregivers chatting (and watching the children).
I sometimes go a bit further to our main library branch. They do even more activities like these bucket carriages (not sure what else to call them) that we pulled our children around the floor while singing. It’s great fun and a lifesaver for caregivers (get to talk to other adults, get out of the house, and help you get through the day).
I haven’t been to the toddler time, but we’ll be transitioning to that soon. It’s such a great activity the library provides and I definitely recommend it.
Events & Classes
The library often hosts fun events for children as well. I tend to see it’s more for toddlers and kids than babies, but we’ll be in that stage soon enough. For instance, there is a Zumba Kids class and Kids Code Club at our library. Additionally, there are movie days frequently. For older folks, there are classes like stitching, book clubs, computer help, and even tax help.
. . . . .
I bet there is even more at your library than I’ve listed here. They have bulletin boards with the latest activities. I love their recommended book lists as well. So much great stuff at the library. Have you been to your local library lately? Have you done anything cool there, too?
nectarine / 2180 posts
My local library also lends out specialty baking pans like character pans and fancy bundt pans, the types of things you would only use once.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Your post prompted me to check out my library. Story time is all during the week day when I am working and LO is in daycare.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Can I be honest, the library (especially for children) kind of grosses me out. I tried to be open about it, but I just have visions of the books being so dirty and my son getting sick from using them.
guest
Thank you for the wonderful reminder! I have always loved to read, and we read to our little guy all of the time; however, I didn’t consider the social aspects/classes that the library could provide as well… Looking into our local one right now!
guest
As a librarian, I’m so happy to see this! (Also, with the notable exception of board books, I wouldn’t be too concerned with books making your child ill. We clean any that are visibly dirty and if your child goes to any public place (like the park or the grocery store) then they’re going to be exposed to the same germs. Board books go promptly in every child’s mouth, so yeah, I wouldn’t actually borrow those for my own kid.) There’s a national curriculum for storytimes that a lot of libraries use, called Every Child Ready to Read, if you’d like more information about early literacy practices that we incorporate into our storytimes at which ages and why. It definitely is a lot more than just reading a book!
grapefruit / 4988 posts
We have just started using our local libraries. My LO loves books and movies and our tiny house is overflowing so it has been nice to be able to just borrow them. My gripes are that all the children’s programming is during the week while we’re at work, and that our local branch is not open on weekends. Our library system isn’t really set up for working parents and it stinks.
blogger / olive / 64 posts
@snarkybiochemist: That’s incredible! I want your library – haha!
blogger / olive / 64 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Oh bummer! We have one on Saturdays. You should tell them to have a weekend option, too!
blogger / olive / 64 posts
@catlady: That’s such a shame!
clementine / 935 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: @catlady: We have the same problem with the programming times. I talked to the librarian and she’s said no one shows up when they do early evening or weekend events. It’s a bummer, because I know DD would enjoy it.
pomelo / 5258 posts
DD is 4 and we just started checking books out from the library. So far the class times haven’t worked for us. I do see that there are nighttime activities for school age kids that we might take advantage of in the future. I’m most looking forward to the program where elementary school kids read aloud to dogs. Paws to read?
Our library lends out museum passes but you have to reserve fairly far in advance and I haven’t successfully secured any yet. I look forward to trying that out again.
kiwi / 556 posts
Our local libraries are awesome. We have harsh winters so they provide a lot of indoor entertainment. One has a fort and boat slide! I actually find DD (2.5) is so distracted by all the things to do that she doesn’t look at the books. I put online holds and collect them from the drive through instead!
pomelo / 5621 posts
We go about every three weeks. DS loves to play with all the different activities they have and I’ve just started to let him use the children’s computer for a bit if they are free.
We usually check out half a dozen books or so of DS’s choosing. He also likes to pick out a CD, usually he chooses a tragically hip one. This last time I picked a movie for him as well.
The winters here are long and having the library to go to is a life saver.
apple seed / 1 posts
Public libraries are closing down. A group of citizens have opened a private not-for-profit library for kids. It is getting a good response!
guest
We love our library! I work full time, but the grandmas take our girls to the library every week and sometimes to the preschool activities during the work day. Our library also has at least one evening event per month–last week it was birds of prey, and they’ve also recently had reptiles and zoo animals. During holidays and breaks they have more frequent special events (I think it may have been weekly during March).
persimmon / 1445 posts
I am literally obsessed with our local library system. We go at least once a week, and often 2-3 times. They have awesome storytimes, cool toys in the kids area that they rotate every month or two, kids movies once a month, programs that partner with the local university/ art museums/ dance companies, the list goes on and on and on. And everything is totally free. You can’t beat it.
Also- I have started checking out books on tape for my kiddo recently. I had forgotten about them until a few months ago, but now they are her favorite thing for the car (and mine too since we only listen to Disney Pandora otherwise and I’m super tired of that).
@Corduroy: Our local library has the same programming! We check out children’s museum passes pretty frequently and I also just found out they have backpacks you can check out that include admission to the National Park system nearby with binoculars, field guides, and maybe some other stuff too.
grapefruit / 4085 posts
We love the library! I started taking M to storytime and special music classes as a baby and now I take H. We always take out books and DVD’s for the kids and ourselves. I’ve always been a huge fan of the library since I was little and hope my kids will be too.