Q: I just began what I consider the overly ambitious project of home preschool for my not-yet-2-year-old twins. As such I have checked out lots and lots and lots of library books. We have steered clear of library books so far because while my boys love books they are 1.5 year olds and don't know their own power, have zero impulse control and no jobs from which to pay any fines from damaged books. So my question, dear people of the Internet, is there any system, best practice, why-didn't-I-think-of-that idea for organizing and protecting library books while allowing curious twin tornado toddlers to enjoy them? (continued...)
Sent by Jennifer
Currently I put all this week's topic in a bin and we only read them together unlike other books that belong to us. I'm afraid to even let them "read" them on their own whilst supervised because they can destroy so quickly...My goal to save money by doing preschool at home and using the library will quickly backfire if we find ourselves replacing damaged books. Thanks!
Editor: Having worked in the children's room at a public library I can tell you that they expect damage and wear-and-tear on children's books. Obviously it's preferred that even young patrons take care of their books and it's never too soon to teach kids good book habits, but you might be surprised how lenient the damaged book policy is for children at your library. I would suggest asking your children's librarian for advice; she or he might have an idea for you and can give you a sense of how strict or lenient they are with damaged book fines. Since your sons are still young, I'd suggest sticking to board books as much as you can. Many will be too babyish, but I've found plenty of picture books (like Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel) in board book format. Readers, surely you have had this concern with library books too - any advice for Jennifer?
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Now I know who has all the Boyton books checked out.
Check out fewer books. If your kids still tear books than only check out board books. If they ruin a library book, 'fess up.
The only way to protect a book that isn't yours is to supervise the play constantly.
I'm in the process of teaching my 16 month old to be respectful of books in general but I am especially careful with library books. We stick (mostly) to board books and keep them on a high shelf for "together" reading time and not for her general alone-time reading.
We have two book stashes - books that are part of our home library that have seen much abuse while my child learned how to take care of books, and library books. Our library books live on the nightstand (other books are are in the playroom) and we read those at certain times, while access to the books we own is always open. A phrase that we kept repeating was "always gentle with books" and it seems to have helped. So far no serious damage to library books - a torn page, but it was a blank cover page so no damage done to the readability of the book, and a removed tag from the spine of another book. We did have one book that we purchased after a coloring incident, which began our separated book policy. We might have been able to turn it in, but my husband is a librarian and wouldn't think of it. Luckily the book was a favorite and one we were considering for purchase anyway.
I have repaired many of our books with clear packing tape. In some instances I've covered the whole cover and spine as that is where it had been chewed or picked at. That is more preservation than prevention though. 1.5 is pretty young. I think taking them out only when supervised is good practice.
We’ve done library books from birth (to now 2.5 yrs). We were strictly board-book borrowers until we could be confident that our daughter wouldn’t destroy them. She had paper books in her own collection well before we risked borrowing any. We did that partly because board books are so much sturdier, and partly because our library clearly accepts a higher degree of abuse with them.
We’re another family that keeps library books separate from our own collection. It allows us to monitor their use more closely – and it simply makes returns easier.
We leave our board books in the living room for our two young sons to enjoy, and many of them are worn from being "loved on" quite a bit. Our local library does not have board books, so I have avoided checking things out from there until the boys are older. My 2.5-year-old loves to read and has great respect for books now (including his beloved "High Five" magazine), and we have a special stack that is safe from the hands of his younger brother. The rest of our books are in my older boy's room and we bring those out one at a time.
I am too afraid to go to the library on my own. We have our "nice" book collection in the child proofed closet (as they kept climbing the bookshelf and ripping them- 2 no no's). And a set of board books and books I don't care if they are ruined, that they sleep and play with.
We started with board book borrowing at about two years old, now my daughter is used to the routine we follow- we have a special backpack for the library, and we try to limit to borrowing three books each time, and they stay in the bag hanging out of reach. We take the books out and read at bedtime, then return books to the bag.
We are big readers, consistency and routine help, since about age 1 1/2 we haven't chewed (or ripped) any books. :)
I'm actually more interested in your home-preschool. Would you be able to send me some information about it and where you found your materials?! jon.ashley.funk@gmail.com
thanks!
Oh boy... I don't think you can leave them unsupervised with traditional library books. If they aren't able to go without ripping them then they aren't ready to have them unsupervised.
And the whole "preschool" idea... well, they aren't even two. It's okay to let them be toddlers. You'll find that when the urge to rip the pages subsides they'll be more able to absorb the content of the book. What's the rush?
Have you considered picking up the bulk of your books at thrift shops like Salvation Army and Goodwill. I have a MAJOR collection of beautiful children's books that cost me about 70 cents each. And, I don't worry too much if they get messed up because they aren't too difficult to replace. Good luck!
I second the thrifted books option. I can find all sorts of regular and board books at thrift stores and garage sales. I guess if you have a larger collection of at home books then you won't need to check out so many and risk the damage. I especially love looking for board books because they always seem so expensive in the stores.
I live in a house full of readers and I have never held back... our books have been loved to death and then some. I have to say that if you are really concerned don't knock board books - seriously most classic pictures books can be bought as a board book now, they are just not the picture books that they used to be!!! Seriously have a look for the board book option when you are searching for books, you will be pleasantly surprised.
Meanwhile I have found the library books we take out have been carefully covered and sometimes reinforced. When we get a new book I usually cover it in contact paper or at least along the top and bottom of the spine, where they tend to take the book off the shelf to read it.
I recently wrote a post on how to mend our very many over loved books. http://www.se7en.org.za/2011/07/30/how-to-mend-a-book-in-se7en-steps
Thanks for the tips. So far we have had success just keeping the library books in a different room and visiting them one at a time, supervised. We have a pretty extensive book collection, many board books, but I am hoping to introduce them to a wide variety of topics, many of which we will find in the library. We use about 8-10 books a week on the theme, so lots and lots is greater than zero, since we never checked out books before this.
As for preschool for one-year-olds and the notion not letting them be toddlers, I think it's a lot less structure than most daycare kids probably get. We read books, which we were doing anyway, but pick a different theme each week. And they get to do cool stuff like see butterflies and go to the beach. They are learning and leading the way. So far it is great.
Appreciate the tips on the books, thanks!
"Not-yet-two" year olds are not capable of processing the idea of ownership, much less the idea of a fragile book. If you want to use books from the library, you must supervise the books and the kids, and keep the books out of sight and out of reach if you are not there.
As a former home-schooling mother (starting in 1984) and a home-schooling grandmother, I can reliably tell you that the kids will advance themselves naturally if you give them the chance.
Get used books and possibly ones with ripped pages. Ones that are already coloured in and damaged can be used to show them what not to do. No one likes to not know the ending of a story or to not be able to see the pictures.
We check out library books, but stick mostly to the board book section for now. My 18mo is getting better with being careful with book pages, but when we read non-board books, we're always supervising as he's still a bit too rough with them. I also keep the library books separated out from our regular books, as I find it's easier to keep track of them & remember to return them in a timely fashion.
We let our three year old son read or look at paper books. As he knows not to rip the pages out or draw in them. But I am finding that our little girl 1.5yrs old is getting ahold of them and tearing pages. I suppose I need to put the paper (meaning non board books) back in the hall closet in the high shelf. Seems like I need to hold those and read them. I think you could do the same with library books. You read them and store them high for now. It wont be too long before they understand how to handle them.
From the sound of it, I think you're doing things exactly right. It's great for young kids to be exposed to a variety of books and have the opportunity to experience books on their own, but these goals don't have to be acheived at the same time. Give them variety with the library books you read to them, and let them handle (and damage!) their own books - which it sounds like you're doing. Just invest in lots of clear packing tape :)
As a mom and early childhood educator, I know that we parents are always looking forward to our children reaching that "next level" of independence. But sometimes they just aren't developmentally ready, and so we do what we can with where they are at.
My son is about the age of your twins and he LOVES books, but occasionally rips or chews them. We've been exploring how best to handle library books too. So far my savior (of our own books too!) is book tape and book binder's glue. If you feel confident that you can do a nice job, both products are great for small repairs. (I've used them for major repairs on our own books, but they're never as good as new so if he really wrecked a library book, I would just replace it.) Anyway, I guess it might depend on what the people at your library would appreciate (it might be worth it to ask their advice), but I've returned a couple of books in better condition because of the book tape and glue.
Here's what I've used. The tape comes in several widths:
http://www.amazon.com/Scotch%C2%AE-Book-845-Inches-Yards/dp/B00006IF5R/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313551369&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Neutral-Bookbinders-Adhesive--16oz-Bottle/dp/B0025TWZXO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313551906&sr=8-1
In addition to Salvation Army and Goodwill, I'd suggest garage sales, "friends of the library" bookstores (they sell books formerly in the library inventory for pennies) and to keep your eyes open in places like ebay, freecycle and craigslist.
I also have a very young daughter with an, ahem, unquenchable literary thirst and I only hand her cardboard books. We "read" together the books with paper pages, but I'm accepting the fact that those won't live much longer anyway.