Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry (Forum Locked Forum Locked)
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Subject Topic: Book storage and use Post ReplyPost New Topic
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LucyP
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Posted: Oct 31 2008 at 6:46am | IP Logged Quote LucyP
(Not sure if this goes here or elsewhere - sorry!)

In our home, we have a child-height shelf where 75% of the children's books in use live. We have more chapter book hardbacks upstairs for now, and there is a higher shelf of the smaller, more susceptible books that only our 4yo can reach.

The problems with this arrangement are that

a) the baby pulls all the books off, looking for the one she wants, and she is pretty good with books but she will tear at least one a week - I'd rather she loved books than didn't have access, and she is not very interested in board books.
b) both children cram the books back willy-nilly, so they get damaged or fall off the shelf again.
c) so many books on one long shelf are unwieldy to browse through and it is genuinely hard for the children to find the one they want and put the books back properly because the books all tend to tilt and slide.

How do other people do book storage? I have been wondering about hving 1/5 or so of the books out at a time, chosen by some sort of theme, and put the others upstairs with the chapter books, so our 4yo could go find one he especially wanted but would generally have less books out at a time. But that feels like putting a limit on their enjoyment of the books. Books are the favourite "toy" here, and even the 1yo spends ages each day looking at books. We have no space for those shelves where the books are arranged with covers facing out.
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nissag
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Posted: Oct 31 2008 at 8:46am | IP Logged Quote nissag
I have a couple of ideas. With our littles, baskets of books work well. They can just rest them back in the basket - trying to slide them in side by side and upright is tricky for little ones. Another option is to display them facing out, rather than with spines showing. Much easier to put back.

We prevented roughness by making sure the kids asked permission before taking a book out. Then we could at least be aware that they were at the shelves and direct them to remove and replace gently, to sit and read and flip pages gently. Only recently, with babies 5 and 6, has that become more of a challenge. We're busier and more distracted. And Louis id destructo-man. He's hard on EVERYTHING.

Blessings,

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Mackfam
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Posted: Nov 01 2008 at 9:50pm | IP Logged Quote Mackfam
I use a lot of baskets here as well. They are a favorite and they are arranged by themes. I do spruce them up monthly. I find that books are less neglected in this way, because I intentionally strew books that coordinate with a particular fondness or study that might have been overlooked on a shelf.

I also have one set of shelves set aside for my preschooler who loves to read. I arrange all of his books with the covers facing out. Again, I set out according to themes - letter of the week, season of the year, holiday/holyday, etc. He really enjoys choosing books from the shelf, and in watching him I find he is very careful and considerate looking over each book carefully before choosing 2 or 3 to sit down with. It is much easier for him to return the book because in removing a book there is a large, obvious hole left to indicate the book's home.

I love setting out a book or two and then setting up a little them to go with the books. Right now, we're creating some clothespin dolls to coordinate with what we are learning about Covenant Theology - so I have picture books on Genesis and God's Creation behind Adam and Eve clothespin dolls. We've done this behind all of God's Covenants with man and the books are quite attractive this way.

I would encourage setting out some lovely baskets throughout your home full of picture books, and also perhaps considering setting aside maybe one or two shelves to display books with their covers facing out.

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