I have an 8, 5 and 3 year old. The younger two tend to be hard on books. They each have books baskets by their beds, but I realized the other day that I keep all the good quality twaddle free books in my homeschool closet where they’ll stay in good condition and I can find them when I want them. I was thinking the other day that I want them to have access to the best books. Any suggestions on how to make those available to them while keeping them in good condition and in some kind of order so i can find the ones im looking for? Maybe an at home library checkout system? I did to through their book baskets and sold some of the twaddle type books and used the money to buy better books. Candy suggestions on book storage appreciated.
I can give a suggestion for how to help young children treat books gentle. The first time a book was damaged (which was a torn page for us), I took the book very gentle in my arms. I went on and on about the poor hurt book (I mean play it to the hilt and leave an impression). I gentle placed it high on a bookshelf (out the little one’s reach) and said it needed to rest now because it was hurt. The next day, we took the book down – very gentle, because it’s hurt! We got out the tape and like surgeons taped the page back up and talking the whole time about the scar that would be left there. We placed the book back up high on the shelf to let it rest. About a month later, we took the book back down and we read it (noting the scar). We have never had another torn page in a book, nor any other incidence with a book.
Most of our books are on low shelves our kids can reach by themselves, the books I want us to be extra careful with are in the same room but on their own special shelf that is out of reach of the youngest child. When we set up the bookshelves it was with the understanding that to read a book on the high shelf our kids should ask a parent to get it down from them and then find a parent to return it. This was also to eliminate climbing to reach the shelf. So far it’s worked well for us because the kids can see the books, but also know that with those particular books they need to ask for and must be extra careful with. (But I really don’t have any determined “climbers” in my house, a visiting child did try to climb to get Winnie the Pooh Treasury and luckily I saw her in time. The climbing bothered me more than anything.) The rest of our books – I should use the hurt book remedy mentioned above!!
You also might try teaching them to turn the pages at corners not in the middle. Lots of times torn pages happen when the page is turned in the center or close to the binding of the spine. I’ve done it myself – especially with aged paper in older books.
I searched a little more on the forum and saw a comment I think Misceegee made years ago. She mentioned giving each child a colored paint stick. After the child selects a book from the shelf, he can put his painted stick where the book was so he will know where to return it. I really like this idea and would like to incorporate it. First I need more bookshelves! I think I will make these books available but will make the rule that the books on the shelves should be read one at a time. I’ll also try Hope’s idea, too! Thanks.
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