Hi Jenni,
I know exactly what you are feeling! What bothers me about having resource overload is that if we are just buying more and more books, we must not be using any of them to their fullest. My first child read just about everything that came in the house. Ditto the second, not so much the third, etc. The Fifth child is really having difficulty ‘getting into’ the genre that the others did and so wants even more books! Then there are children numbers 5-8. You get the picture! Everyone of them is different – the nerve of these kids!!
Storage of books, as my husband says is easy. That’s if you have the shelves and floor space. Not everyone does!
Here are some of the things I try to remember:
It’s so easy to purchase out of fear that something else would work better than what I’m using now or because I am comparing myself to someone else. That is a feeling of desperation. It’s the same emotion that makes us get up and rush out before daybreak to the yard sales! But the fact is, I was just as excited when I purchased the old one. So, I’m learning to use what I have if at all possible. In the long run it really doesn’t matter and one well-used book is much better than 10 on the shelf that are rarely looked at because of clutter. God knows our needs. That perfect bargain will stay there if He knows I need it. Prayer is key; and resting in His provision for our children. Sounds like surrender!
I try to limit my purchases to those things I cannot get at the library, or that I would need longer than the library would let me have them. Not only does that limit the buying, it also creates an atmosphere where the child will likely meet up with God in whatever book he chooses off our shelves.
A budget really helps. I know Amazon is great for used books, but that one-click buying can really nickle and dime a budget to death! So, keeping a tally of what’s left in the budget is helpful and causes me to plan ahead so that I don’t use up the money before I know just what I’ll need for the new school year. Also, we try to plug budget in throughout the year so that it’s not all gone in one shopping spree.
Sometimes I will take stuff from well-meaning friends and I realize it’s just out of fear (there’s that word again!). I’m so looking for that thing that will work with a particular child. Again, spending the time with my child, using one well-chosen resource will go much farther than a box full of hand me downs that I have to deal with. Not that I’m against hand me downs…I’m just making a specific point here. So, I try to say no thank you when I should and also I have trained myself to say, “Thank you so much; what would you like me to do with these if they are not a good fit for my children?”
And lastly, my children will never be able to read in this lifetime all the books I am tempted to buy, so I need to let them catch up! John says at the end of his gospel, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” That tells me that the one book I do need to delve into daily and need to lead my children into on a constant basis is the Bible. I must confess, that I do not always thirst after that truth like I do a new history read aloud.
Blessings,
Cindy
