Have a Homeschool Library Day Each Week

Every Monday is our homeschool library day. When I first began homeschooling I never even thought to use the library as a resource. Now, however, I don't think I could homeschool without it.

Libraries are VERY important to homeschoolers and there are many reasons as to why.

Saving Money
We have homeschool library day because my children practically eat books. Purchasing books for them to read would be far too expensive. Each of my children will go through 4-6 books a week just for their reading pleasure. We also check out books that are complementary to whatever we may be studying in History, Science or any of our other subjects.

Computer Access...With Your Supervision
Hmmmm...the computers in the library are all set up in a nice row. What I do is set all of my children down at a computer - at the same time - and I can supervise and teach them altogether. I can't do this at home - I don't have 4 computer terminals all with high speed internet access at home! I have a list of websites that offer free games and online courses that I have the children visit. Additionally, I have each of the children maintain their own Yahoo email account and I ask that they stay in touch with far away family members via email. I know my children will need these computer skills when they grow up - and I know they wouldn't get this type of instruction in a public school - or even at home! That's why libraries rock!

College Bound Homeschoolers
Is your homeschooled child college bound? Mine are. One wants to go to Stanford, two of them want to attend Indiana University and one of them wants me to ship her off to dance school in New York City when she's 15...but I digress. Library skills are essential for college success. Many students that go to college from high school don't even know how to navigate a large library and this puts them at a disadvantage. Many new college students are intimidated by the size of their libraries and the length of time it takes to locate materials. This impedes them from completing assignments easily and in a timely manner. Developing library skills early by having your own homeschool library day will keep your children from getting stopped when they move into a College or University environment.

How to Organize Your Homeschool for a Weekly Library Day

Everyone Has Their Own Library Card
Though I've found it necessary to keep all those cards with me. When the children have chosen their books, I'll hand their card over to them so that they can go through the process of checking out all of their own books. My 6 year old can even handle this. My 12 year old, however, is the only one that can keep track of her library card right now and I'm sure as the others get older and start to carry a wallet I can hand over responsibility of their Library Cards too. Keep track of the cards because most libraries charge you $ for a replacement card.

Avoid Late Fines
Clear an entire shelf at home just for library books. Insist that the books be initially placed there and returned there after they have been read. The shelf is cleared on each homeschool library day.

Choose the Same Day of the Week to Attend the Library
Having a homeschool library day will become part of your weekly homeschool routine. Return all books that have been read and re-checkout any books that haven't been read during your weekly visit.

Track What Books Your Child Has Read
Have each child keep a reading log. You can even post this on the wall somewhere in your home. Have each child write their book titles and the date they finished reading each one on the log. This is a handy thing to have if you are working with a charter school or if you want to research supplemental materials for some of the books your children are reading.

Meet With the Librarian
There are many librarians that would be willing to give you and you child 20-30 min. of individual instruction on how to use the library. Call your local library and explain your situation. Tell them that you are setting up a homeschool library day with your kids. See if they would be willing to set up an appointment with you. Learn how to use paper and computerized card catalogs. Practice giving your child a title and see how long it takes them to retrieve it.

Crossover Into the Adult Section There are some excellent reference books that can be found in the adult section of your library. Don't confine your kids to the children's section of the library, supervise them as they wander into areas of interest in the adult section. You may find a relevant reference book that you can look through with them.

Attend Special Library Events
I'm still lobbying for El Dorado County to have a special "Homeschool Library Day" but until that happens you can attend Seminars, Book Signings and Readings at many libraries. Check it out.

Visit Different Libraries
We live in El Dorado County in Northern California and there are several libraries that we can visit 'interchangeably'. This means that all the libraries take the same library card and we can return books at a different library than where the book was initially checked out at. My husband and I also attended University of California, Davis, and we've made several trips to the University Library with the children. This was a wild and crazy experience for them because they'd never seen a library with so many stories. We took them to the areas in the library where historical documents are kept and explained that many libraries contain historical documents that you can only look at in a special room with special gloves on and special permission. Oooh...Ahhhh.

Your Home Library
Organize all of the books you own into one place in your home and call this your library. Rather than have each child own a few books, wouldn't it be better to pool everyones resources and have a lot of books that everyone could read? Collect and keep your favorites in your own library for your children to read and re-read.

We hope you have a great Homeschool Library Day and enjoy these new ideas.

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