The 2024 school year is approaching fast, so what is the best way to burn some after-school energy and still learn? Your local library. So often we are quick to use electronics as our babysitters after a long day of work, and we are falling victim to our screen addictions as well. In this article, I am going to show you exactly why your local library is the best place for your child's development this year.
Why is the library the best activity for kids?
Libraries today have really stepped up their game in terms of what they have to offer. When I was young, the library was one of my favorite places to go; I actually looked forward to it every weekend! They had endless shelves of books, different reading programs where I got to earn prizes, and tables with magnetic toys. But that was 15 years ago. Today, libraries offer way more enticing opportunities for children of all ages, and adults! Here are the top reasons why your local library needs to be added to your rotation of go-to places:
Low/no cost for memberships
An endless list of book choices
Programs to motivate children to read
Community building opportunities
Programs for low-income families
Indoor play with a learning focus
Often paired with an outdoor play option
Instills responsibility and independence in children
Libraries are extremely affordable, and sometimes free!
For starters, children are expensive. Businesses know that many caregivers are willing to pay top dollar for the best activities and toys for their children if they can afford it. Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on a multitude of memberships - what if I told you that you can have a year-long membership for $1, and sometimes even completely free? With this membership, you'd have access to just about any book you can think of, educational toys that are kept clean and organized on a daily basis, events that bring children from all over the community to play together, and learning opportunities for both you and your child.
Currently, I have two library memberships. One is for the local library near my home - I do not pay anything to have this membership, and there are no fees associated with late book returns! The other membership cost me $1, and the library is about 20-30 minutes from my home, depending on traffic. This library is six stories tall, with two entire floors dedicated to children and teens, and it offers a variety of different learning programs at no additional cost. They even have a weekly rotating class on using and coding a 3D printer for teens - again, free!
Books these days cost anywhere between $10 and $20 on average if you are buying new, and $5 to $10 on average if you are buying used. Subscriptions like Kindle Unlimited and Audible are currently priced at $9.99/month for KU, giving you "unlimited access" to the titles of their choosing, and $14.99/month for Audible, giving you 1 book download each month. So if we want to do the math, I typically check out 10 to 12 books per week for my nanny kids, coming back each week to return them and get new books. If we are in a normal month, that's roughly 40 to 48 books a month. If I were to buy them all new, I'd be spending roughly $400 to $960 a month just on books, and $200 to $480 if I am buying them used - this is just the stats for the children's books; I'm not even including my own reading habits. With a library card, I am spending absolutely nothing for as many books as I'd like. And, while this is not a widely known fact, many libraries have eBook and audiobook downloads as part of their memberships. So rather than paying $120 a year for eBooks, or $180 for 12 audiobooks, you can spend $0 on these services with just a library card!
An Abundance of Activities
According to The Institute of Museum and Library Services, public libraries offer 5.6 million programs across the board. And that statistic was from 2017 - imagine how many programs are being offered now, 7 years later. From toddler mommy & me classes, to free after-school lunches in lower-income locations, to senior social events - libraries have everyone of all ages covered. There are even career/college fairs libraries will host, or career advancement classes to increase your skills within your current occupation. One of my libraries even has a therapy dog program where children can come twice a month to read books and pet puppies! I mean how cute is that. There is a library I frequent that even has an entire floor they call MACH1 (stands for Makers, Artists, Crafters, Hackers). This floor is open twice a week, with a focus on STEM learning through rotating hands-on activities and themes. They have tables with different materials such as Legos, wooden blocks, computers, sewing machines, and whatever else they may have available that week or month. They also have weekly rotating classes again for free where kids can learn from an expert on how to code, create digital art, write music, 3D, and so many more.
Libraries often have storytelling hours set for different ages. Mommy & Me on Tuesday mornings, or Friday nights for the whole family. I even took my nanny kids to a concert where they hired an actual children's band with characters that performed - they had the best time ever. They were given kazoos and clickers to help make the music as their band sang. The kids got to get up, jump, dance, and burn off some energy.
Both of our libraries also have plenty of board games to choose from, different hands-on immersive activities like play kitchens and puppet shows, and one even has an indoor structure for climbing! Many libraries also have outdoor playgrounds attached to them, or nearby. Because our summers can reach 116 degrees Fahrenheit on a daily basis, one of our libraries has a shaded outdoor turf area that is air-conditioned. This is a great way to get the kids playing outdoors, minus the heat stroke. On a typical library day, I will take the kids inside to return our old books, read a few books and play indoors for about an hour, check out books for the week to take home, and play on the outdoor playground to burn some energy before dinner. This one trip provides hours of stimulation and activity, and it's a weekly trip that the kids get excited about and sometimes request to go back for a second time during the week!
Responsibility and Independence
From the time I started taking my littles to the library, to now over a year later, I have seen a huge increase in their sense of responsibility and independence. The library provides a multitude of opportunities to foster these values in kids of all ages. On a weekly basis, I allow the little ones I care for to be the ones giving the librarian our books back, or feed them through the book drop-off. This is a great way to learn it's important to give back what we borrow. They gain independence when I give them the decision-making responsibility to pick which books we take home that week. Typically, they will pick 3-5 books each, and I may pick a few as well that I feel they could benefit from. They even build the social skills and confidence to ask the librarian where to find certain books or topics. Their eyes light up when they see all the options! I will never get over how excited the 3-year-old I care for got when he saw how many books there were about trucks; it was like a candy store for his brain. At the end of our library trip, they scan all the books they want to check out and put them in our book bag to take home. I always remind them that it is their responsibility to look after the books we borrow, keeping them nice and organized so as not to lose or ruin them. They understand that if we lose or ruin a book, we have to pay to replace it; otherwise, no one else will get the chance to enjoy it!
How to Find Your Local Library
So now that you have read just a few of the many benefits a library has to offer you and your little ones, it's time to find your local library. One easy way is to simply type in a Google search of "local library near me", or you can click here to utilize a national library search database by inputting your zip code - or find a federal specialized library/archive! While each library is different in its rules and requirements, usually all you need is a valid driver's license with your address located nearby, and you can get your library card the same day at no charge! So what's stopping you? Visit your local library today and get started!
Link To Find A Library: https://www.usa.gov/libraries-and-archives
References
The Institute of Museum and Library Services. (2020, July 16). People visited public
libraries more than a billion times in one year. Research Publications. https://www.imls.gov/news/people-visited-public-libraries-more-billion-times-one-year#:~:text=Public%20libraries%20offered%20200%2C000%20more,programming%20in%20the%20United%20States.
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