Library Bags

Last month I bought some inexpensive canvas bags from Walmart, along with some puffy paints, and let my kids decorate their own library bags. The idea was to get them a little more excited about choosing their own books at the library since they would have their own personalized bag for carrying them.

It's been working great with my three year old. I bring his bag along on our weekly trips to story time, and he proudly throws it over his shoulder as he browses the book shelves during our visit. He has become more discerning in choosing his books lately. He used to just choose any old book off the shelf. Now he'll carefully examine each cover (the wrong way to judge a book, I know. Hee), and often put the book back on the shelf. Sometimes I'll pull a book off the shelf to suggest to him, but my selections have been getting shot down a lot lately. (In addition to my preschoolers book selections, I usually choose a stack of picture books on my own, that he doesn't get any say in.) Today he chose several books, but was particularly proud of a tiger story that he picked.

My older son has yet to make his bag. He was busy doing something else when we were painting and hasn't taken the time to sit down and paint his yet. My daughter has painted her bag, but has yet to use it. I'm still trying to figure out a good routine for bringing my older two to the library. It's tough to make it work with their school schedule, and the various other activities during the week. And it's even harder to force myself to do it, when it's like pulling teeth to get them to go. My preschooler that I've had since birth loves going to the library though. Tough!

I would love to hear how you work in library visits during the week with your school aged kiddos. Do tell!