kubiac Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I just something that recommended keeping a stash of books in the car for the kids. Do any of you do this? Does it get used? Are the books duplicates of house books or special car books or...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 The kids naturally bring a couple in the car over the course of the week. I just rotate them out occasionally & keep an eye out for library books. We did start listening to audiobooks in the car a lot recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 We did this mainly when the kids were in elementary school. Our vehicle had mesh holders on the backs of the front seats, which was a perfect place to keep several books. We let the kids choose books to keep in there, and sometimes we also chose books. Great for short trips or long, they got used tons! One time they chose the Usborne Children's Encyclopedia from Sonlight K (they were 8 & 10 at the time) and kept it in the car for 2 months, re-reading the whole thing! When they were toddlers we kept more of an activity box, which did include some board books, but also other things that were entertaining in the car. Have fun! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iona Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I keep a basket or tote in the back seat for my oldest. We drive thirty minutes each way several times a week and it is a nice way for him to get reading in. If I'm on top of things they will be books relevant to what we are studying. Most of the time it is just whatever I grab as we are heading out the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Oh Definitely! I actually sometimes refer to the car as our "mobile library." It gets used most of the time, and we keep a mixture of whatever the kids drag in and some more educational, parents' choice. Sometimes they are duplicates of house books, but generally they are considered to be car books, until I get tired of the mess and rotate the selection of books. Have fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 My kids usually grab their own books but I keep an extra in the glove box and we always have an audio book going in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 We've always kept a box of books in the car since DS started showing an interest. It used to be 5 or so books that got rotated frequently, but now that they just grab their own to take out it's got a little out of control - I took 43 books out of the car this afternoon when I cleaned it out. We've struck a problem when it comes to storage of the books now, because DS is using the seatbelt (instead of a harness) so he needs to be able to reach down the side but the box was in the way. I'd also like them to have separate storage because of the inevitable "I want that book" arguments. I haven't found a solution yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 We do, but it's more by default than by any kind of intentional planning on my part. It never fails that when we are going somewhere at least one if not all of the kids brings a book or two and they often get left in the van. When I notice a lot of books "floating around" the vehicle I clean it out and they start all over again! We also have an audio book going 95% of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Everyone in my house knows to grab a book on the way out the door because you never know what's going to happen. If we get stuck in traffic - you've got a book. If there's a long wait at the post office - you've got a book. If you get a surprise call that DH's mother is being taken to the hospital - you've got a book. We've walked out of the house during winter without a coat on accident but not without a book. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Not intentionally, but yes, all of the dc have a few books in there at all times, and I keep some magazines and a book on the front seat. We spend a lot of time waiting for someone to come out of a music lesson or some meeting. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 No, but I do keep a small bag of art supplies, a clipboard, some paper, and BrainQuest cards in the car. Sometimes books migrate through but they aren't regular fixtures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggiegal Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Not in book form, but audio books--yes! And tons of them. And learning CDs. My kids just listened to one about math on our long drive to a museum today. We'll take books with us if we have a wait somewhere (doctor, restaurant, etc.) but they don't stay in the car as all of us get motion sickness if we read in the car. We do a lot of 'car-schooling'. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I strew books in the car - books I'd like the boys to read. I rotate them through (casually). It works. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Flossy has a big stack of books in the car. She reads on every trip! They are not duplicates just ones she really likes. She's probably read some of them 10 times or more :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Yes, we have our "car library". We frequently drive at least 30 minutes so its a must. Both of my girls have a small tote bag filled with early readers and we usually change them out whenever I notice they aren't being read as frequently. We also do audio books on occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 We do have a few books in the car, the kind of things they grab on the way out the house because they are half way through them anyway. We don't have any good space to store the books in the car though, no back of seat pockets or anything so I do worry about the safety of books flying about in the event of an accident. I get a new(to me) car next week which has more storage so I might make a point of keeping some more books in that car. We have lots of audiobooks though, they are easy to put in the glove compartment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Pursuit Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 We always have audiobooks in the car that go along with the history time period we are currently studying. I schedule some books to be read aloud at home and others to be listened to while driving. We also listen to a lot of Adventure in Odyssey stories in the car as well as Lamplighter radio theater cd's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) Yes, we have a large black tote that sits on the floor in our van. It has always been there. It holds books, one-person games like Rush Hour Traffic, writing utensils, clipboards with paper, Lego magazines, etc. I change it out every now and then with fresh books. When they were younger, it held Color Wonder stuff, and in the cooler weather, coloring books and crayons. It holds activity books like mazes, trivia questions, jokes, etc. I also keep audio books in the van. I've never had a vehicle break-in. In fact, I left the back of the van (the hatch) open for over two hours while I was at co-op in downtown Norfolk. Nothing was stolen -- not even my GPS! For longer trips, the boys each have a canvas bag to bring special things -- book being currently read and such. The tote is similar to this: http://www.target.com/p/High-Road-Auto-Cargo-Tote/-/A-10495894 Edited September 30, 2011 by nestof3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 How do you type a long, drawn-out, reluctant "yes" sound? Yees... we do keep books in the car, but we also allow eating and drinking in the car, so after several disastrous mixes of the two recently, I'm trying to cut back on both. I also have the Kindle app on my phone with a bunch of children's classics loaded on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeBeaks Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 In our house too the kids naturally grab something as we leave the house, oldest 2 books, 3yo her coloring book or a sticker book she wants to work on. I grab a touch and feel book for the baby (1yo) on the way out. I also keep audio books in the car if they want one. SOTW, Jim Weiss audios or just books we are reading concurrently in paper form or "extras" that looked good at the library. Even "twaddle" appears on our car audio. :D 6yo DS requested Hank the Cowdog recently so we are listening to that. It's not fine literature but the kids are enjoying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songsparrow Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I keep a library of magazines in the car. My girls never read magazines in the house, but love having them available to grab and read an article during a car trip. (They actually fight over the new ones when they get added.). So I've subscribed to magazines on a variety of topics that I thought might interest them. They usually have a book with them, too - whatever they're currently reading, but that doesn't stay in the car. I'd be worried about the heat in the car affecting the books (e.g., the glue in the spines). Nobody has had any problem with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker Martin Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 We have one but not on purpose. The kids bring books to the car, and they leave them in there. Now and then I take most of them back out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakim Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 We do, but it's more by default than by any kind of intentional planning on my part. It never fails that when we are going somewhere at least one if not all of the kids brings a book or two and they often get left in the van. When I notice a lot of books "floating around" the vehicle I clean it out and they start all over again! :iagree: Kind of just part of the general mayhem of our van. Wish we could afford Kindles for all - wouldn't that just solve the problem nicely? :001_smile: Two of our older children who'd had jobs over the summer have Kindles and wow - library in the pocket on demand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I haven't had any problems with the heat. I keep a library of magazines in the car. My girls never read magazines in the house, but love having them available to grab and read an article during a car trip. (They actually fight over the new ones when they get added.). So I've subscribed to magazines on a variety of topics that I thought might interest them. They usually have a book with them, too - whatever they're currently reading, but that doesn't stay in the car. I'd be worried about the heat in the car affecting the books (e.g., the glue in the spines). Nobody has had any problem with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 We always have 3-4 science books, Boys Life Magazines, and/or Ranger Rick Magazines in the car. My favorites are the old Charlie Brown Encyclopedia or the Southwestern Tell Me Why books that I have picked up second hand. They have a lot of info, and are fairly compact. The kids will also bring their own books in fairly often, so we just switch out when we clean the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Do audio books count? :001_smile: I do have a bunch of those, along with story CD's I've transferred, on my iPhone that we listen to frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele B Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Oh, yes!! I have quite an audio library on my iPod which includes librivox recordings, teaching Company lectures, and music from composers we study. Dd10 always brings books with her. I try to rotate weekly a selection for dd7 to "rediscover" in the car. This includes nature magazines as well as science books and classic literature. We are on the road a lot Mon- Thursday so I haul many school books in the van in the hopes of finishing some things with one daughter while the other dances. It actually works fairly well because there are fewer distractions in the van than in the house! I also bring my Kindle full of free children's classics as well as novels and history books for me. I also find myself with traditional books usually history or cookbooks. When I get home in the evening and am faced with hauling it all back out, I'm not so thrilled!:tongue_smilie: But I cannot stand the idea of being out and having expected or unexpected time on my hands and nothing to read! Besides dd7's weekly selections, I don't permanently leave things in the van. On purpose anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele B Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I have had a couple of books get a bit mishapen in the heat. I try not to leave ANYTHING in the van in our Georgia summers!! I find that binders with the clear covers get shmooshy, and so do some books bound with glue. I don't ever leave my iPod or Kindle in the car in the heat or the cold. Also I have had book covers fade. Maybe that is my climate. Maybe keeping books in a cooler in the back would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma2three Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Yes, after I buckle each kid into their carseats, I hand them a book. DD1 gets a picture book, DS gets a board book, and the baby gets something tactile. Sometimes they read them, sometimes they toss them (well, DD1 doesn't literally toss them, but the other two do!) and sometimes they tuck them in for later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 We have a random one. Books are all over everywhere we go, by cluttery chance, not by design. Luckily, I like them, but sometimes, the book clutter...gets to even me. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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