Using the library

[alisha]

Our local library is great-I can reserve books online and pick them up when they come in.

 

However, using the library for school has been a little more frustrating. I have to look ahead a few weeks, guessing where we'll be by then, put a bunch on hold. One time only half come in by the time I need them, so the next time, I put more on hold, only that time, the majority come in by then, so then I have a huge stack of books. Not a bad thing, generally, but some aren't age appropriate, some aren't what I'm looking for. It's a hassle. Then I've got all sorts of subjects that can be supplemented with living books-history, geography (states), science, etc. 

So, I'm thinking there should be a better way. Maybe do a mini unit study with just library books? So, think of a theme (or person), and put a bunch of books on hold about it, then just read what's applicable. Maybe choosing something we've recently studied? Is it ok to do the living books after we've moved past that particular area of study?  

 

I should mention I have younger kids (2nd grade and 4 yrs). 

 

Anyone have a method that works for them to use library books for learning in a hassle-free, fun way?

 

Thanks

[kirstenhill]

In the past I tried to match up library books with exact lessons in science, history, etc and found it to be problematic as well.  I've decided to focus in on library books I specifically request for history.  I try and step back and instead of focusing on books lesson by lesson, focus on the big picture, maybe a month at a time.  So for ancient history, I got a month's worth of books about, ancient Greece for example.   Not every lesson we read from our history text that month was on Ancient Greece, but that was the general time period we were in.  Last year when we were doing US HIstory I got books for a given month focusing on a time period (maybe one or two decades).  Some times we got to the library books first, sometimes we get to the history lesson first on a specific topic or person, but it all works together.   I keep all the history books together in a crate.  Starting in 3rd grade, I assigned my DD independent reading from the book crate, and DS8 will be assigned independent reading of that sort next year.

 

We check out non-fiction living books on other topics too, but I let the kids direct on what they are interested in for those topics.  For example, DS8 will tell me he wants to learn more about insects, so I request books or check what's on the shelf.  

 

Then a week or so before the beginning of the next month, I request a bunch more books for our history book crate.  The nice thing about requesting a whole month-ish worth of books at once is that I do get a big stack, but if some don't work out I have extra...and since we are planning on that general topic in our book crate for the whole month, if some come later, we are still on that general topic.

[HS Mom in NC]

I plan and prep the entire school year in the summer.  I know what chapters of Story of the World (SOTW) vols. 1-4 we will read which week of school.   Weeks are numbered 1-36 so if we need a week off for illness or the stuff life throws at us, it's easy to pick up a week later.  When I plan, I use the SOTW Activity Books that have book lists that directly relate to each chapter.  In the summer I look up each recommended book in my own home library and in my local library system's catalog to see if they have it, what the call number is and which branches have it.  I list that information in my lesson plans.  Every 3 weeks I take my lesson plan list and get 3 weeks worth of library books listed.  Sometimes they just don't have it.  Sometimes it's at a different branch than they listed, but that's OK because I go to all the branches that day and check for each book at each one. I do NOT take kids with me for that.   If they don't have the book at all, the call number usually gets me to the right section for non-fiction books.  I select from what's there if they don't have the particular book I was looking for.  I usually come home with a couple or a few dozen books.

  I decide which are the most important to me and read those first and get to the ones that I don't care as much about as time allows.  I can renew online for 3 more weeks.  I'm allowed to return any book at any branch and there are smaller branches a 7 minute drive to the east of my house and one across from my daughter's Tae Kwon Do classes (which she attends 3 times a week) that is just a 10 minute drive from my house. 

[Syllieann]

I plan books for the whole year over summer too. I check to see which bfsu-recommended books are available. I try to choose 1 or 2 for each lesson. I use Amazon look inside to preview when possible. If there are a handful I can't choose between, I reserve them all, rifle through them, note which ones I want to use, then dump them back in the return. I use cwh for history so I note which are available at the library, which is most of the secular options. I purchase the religious books. Then I lay out everything by week for the whole year, so I can see all the library books I need for each week.

 

During the year, I reserve about 3 weeks of books at a time. If it is something critical with only 1 copy, I might check it out earlier on my card, then place a reserve for it on my ds's card to make sure we will have it. My library holds reserves for 4 days, and I make library runs every Thursday. I fill out my online reserve form each Sunday evening because that gives the most time allowed for the transfers to come in. I also take a few extra minutes to reserve anything on a topic that ds has been interested in, or any other literature that might interest him. My books are in by my Thursday run about 95% of the time. I sometimes stop on the weekend if something didn't come in on time. My library is a short walk away though, so no biggie. Plus, I drive past it about 3 days a week in my normal errands.

[PagesandFields]

I gave up... I have too much going on in our lives and couldn't stay organized enough... Books that we HAVE to have I buy used... Then with everything else I am flexible and just look for topics... What is there is what we use... But it is usually bonus extra stuff... I think this will change as they age... There is a much larger library we visit 1/week and I expect we will use them very frequently...

 

When I did plan (with peak with books/fair/etc...) I requested 3-4 weeks early and just hoped it was renewable if it came early... But honestly the only way I made it work was to be flexible... We go to 2 different libraries usually every week but it was still too hard...

 

Eta: my libraries don't do online inter library loan also... Which made it hard...

[happypamama]

I request books a week or so in advance, but we generally have a set library day, so that makes it easy.

 

I often request books in the spring, well before I know I want them, and that way I have a little more time to decide if they'll work for my purposes or not. Then I send them back and request them again closer to when I'm ready for them. But we have a very easy request system, and though I apologize for the large numbers, my librarians always smile and assure me that they're glad for the job security.

[PeachyDoodle]

I plan and prep the entire school year in the summer.  I know what chapters of Story of the World (SOTW) vols. 1-4 we will read which week of school.   Weeks are numbered 1-36 so if we need a week off for illness or the stuff life throws at us, it's easy to pick up a week later.  When I plan, I use the SOTW Activity Books that have book lists that directly relate to each chapter.  In the summer I look up each recommended book in my own home library and in my local library system's catalog to see if they have it, what the call number is and which branches have it.  I list that information in my lesson plans.  Every 3 weeks I take my lesson plan list and get 3 weeks worth of library books listed.  Sometimes they just don't have it.  Sometimes it's at a different branch than they listed, but that's OK because I go to all the branches that day and check for each book at each one. I do NOT take kids with me for that.   If they don't have the book at all, the call number usually gets me to the right section for non-fiction books.  I select from what's there if they don't have the particular book I was looking for.  I usually come home with a couple or a few dozen books.

 

  I decide which are the most important to me and read those first and get to the ones that I don't care as much about as time allows.  I can renew online for 3 more weeks.  I'm allowed to return any book at any branch and there are smaller branches a 7 minute drive to the east of my house and one across from my daughter's Tae Kwon Do classes (which she attends 3 times a week) that is just a 10 minute drive from my house. 

 

This is very similar to my process as well. Our ILL can be hit or miss (books come from all over the state, so sometimes they arrive in a couple of days and other times it takes a few weeks) I try to request with plenty of time to spare (once a month or so). I also use Look Inside on Amazon as much as possible to determine whether the book will be useful, as a pp said. That's a big help. If I'm just using parts of the book, I can consult the table of contents and plan in advance what we'll read.

 

We do pay $40/year to use a neighboring city's library system, and that gives me an extra outlet if I'm looking for something specific. That city doesn't participate in our county's ILL. But I am thinking of dropping that next year, as we use fewer books at a time now that dd is getting older and materials are longer and more in-depth.