During winter break last year I was at a loss of what to do with my kids. We were in the process of moving and the ground was covered in snow. So, I spent one day taking my older boys to the library. It was free and since it was yeshiva week, it was relatively empty.
My kids had a great time and it left me wondering why we don’t go to the library more often. In reality I knew the answer. I just didn’t know how to make time for it.
At the time I was starting their bed-time routine shortly after I got home from work- at 7pm. This was working for a while, but now that they are a bit older they haven’t been going to bed until around 8:30pm.
So, one day this summer, on a whim, I took them to the library at 7:30pm. The reason for this first visit was to allow DS1 to choose his summer reading books on his own. He hadn’t been all that thrilled with the ones I chose for him and I really wanted to encourage him to do the reading. Since that was the only time I had to take him to the library we did it. At 7.30 pm.
And you know what? My kids were excited to go. They behaved. And I realized that I can do this. I can one of those good moms who takes their kids to the library every week. We will just do it when it works for us.
Since that first evening visit to the library we’ve been going just about every week. My two older boys now have their own library cards and take care of the books they borrow. We don’t always read all the books we take out, but that’s ok. I realized that for my kids, part of the fun is going through the process of choosing books. And that is just fine by me.
Until next time,
Shaindy
