My Friend, the Library

I must confess, I'm in a love affair. With the library. I love the library. All of the books, movies, magazines, all at the tip of your fingers for little to nothing. If you don't lose anything (which I've come close to, but that's a subject for another post).

Anyway, here are some things that I love about the library.

1. Story time. Most libraries offer a free story time for kids of all ages, and we definitely take advantage of it. It's fun, it's a place to meet people with kids the same age, and everyone loves our story time lady, Jo Kay.

2. Computers. Noel loves playing on the computer. It's the only activity in the house that I actually have to set a timer for, or else he would play all day on it. However, since he can't read, it's hard to find lots of different programs for him. However, the library has tons of games and programs that he can play on while I look for books. Plus, there are headphones. Need I say more?

3. Games. Both libraries we visit have lots of actitives out for the kids: puzzles, legos, and a reading loft to name a few.

4. "Request this Item". If you haven't taken advantage of your library's website, you should. You can look up where anything is, but more importantly, you can click a little button called "Request this Item" and they will hold it for you at the front desk. It's awesome. I can find all of my books and they call me when they're available.

5. Summer Programs. This summer we have had the chance to do several different summer activities that the library has planned. Noel has won prizes for reading books, we went to an animal show where we got to pet an alligator, and they had a bubble truck (you'll have to ask Noel about it--highlight of his summer--but I was in Haiti). It gives us fun stuff to do that's free and educational. Okay, the bubble truck might not have been the most educational, but you get the idea.

Now, there are a few things I don't like about the library (they charge for movies and music, they don't have a great selection of the newer books I'd like to read, due dates), but overall it is a great place to go. I'm trying to instill a love for reading into my son, and the library is helping me do that.

Read on!!!