Love Reading: Find Reading Resources on a Budget

   All right, I said I would do these three posts. I'm gonna do it! A lot of this post will be oriented around the local library. I know some people may be in rural areas or their closest library may be small, old, or underfunded. I'm assuming if you are reading this that you have internet access too. I'll do my best to cover all the bases on this topic because I think it's very important for everyone to have access to literature. There are so many free or very cheap resources out there! There is absolutely no need to spend a fortune at Barnes & Noble on new books.

For starters here is a list of awesome online resources:

• Scholastic has a wealth of free information for parents as well as free printable activities and coloring pages for kids of all ages. Go here for their information on age-based language and reading development. And click here for a number of book lists and reading challenge plans.
•  The International Children's Digital Library and We Give Books are free websites "stocked" with hundreds of books that you and your kids can read online.
• The Veggie Tales (I love them!) website has digital books with fantastic moral stories.
• There is an incredible assortment of free educational material on almost any topic you can imagine (Biology, Civics, Weather, etc) for PreK up to 12th grade on the PBS LearningMedia website.  There are videos, learning modules, and printable labs and worksheets.
• Crayola also has a ton of free printable pages. You can find anything from basic letters and numbers to Presidents of the United States. 
• Jump Start has several resources available for new readers. You'll find a lot of school curriculum possibilities here from spelling to public speaking. There are worksheets and short stories as well. 
• Go here on Read.gov to search for local book fairs and related events in your area. 
• World Book Online and Brittanica.com have kid's encyclopedias.  
• Don't forget to look through Amazon's Kindle eBooks, Barnes and Noble's Nook, and Apple's iBooks websites or apps for very cheap or free digital books.

 
     More than likely, your public library has a website. Google it or call them up and ask.  This is going to be your best bet for local resources, reading material you can borrow, and free or cheap programs for your kids. Even our modest library has an incredible selection of books, audio books, DVDs, and research media. Many libraries have story times and art activities for different age groups throughout the week. They may host summer reading contests for kids that anyone in the community can participate in. Here is another example of a sweet reading program at the Rogers Public Library (it involves a dog!). If you need help finding a library in your area go here.

    To find low priced books for your own collection go to Goodwill or other local thrift shops; spend one Saturday looking through yard sales; search Craigslist and your local Freecycle group or create an ad with specific requests; call the library or public schools or check the newspaper for information about local book fairs and festivals. Through these avenues you should be able to find lots of books for under one dollar.

   This Noob Mom's Tips:

     1.) I have found it really easy to do simple things like pointing out letters and sounding out words on signs (and the numbers, colors, shapes, etc) while we're out and about. It's not anything extra in that we don't have to make time for it. I don't have to buy anything. It really turns into quite the game. Now, Bitty Bug (3.5) will even point out signs and colors of things as we drive down the road. She's beginning to recognize familiar logos and signs. This is great since it makes those connections with the words and sounds!
 
     2.) Don't be afraid to read or explain things that are slightly beyond their capability. Adding words into your vocabulary within the context of things they all ready know can be an effortless way to help them learn. The more I think about approaching my kid's reading and writing as if they are learning a brand new language the simpler it seems. It can take a couple years for an adult studying avidly to become fluent in a second language depending on the language itself and the context of their learning. That perspective has helped think about this in a new way.


     In the end, the highest expenses you may have will be printer ink, any fees for a library membership, and possibly a few extra bucks in gas if you go to the library often or go in search for new books. Budget accordingly and you'll find it is very easy to access a lot of literature for nearly nothing!

    Don't forget to have fun reading with your littles. Reading is not only the key to escaping into whole new worlds but also to being capable of learning about almost anything we can imagine!
   
And for your convenience (and mine) here are the links to the first two posts of this little series:

Love Reading: Teaching Kids to Respect Literature

Love Reading: Printed Books vs. Electronic Books

     

This Week's Library Grab

     Here are the books we picked out at the library this week! Quite an eclectic selection, I think. Some we've read before and some we haven't. The kiddos are enjoying all of them.

    This is a beautiful book highlighting Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. I don't think it could ever be read too many times. The illustrations are beautiful too. I love that my 3 year old and almost-2-year-old are all ready beginning to learn about such very important public figures.

 

     This is a very colorful book with a short, sweet style to it. I love it almost as much as Frederick.  

    There are some things we want our kids to learn about and never forget. The Great Depression is one such thing. Children's literature like this is an easy, beautiful way to share such history even with the smallest kids.

    Dinosaurs + numbers. Just what my 3 year old needs. I'm convinced she can soak in just about anything if it is somehow tied in with dinos.

     Our local library has a fantastic kid's non-fiction collection. They have books from Pebble Plus to Kid's Britannica. They are great resources. My kids love these books just the same as the fiction. The colorful pictures don't hurt.

Our Stay-cation, I guess

     We're very much enjoying a week to ourselves as a family. The Marine got done with his annual training this past weekend and he has off this entire week to spend with us! We've spent most of our time being lazy, enjoying eachother's company, and getting some errands done that we normally have to twist schedules around to get done.

     Sunday we spent our evening in Rogers. The Cross Church at Pinnacle Hills put on a fantastic fireworks show! Poor N (oldest daughter) was not a fan of the lights and loud noises. Both girls did have fun running around with some other kids and eating way too many cookies though. It was definitely worth the time to go over there and the crowd was really impressive.
 

     Then yesterday was our anniversary! Four years married now. It's hard to believe in some ways but in other ways it feels like it's been much longer than that. We had a "night in". Hubby man made us some delicious (bacon wrapped!!!) filet mignon with tasty sides (potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, rolls). I barely finished half my plate. We spent the night talking, playing BO2, and watching our dorky TV shows (I can't remember what was on last . . . Alphas or Firefly).


   Today has just been a normal day. Our a/c is not working well so it's been a not-so-lovely 80 degrees inside. We were gonna go to the $2 movie this morning but the kids ACTUALLY slept past 7 am for once so we didn't even try. I'm not sure what else we'll do this week. We're still deciding whether to go over to Veteran's Park tomorrow for their fireworks since N is so distraught by them. We'll see . . . . Hopefully this weekend we will make it to the Monsters U/Man of Steel showings at the drive-in!

    I guess it's sort of our staycation. We haven't been on a true vacation since we got married (not even a honeymoon, ha) aside from trips to see family so it's kind of nice to take some time to relax. I'm sure we'll make it to the library, the pool, and the park some more this week as well.


Recently, we brought the ipads back out (they were put away for a few weeks) and I have discovered some really great new kid's apps. I've also had some really great money-saving sites shared with me recently so I'll share those soon as well!
   

Go to the Library

FYI, if you're ever looking for something free and fun for your littles check out the local libraries!! I always forget how much there is for kids to do.

Rogers Public Library and Springdale Public Library have lots of reading and craft events for all ages (babies and toddlers up to teens).  They also have storytimes for families in English AND in Spanish.

Bentonville Library has come a long way since opening not quite 2 years ago. They host several clubs like Kid's Chess in addition to storytimes and group lessons or workshops.

The Fayetteville Library makes these others feel teeny tiny. They have almost every service imaginable (for a library). They even have a game center (think xbox) which I personally think is absurd but whatever. There are LOTS of resources available here for studying, learning, researching, or socializing.

We just got back from the library in Rogers last night. I have to recommend these cute books:

All of the books about Olivia (a very prissy, sometimes mischievous little pig) are adorable. My almost older toddler absolutely adores this character. That may be because she is the real life Olivia. ha!

This is one of those sweet, simple books with a key message: people (ooor . . . animals) that are different can be the best people. Differences are good, not bad! I've rented this one so many times I don't know why I haven't just bought it yet (maybe because we all ready have over 300 kid's books, maybe)

This is a very colorful book. I had to read it slowly so my littles could soak in all the beautiful imagery. The story seems silly at first but in the end it follows these seven sisters through an adventure where each one uses their particular talent or strength to make it through a bad situation. These are exactly the kinds of books I look for to read to my girls. It shows how every single person (sisters, as the case may be) is unique and important. They get a sweet seed planted in their minds  and a tiny taste of another world all at the same time.  Definitely look for this one! 

Oh Hai!

I'm a semi-crunchy Mama of two, 18 month old N and newborn E, living in NWA (Northwest Arkansas). I've lived in the area since 2008 and despite making other plans it's looking like my husband and I will be here for at least a few more years! I'm on a mission to discover all the fun things this area has to offer for us. Come back soon to hear about our experiences as we explore. You'll probably find other mommy stuff on here too, like a post I'm working on about baby-wearing, tips on places you can feel comfortable breastfeeding in public, and info on some of my favorite places to shop for kid stuff around here!

Three places/events we hope to attend in the upcoming fall/harvest season:

Ozark Corn Maze

Farmland Adventures

10th Annual Trick-or-Treat on the Square

More to come soon!