Going To The Library

It feels like such a long time ago since reading a story at bedtime felt like a chore. I never used to see the importance of books despite my own love for reading and writing. But I also experienced mum guilt surrounding the topic of bedtime story time and eventually I made it part of our routine.

I don’t feel like it’s such a burden to pick up a book and read for my girls. They adore those minutes of peace and it’s been a really good way to settle them down for sleep too. I like to think we have a relatively decent selection of children’s books but when you are reading two books a night, you begin to read them several times and can get quite bored.

This is what happened and one evening P2 looked up at me so innocently, saying “I’m bored of that book, can we buy some more?” I felt a bit sad because books are actually quite expensive and buying one or two new ones would entertain for just one or two nights. Plus, we definitely do not have the shelf space for anymore books!

Then I had a sudden realisation – the library! I spent many hours in my hometown library growing up, whether that was was my family or by myself researching for homework. I loved books growing up. I had signed up for our local library when we first moved to the area but hadn’t really visited. I even had to get new cards and sign P3 up, that’s how long it’s been. 

The girls seemed really excited by our little trip. I’d picked P2 up from nursery and headed there. Libraries seem to have really modernised with technology and it makes the experience much easier. I remember the times when I would be waiting for ages for the librarian to manually stamp each book. 

We’ve agreed to go each week now and so far we have stuck to it. On our first visit we borrowed twenty books which is roughly two books a night for one week. Then the next week we got twenty-one and the following, a whopping twenty-six! The girls just absolutely adore reading new books each night and getting different perspectives.

I can’t wait for this to become part of our routine and lives. Maybe it’ll make them super intelligent and fantastic readers. I might even get the chance to pick up a few books for myself one day. Do you visit your library? How many books do you borrow each time?