How the Library Aids Your Child's Education

Ah the library, full of ink and paper and the coveted silence - it is what I look forward to every week. I love to read but don't always make the time to do it. Checking out a library book gives me incentive to do so because it has to be returned at a certain time. It's like working under pressure under which I thrive. I guess it only makes sense that because I love it so much that I would take my children to visit with me hoping that they too will develop a hunger for a good book.

I started taking my kids to the library as babies. They had a listeners program where they read stories, put on puppet shows, played games, and sang songs with finger play. My girls loved it and while we were there I would pick up some listener books to read to them through the week. After they grew into toddlers, they continued to go but to a more elevated group where they also began to include crafts and group participation. The girls loved it so much that they would get upset if we missed going one week. I mean I would hear about it!

Now you may be asking, what does all this have to do with my child's education? The answer is everything. Literacy is the cornerstone of all other learning. If a child cannot say their ABC's or doesn't know the sounds for the letters, they will struggle in Kindergarten. If they do not want to practice these fundamentals or read their materials from school, they will struggle through the first grade and so on and so forth. This is purely on a fundamental level but what I am talking about is fostering a love for reading.

As a result of my efforts, my children love books. Whether they are non-fiction or fiction books, at age 7 and 5 they love be read to and to read. My baby wants to read so badly it hurts. Reading and the love of reading begins to feed a hunger for knowledge. It also causes a parent to be besieged with constant questions of how, what, and why but this is a small price to pay to expand your child's intelligence. Whether we are Mensa material or not, we all have the opportunity to maximize our potential through the art of words.

Reading not only entertains but teaches children: math, science, reasoning skills, social skills, values, morals, creativity and how to use their imagination. Reading provides the avenue for all other learning. If your child does not learn to love to read, they will inevitably struggle through school.

So what is the moral to this tale you may wonder? If you don't go to the library, you are wasting your tax dollars and stifling your children's intellectual potential. I slightly jest, however, not taking the kids to the library is cheating yourself and your children of a free opportunity to fall in love with books and in turn with learning and, most importantly, you will miss out on having a few minutes of silence (bliss- pure bliss).