Your own little free library for book exchanges

Your own little free library for book exchanges

Books, books, and more books! Personally, I just can’t get enough! I’m happy to say that my children have inherited my love for books. I love walking up and down the aisles of my local book store and flipping through the pages of everything I can get my hands on. However, books can be quite expensive and once you have read them, they often sit on a bookshelf never to be explored again. Luckily, children’s books tend to be manipulated time and time again. Nonetheless, once children have looked at the same books many times, they slowly become less popular. They end up being replaced by new books that pop up in your reading corner.

A local organization has set up a book exchange system for children. The idea is quite simple: you must bring a book, but you can trade it for a new one. What a great system for breathing new life into books! Can it be adapted to a daycare setting? Of course!

If you would like to set up a similar system within your daycare, it’s quite easy to do! Create your own book exchange system with the participation of the children in your group and their parents.

Step 1: Create an attractive box that will be used to collect books. Decorate the box with the children in your group and set it next to your daycare entrance. To begin, set a few books inside the box.

Step 2: Explain the concept to your group and children’s parents. You can choose to use the box solely for the exchange of children’s books or, if you prefer, you can integrate reading material for parents too. It’s up to you! The whole idea is very simple. Children bring a book to daycare, set it in the box, and select another one.

I love this concept. Know that your little free library may take some time to get started. Rest assured, once children understand how it represents an endless source of new books, they will keep coming back for more!

Happy reading!