by Susan Carroll
Updated from a post originally published in January 2019

The new year always brings a newfound energy to organize and purge our homes. If you know me, you know I’m in favor of organizing. I love a quiet afternoon with just me, some bins, and a label maker. One look at the resource room at the preschool, and you can tell how much our staff loves to label and organize our materials. We fully support a good purging of “stuff” too.

When decluttering our spaces, many people turn to organizational gurus such as Marie Kondo and her Kon Mari method of tidying up. Her suggestions have people purging their closets and folding their clothes in an effort to declutter their homes. Of course, even Marie admitted recently that she has “given up” on a tidy house in favor of spending time with her children. While I admire her organizational style, and affection for her family, the problem I have with Marie Kondo’s method is when she talks about books. Like most book lovers, I bristled when I heard her suggest that people should keep their book collection down to about 30 books. While she is in favor of people reading, she feels that more books create clutter.

But 30 BOOKS? Really? This made me curious what 30 books looks like, so I counted the books on my bookshelf at home. 30 books is ONE bookshelf. Just one! Considering we have bookcases in every room of our house, it made me wonder how many books we have. It turns out my eleven-year-old has 33 books in his room. Sorry, I typed that wrong. He has 233 books in his room. After counting the books in each of my children’s rooms, the bookcases in our living room, dining room, playroom and basement, the stack on my nightstand and desk, and the bins of “out-of-rotation” books in my storage closet, the grand total is 1,650 books!

Okay, maybe that is too many books.

Obviously, we are a family that loves books. I have three children, each with a temperament and learning style that is different from each other, but what they all have in common is a love of reading. In fact, our number of books can be considered a personal library.  Sure, the vast number of books in our home isn’t the only reason my children enjoy reading, but the fact that we value books, and a love of reading is certainly a factor.

Having a large home library is beneficial to children. While you certainly don’t need to have a thousand books in your home to create strong readers, having a lot of books and creating a literacy-rich environment does make a difference. Here are some ideas for promoting a positive reading environment in your home:

 

  • Read Early – Begin the love of reading from an early age by reading to your babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Babies and young children learn about the rhythm and rhyme of language and develop important pre-reading skills like turning pages and connecting pictures to text. Learn more about the benefits of reading to your baby here.
  • Read Every Day – Make reading a consistent part of your day. When we read to children, we support their cognitive, language, and emotional development. Research shows that reading just 15 minutes every day makes a significant impact in children’s language development and reading readiness. Most importantly, children love the connection they will have with you while you are reading. The more you read to children, the more they will develop a love of books and learning.

  • Make Reading Enjoyable – Reading time should be a time of connection and enjoyment. Refrain from overly teaching during this time. What I mean by this is asking children to constantly identify what is on the page, or drilling them on their colors, numbers, letters, etc. If children feel they will be “quizzed” every time they read with you, they will no longer be interested in reading together. Use this time to enjoy the books you are reading and talk about them in a natural way. Follow the lead of your child during this time. When they point to the pictures talk about them with them. Discuss what is happening in the story and allow your child to interrupt you to ask questions or comment on the story. Delight together in the surprises on the next page. Use silly voices as you read. Also embrace the fact that children love to hear the same books over and over. Even if you are bored of a particular book, know that the repetition of the same book is important for children.
  • Model Reading – Children need adult role models when it comes to reading. Show your children that you are a reader too (and not just on your phone). Pick up a book or magazine and model reading for pleasure. Share the excitement you have for books and learning with your children.
  • Use Printed Materials – In our increasingly digital world, children are exposed to less print that they have been in the past. Online resources and apps certainly make life easier, but we want to ensure that children have a lot of experience with written words. Go out of your way to read physical books, magazines, and even newspapers (yes, they still print those!). Write your grocery list on a piece of paper and attach it to your refrigerator. Have your child watch you cross off items on the list as you shop, or better yet, let them help you find the words on the list. Write yourself reminder notes, write cards to family members, leave love notes for your child and partner. It’s important for children to see this connection between language and the printed words.
  • Build Your Home Library – An abundance of books is important to develop literacy skills in your children. Studies indicate that literacy achievement soars when children have more than 80 books in their home. One easy way to build your home library is through our Scholastic book orders at the preschool. Thrift stores, garage sales, second-hand bookstores, and books from groups like Buy Nothing and Freecycle are also a great inexpensive way to build your home library.

Stack of books on the author’s 18-year-old son’s nightstand.

  • Go to the Public Library – If you do not already have a library card, please go out and get one! The library is a wonderful and free way to expose your child (and yourself) to countless books. We are fortunate to have two large library systems in our area: King County and Sno-Isle. The King County library system is actually one of the largest in the United States. Young children may enjoy a library story time or they may just want to check out a big bag of books to take home and read. The King County Library system also has a program called Books to Grow On that are theme kits you can borrow filled with books to read aloud, music, videos, and other materials like felt sets and puzzles on a variety of curriculum topics. They even have free passes to local parks and museums. Both library systems also have an abundance of online events available. My family enjoys the weekly trivia games sponsored by Sno-Isle libraries. Our public libraries are a rich resource to build a love of reading and learning.
  • Embrace Audio Books – Audio books are a great way for both adults and children to enjoy books. King County Library system has over 75,000 free downloadable audio books! While audio books cannot replace traditional books, they do allow children to listen to books when you are not available to read to them. I love audio books in the car or when children are having quiet time. You can find many ways to access free audio books for children here.
  • Make Books Accessible – Give your children a lot of access to books. If they are too young to be gentle on the books, give them board books and indestructible books.  Organizing your books in bins helps children find the books they need. Rather than placing them on bookshelves in a traditional fashion, try organizing them in bins with the covers facing out. This helps children find the books they want and makes putting them away easier too.

Image courtesy of Mrs. Wills Kindergarten

  • Don’t Stop Reading! – Parents often stop reading aloud to their children once their children learn to read on their own. I encourage you to read to them forever. Not only does this promote family time, but it also allows you to discuss complicated themes in books and expand children’s vocabulary. You can find great tips on how to read aloud to children at different ages here.

As writer Garrison Keillor says, “A book is a gift you can open again and again.” When you fill your home with books, you give your children the gift of learning, of discovering new worlds, and of unleashing their imaginations. Let those wonderful gifts fill your home every day.

The author’s youngest son with his usual pile of books.