Teaching Responsibility with a Library Card {Plus a Dollar Tree Lanyard Craft!}

Welcome to Day FIVE of Spring Break everyone!  Anyone going loco yet?!  We had half days last week, so I'm straight up out of fun activities to do with the kiddos.  The rain doesn't help.  In a dream world, we would have sunny skies and the kids could run outside to their heart's content.  Nope.  No zoo. No bikes. Whommmp whoomp.



I promised the girls that they would get their own library card when they were officially reading. They have been talking about this big event for months now and I knew I had to make it special. Aside from the fun aspect of this momentous event, I realized it's a great time to teach some life lessons as well.  You know, go all Danny Tanner about it.  With a library card comes great responsibility, which is a great lesson to teach kindergarteners. You can point out how everything is in alphabetical order, with numbers on it.  Do you remember when you first started going to the library? Wasn't the card catalogue the best thing ever?  I miss those days, sometimes!

We set some ground rules:

1. Only 5 books, movies or CDs can be checked out at a time.  
2. If the book is late or lost, the girls will pay the fines out of their allowance.  (We have a $1 per week allowance we just started for the twins). 
3. If a book is damaged, the library card goes away for a month...plus they will pay the fines.

To make the trip extra exciting, I planned a tour of the different sections in the kid's department and a lanyard craft.  Before the library, I got the forms we needed to fill out and they wrote their names. Next was a trip to the Dollar Tree for craft supplies.  Isn't the Dollar Tree the best place ever to take kids? 

When looking at books, I showed them how to put their finger on the shelf to keep tabs on where it came from.  The non-fiction area was most exciting for the girls since they have been quite inquisitive lately.  Olivia spent most of her time in the animal section, while Maddie was obsessed with the craft books.  (Meanwhile, Gabby was playing with the train nearby with her new "best friend")

During checkout, I let them each use the computer by themselves.  They have to remember their special code and print off a receipt with the due date.  I made sure to emphasize how important it was to keep track of their cards and never let anyone else use it.  At the Dollar Tree earlier this year, I bought them a special calendar to keep track of days--when we got home, we wrote the due date on that calendar.

Library Lanyard Craft
Everything is available at the Dollar Tree.  It's not just for girls, either! I did see a different lanyard craft to make with duct tape, but I figured that would be too complicated for us. Gabby didn't get a library card yet, but she did make a necklace with her sisters!
Here's what you need:

• Elastic
• Plastic Beads
• Alphabet Beads for names
• Key Ring
• Library Card (with a small hole punch in the corner)

There really aren't any instructions for this, but I do want to give one tip: make the elastic a bit longer than you think and tie a loop for the key ring BEFORE beads go on. 

By the end of the day, the girls had smiles on their faces and Olivia declared it was the "BEST DAY EVER".  I love to have fun experiences like this with my kids--they learned quite a bit AND it was basically free, aside from the $5 spent at the Dollar Tree.  The library will always be a special place for us to go and we're super excited there will be a farmer's market there this summer!

Don't forget, the library has fun for adults too!

• Free eBooks.  No need to leave the house, browse online at your library's eBook selection.  Not sure how it works? Ask your librarian next visit! You can use your Kindle or download the Kindle app on your iPad or other device.  Nook books are available too!
• Movies. When I know a movie I want to see is coming out on DVD, I place a hold online for it at the library. Forget Redbox when you get a movie for FREE and for 7 Days! Our library has TV series for 3 weeks--perfect time to binge a season.
• CDs/Books on Tape. If you travel by car a lot, get some audiobooks or new music to sing to!
• Classes and Events. I'm always impressed when I see how much the library offers. Be sure to check your local events calendar! Many libraries offer computer classes and more!

What's your first memory of the library?