Helpful Mom

I love to take our girls to the library.  Obviously if you know anything about me you know that I love to read.  I’m usually in the middle of 3 or 4 books at once, and working my way through various magazines.  Pastor Mike says a reader is a leader, anything you want to do you can if you are a reader.  If you can read you can always read up on whatever it is that you want to do.  Thus my voracious reading of parenting books, I want to be the best mom I can be.

Anyways today I took them to the Brighton library, which is my favorite to take them to.  They have

Brighton Library Discovery Room

a whole wing dedicated to children, that’s off by itself so you don’t feel like you have to whisper the whole time.  The librarian is friendly and knowledgeable, and willing to find your request for you while you play with your kids.  They have a Thomas the Tank Engine set and rocking chairs for the watching parents.  There are bean bags and child sized table sets for kids to read at.  And our favorite thing about the Brighton library is the Discovery room.  If you go through the kids room all the way to the back you find a whole room designed for toddlers through 3rd graders.

It’s decorated like a garden, murals on the wall, fencing all around the room, there’s even a tree in the room with birds.  It is chock full of toys and activities that can keep your kids entertained for a very long time.  There is a stage with dress up clothes, and puppets to put on a show.  Magnetic board for letters, and flannel board, trucks and car garage.  Bins full of dinosaurs, and farms with animals.  In addition there are two computers with age appropriate learning games, and a desk supplied with paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils, stencils, and ink pads and stamps.

And of course one of the main reasons to go to a library is the ability to borrow books for free.  I can remember as a kid, my mom found there was no limit to how many you could borrow so each child would get a box to fill.  Well we haven’t gotten there yet but the kids do love being able to pick any books they like to take home with them.  And for a long time Katrina thought we were buying them because my library card looked like a credit card to her.  But not only do they have books, but also VHS and DVDs, books on tape or CD, homeschooling resources.  The Penfield library even has leapfrog books and cartridges that you can borrow, and Hooked on Phonics resources!

So when it’s cold and snowing, the library is a great place to visit and you get to bring the fun home with you.