We use a very literature heavy curriculum and while I do pick up a lot of the readers we need at book sales or online, there are usually several titles each year that I borrow from the library. This helps save us some money.
We rely heavily on the library for leisure reading books for the kids. My eight year old is a voracious reader, so it is great to be able to borrow enough books to keep her busy for a week or two and then trade those in for new books. The same is true of picture books for our five year old. I think this is more for my sanity that for his sake - one can only read "Stop That Ball" so many times before a little madness sets in. We have a great time discovering new favorites and checking out old friends. And when we pick out a book that we don't enjoy it is easy enough to return it to the library.
We also use the library for research projects. It is often difficult to find enough information on the internet written at a level a third or fourth grade level. But the library has plenty of books on most topics written specifically for children. Often we do our initial research on the library website, looking up suitable books and reserving them online. Then we go to the library to pick up the books we have reserved and to consult the encyclopedias or magazines that we cannot check out.
In addition to books, our library also has a nice selection of movies and music. I like that we can pick up a few videos for the kids to supplement our own collection. They have episodes from popular children's shows - we particularly like the Magic School Bus. They also have a pretty good selection of older movies, BBC films and book adaptations - Pride and Prejudice, Swiss Family Robinson, the Railway Children. We get science movies from time to time to go along with our studies as well.
As for music, the library is a great way to expose your students to different types of music without purchasing a whole collection. Last summer, for example, we checked out a CD of the Boston Pops 4th of July music and had a marvelous time marching around the house to patriotic music. There are many other classical collections available by composer, by theme and by performer.
In addition to books, music and movies, the library has many other great resources. It is a great place to find all kind of activities. This summer our library has a reading programs for toddles to teens. Each child gets a medal for reading a certain number of books as well as other goodies. Most libraries also have story hours and crafts available at various times as well as book discussions and other activities for teens. Check with your librarian for a complete list, or check out the events page of the library's website.
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