Sunday, February 02, 2020

Repost: Homeschooling on a Budget: The Library Part Two

Last week I talked about the library and many of the wonderful resources there.  But I did not get a chance to share about the wonderful relationship I have cultivated with our librarian, and she has helped us to home educate.



My wonderful Children's Librarian is Amy.  Amy is so nice and helpful.  Like most librarians, she helps us find books, she helps me search shelves for books I say have been returned and are still on my card, and is always excited to see my children.  I also find her an excellent resource on all things library.  She helps me use databases from the library, tells me of resources in the library, and is generally interested in my kids' learning.  She has shown me a library resource to help students prepare for the PSAT, ACT, SAT, and AP tests.  Things that would have taken me much longer to find on my own if I even found them.

But the best thing is the awesome homeschool programs she now plans.  Our library has many programs and they were usually scheduled around school kids schedules.  One day I asked Amy if she would be willing to schedule library programs during the day for homeschoolers.  She was like "during the day?"   I said yes I think they would come. . . if you program they will come!  She decided to give it a try and it worked.  The best part was she asked me what kind of presentations I would like and she goes about finding them.  She has had a coin collector come and talk about history, a park ranger with animals from the park, science programs, recycling programs, chemistry programs, the Japanese society, and one on internet safety.  She is open to anything.  So many wonderful free opportunities for my students.  I suggest things and she does the leg work.  I advertise to our local group and most people are excited to come.  What is there not to like about a free library program?  I am glad I reached out to her and asked.

How has your librarian helped you?  What unusual resources have you discovered at you library?
I believe every home educator should make the librarian their best friend.



~Becky

4 comments:

  1. Wow and Oh my goodness, this is wonderful information Becky...I would have never guessed that our Librarian could possibly be a help to us in this fashion!


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  2. So cool! It's a wonderful resource! I love our library! We have a homeschool book group that meets one Friday a month. The children are given a subject to read about and then they do a short presentation on the book they read or the subject. My 11 yr old daughter with learning delays fits right in as it is for all ages. The children learn public speaking skills, and how to listen to others along with the socialization. We absolutely love it! I will have to inquire if we might have special groups come in to present to us also, that would be so neat! Our librarians are so helpful, and we often go to the library to do our homework lessons.

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  3. You are most welcome Livin Life! I never cease to be amazed at all the library has to offer. Taking the time to ask only leads to good things.

    I love the idea of a homeschool book group! What a fabulous opportunity for your student, Lori! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment.

    Loved hearing from both of you!!

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  4. I have loved these posts on the use of the library. A few days after this post, I went to the Lane Library and instead of looking up a book on the online catalog, I walked up to the librarian and asked where the book was. She knew where it was on the shelf without looking it up. She then proceeded to show me how to use some of their online sources. She was as amazing as you said she would be!!

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