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Home » Reading Ideas » Reading Fun » 5 Ideas for Organizing Books To Promote Toddler Interaction

5 Ideas for Organizing Books To Promote Toddler Interaction

January 7, 2013 •

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How many of us made a resolution to become more organized? I must say that I love to organize. My family will tell you that at one of my childhood birthday parties, I had the thank you notes written before the guests arrived!

So, I got to thinking. How is my home organized to promote reading? Here is a look at how I’ve organized things for my boys (9 months and 2 years) to interact with reading material throughout the day.

Ideas for Organizing Books

1. Make books accessible every place the kids will be throughout the day.

Every room we are in during the day has books available. Yes, even the bathroom!  Athough my boys are still in diapers, we all know moms seldom get to use the restroom in peace. It’s nice to have some books to occupy the little ones whilethey wait. We even have books for the bathtub! You want the books to be within reach for your toddlers so they don’t try to climb the shelving to get a favorite book.

2. Make “homes” for the books.

Ok, my 9 month old’s favorite thing to do right now is to pull everything off shelves and out of drawers. However, at periodic times throughout the day, we put everything back in it’s home. Every room that has books, has a book home. Each of the boys’ rooms has a bookshelf. I highly recommend a bookshelf with a back. Other rooms have baskets or a designated spot to stack books.

 

A back on the bookshelf is important.

At this time, most of our books are board books. Other than having a spot to be placed, that is the extent of how they are sorted. When my kids get older, we will utilize a few other organizational tools. I’ll be sure to share those ideas too.

3. Rotate your collection.

We have lots of books that I have collected over the years. (If you are looking to increase your book collection, you might enjoy the post I did last year on building a library on a tight budget.) Too many books out leads to a mess. I store seasonal books in my office. I took diaper wipe boxes and cut out one of the short sides. Then I covered the box with seasonal wrapping paper. Finally, I taped all the edges with colored masking tape. Clear packing tape would work too. These work really well for me since my office shelves don’t have a solid surface.

 

Turn a diaper wipe box into a seasonal book holder!

4. Designate a place for public library books.

With a new library card in hand, we now make lots of trips to the library. We keep a canvas bag in our coat closet to transport books back and forth. At home, we have a special basket that these books can call home. It really helps to keep the library books separated from your other books so that you can find them easily when it’s time to return them.

5. Create a book ambulance.

No matter how careful kids are with books, you will have tears from time to time. Create a book ambulance to store these books until you get time to repair them.

 

I hope these five tips help you create a house full of books for your kids. Do you have a book organizational tip that works well for your family or your classroom? Please share your ideas in the comments.

Please see the linky party directory at the bottom of the page to see where this post has been linked.

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Filed Under: All categories, Reading Fun Tagged With: books and toddlers, organizing for readers, setting up your house for readers

About Jodie Rodriguez

Jodie Rodriguez is a mom of two young boys and an early childhood/elementary educator with over 20 years of experience. Jodie's passion is helping parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else interested in nurturing and reaching ALL of our youngest growing readers.

Comments

  1. Stacy @ Home Key Organization says

    March 9, 2013 at 9:54 pm

    I LOVE this post! I often tell my clients to keep books accessible, and in baskets on the floor. In baskets they are easier to clean up and not as overwhelming. And having a spot for library books is essential!

  2. Beth says

    January 23, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    Love the kids chair. Who wouldn’t want to kick back & read there =-) Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Have a great week…. see you again Friday!
    Beth =-)

  3. Kerry @ Climaco Classroom says

    January 23, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    Thank you for sharing these fantastic ideas! I recently discovered your blog and can’t wait to read more!

    • Jodie says

      January 25, 2013 at 3:20 pm

      Welcome!

  4. Our Learning says

    January 13, 2013 at 1:42 pm

    What great ideas! We also keep a bag of books for the car. It’s nice to have books to read in the car plus they’re easy to grab if we end up having to wait somewhere.

    • Jodie says

      January 13, 2013 at 3:30 pm

      I agree that keeping books in the car is essential!

  5. Literacy and Trade Books says

    January 12, 2013 at 8:21 am

    What a great post! My aunt just gave me a new bookshelf for my daughter. I plan on rotating different themes in and out, just like the library and book stores. Thanks for sharing.

    • Jodie says

      January 12, 2013 at 8:35 am

      That’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

  6. maryanne @ mama smiles says

    January 9, 2013 at 2:36 pm

    I adore your book ambulance idea – I definitely need to incorporate that into our home!

  7. thebargainbabe says

    January 8, 2013 at 9:16 pm

    great ideas, I especially love the pint size chair. 🙂

    • Jodie says

      January 10, 2013 at 8:46 pm

      Thank you. My mom made that chair for my oldest son and he loves it.

  8. Erica @What Do We Do All Day? says

    January 8, 2013 at 5:30 pm

    I love the idea of a book ambulance! Thanks for sharing at The Children’s Bookshelf.

Trackbacks

  1. Children's Literacy and Reading News Jan 2013 ▪ Family Bookshelf says:
    April 12, 2013 at 6:07 pm

    […] Book by Book has a lovely article with 5 Ideas for Organizing Books To Promote Toddler Interaction. It starts with the question How many of us made a resolution to become more organized? Then offers […]

  2. Show-and-Share Saturday Link Up! - I Can Teach My Child! says:
    January 12, 2013 at 7:46 am

    […] Mud Kitchen (using recycled materials and chalkboard paint) from Adventures at Home with Mum.Growing Book by Book shared 5 Ideas for Organizing Books to Promote Toddler Interaction.Have an idea or activity to […]

  3. Play, Craft, Parenting, Food and Technology with the Kids Co-Op | Octavia and Vicky says:
    January 9, 2013 at 1:33 pm

    […] ideas for organising toddler books by Growing Book by […]

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