Use it and enjoy it

That's the local library I'm talking about.

There a many free programs at our library for kids of all ages. I just signed my daughter up for storytime and we plan to go to playgroup there this fall, too. All free of charge.

I also have been looking for more information on a milk-free diet for my daughter due to a milk allergy. The Internet has almost too much information and it's hard to sort through it (and feel that I'm getting accurate information). I recently checked out many books -- mostly cookbooks. Again free information.

Because most libraries are now connected with several in an area, the selection of materials has grown immensely. I have found that I can request a book now at home and pick it up at my convenience when it is available. How simple is that? Placing holds has never been so easy. I don't need to wait for it to come back and hope I can get it or run to the library to put a hold on a book. Another great free service.

Our library also has many programs for adults, such as book clubs. If you need a little time away, that's always another option.

And of course, we borrow tons of DVDs at the library. Why pay for something if you don't have to?

Use your library and enjoy it often!

OOMPA

A dear friend of mine sent a gift card for http://www.oompa.com/ for my daughter's birthday. I couldn't believe the selection of different and educational toys. They are a bit pricey, but I had the gift card so I didn't look at price too much. We purchased this yesterday around noon and I got it today UPS at 3:30 p.m. Wow, great turn-around time. I ordered some books from http://www.amazon.com/ almost three weeks ago and still haven't got them. I think they shipped yesterday, too. I vote "hooray" for Oompa and "come on" for Amazon.

Thrift Books

This website http://thriftbooks.com/ has used books very cheap -- some as cheap as 1 cent.

The catch is that you need to pay shipping for each individual book. First book is $3.95 and each additional (of the same order) is $3.49. But that's still a deal if you are looking for a certain book and can't find it anywhere else for a good price. Used is as good as new when it comes to books, unless they are written on or stained.

Favorite Kid's Books

Most of my favorite books right now are pre-school/kindergarten books. Here are some:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

The Napping House

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you See?

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Blueberries for Sal

Millie's Secret

Of course, I have lots more to share. This is what I have time to add today. Hope you find one or two you enjoy.

Catalog books

The teacher in me searches for children's books wherever I go. I love hitting up garage sales for books (and toys) and Goodwill always has popular, barely used books. I just can't imagine spending $17 for a book when I can get it for under $1 most of the time.

I recently looked around and realized I didn't even know what books I had anymore. I knew I had been collecting books I had read to kids, popular books and books that looked interesting. But I had no way of knowing what types I owned or if I was buying duplicates. Duplicates would be fine for teaching but I had no idea which ones I had. So I decided I wanted to catalog my books.

I found this site http://www.librarything.com/ and it worked really well. All I had to do was enter the title, then the site searched for the book on Amazon. I clicked on my book and then it was entered into my library. I also put tags on the books such as, winter, teeth, bears, mice. This will be useful for teaching. The first 200 books are free to add (I entered 167 books). Then you can pay a fee. My husband said it's a beta website so it might not be around forever. So I concluded for now not to pay anything.

It gave me an easy way to see what books I have. I printed it out, so if I do find another option (such as using Excel) I can easily enter the data.