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Library Books

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

I am going to say book a lot in this post, but that’s because my kids and I love books. But the library offers more than just books. There are documentaries, and often times workbooks and other curricula materials for borrowing. Homeschooling from the library could be just what you homeschool budget needs.

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

We are big fans of the library, if I can get a book from the library for myself, or for my kids, that is what I am going to do. I very rarely buy new books and just as rarely buy used books for our homeschool.

Pros of Homeschooling from the Library

Let’s start with the fact that borrowing books of any kind is going to be cheaper than buying, as long as you don’t lose or damage a book causing a fine.

You don’t have to have a lot of storage space in your home to store it all. Books for a curriculum can, and do, take up a lot space. Our books for the Level 1 BookShark curriculum we have used filled a cube on our storage shelf with books layered and piled in. I don’t have a lot of space for all the books.

If a book doesn’t live up to the hype you have heard from other homeschoolers, then you can return it, no harm no foul.

You can easily jump from topic to topic as your child’s interest change. This is a great way to school interesting and exciting for your kids too. Let them pick out books on a certain topic that interest them.

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

Cons of Homeschooling from the Library

The biggest problem with homeschooling strictly from the library is that the book you want, the book you need, may not be there. The library may not own it.

The books you want and may need may be checked out and may have long long waiting list.

Due dates and loan times may not work for you. Some libraries offer longer loan times for homeschoolers which can be extremely useful.

Are you going to be able to change your plans, or topic if that happens to you? Do you have a back up plan?

Planning for Homeschooling from the Library

If you are a planner and have a back up plan for when a book you need is unavailable then you are ahead of the game. But, you need to watch out of fines. Late fines for, obviously, returning materials late. But also fine for damage caused to materials or for lost materials.

Where to Find Books Online With Libraries Closed

How can You Plan to Homeschool from the Library?

Plan ahead. Have a couple different topics planned out that you can cover depending on when you are able to get books from the library.

What if a book just isn’t going to be available for from the library? The question is, do you really need it? Are you able to get and use a different book instead? If no, I look for used on Amazon and Amazon’s Warehouse Deals or used books. There is also the option of looking for a Kindle version which is often times cheaper, and you don’t have to store it.

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Recommended Products for Homeschooling

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How to Start Homeschooling Mid-Year

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Filed Under: Books, Books for Homeschoolers, Homeschool, Homeschool Helps Tagged With: homeschool budget, Library Books

Should You Buy that Book for Your Homeschool Library

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

Buying a book for your homeschool can be hard decision, especially when you’re a homeschool mom that just loves books. What makes a book special enough to take a place on your shelf? Only buy books for your homeschool library that are worth the bookshelf space.

Should You Buy that Book for Your Homeschool Library?

Should You Buy that Book for Your Homeschool Library?

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

Here are some things to think about when you trying to decide whether or not you want to buy a book or just borrow it from the library. I know I am not the only homeschool who utilizes the library but also has overflowing bookshelves.

When to Buy Books for Your Homeschool Library

When you repeatedly borrow a book from the library, and you hate when you have to return it? That is a sign to buy the book. You can make it gift for a birthday, Christmas, or other occasion.

Buy the book if it is going to be a big part of your homeschool, for example, we own books about Canada instead of borrowing. If the book is going to be a spine of your homeschool lessons, buy it.

Educational non-fiction like encyclopedias, histories, atlases, and dictionaries will be used day by day by all ages, are worth buying.

Buy when you find a great deal on books you know you will enjoy and use. These would be books that are cheaper than paying late fees and can be resold if you don’t like them or find that you need the extra book shelf space. You can find them…

Where to Buy Books for Your Homeschool Library

There is no need to spend your homeschool budget only on books, though there is definitely nothing wrong with that to me. There are great ways to save when buying:

  • garage/yard sales
  • books store sales
  • library book sales – our favorite
  • Amazon used books
  • Thriftbooks – I haven’t used this site yet as I just discovered it but have heard great things about it from other homeschoolers
View this post on Instagram

Her happy place, in a corner of a library. . . . #homeschoollife #homeschool

A post shared by Ashley (@forgetfulmomma) on Sep 10, 2020 at 9:06am PDT

When to Borrow Books for Your Homeschool

There is no need to buy every book you want or need for your curriculum. When using a boxed curriculum for your child you may be temped to buy all the novels/books with your curriculum. BUT, buying the instruction manuals and workbooks and borrow the books from your local library will be better for your budget and storage space. And your child might not be interested in reading the books the first time, let alone again.

My kids read a lot, there is no way I could buy, and store all the books they go through. The library is our storage place if you will.

If there is a topic that your child has taken a sudden interest in, borrow books on that topic. They may jump to a new topic quickly.

Similar posts that you may be interested in:

Managing Your Library Books and Fines
Managing your library fines
100 Reasons to Have A Library Card
100 Reasons to Have A Library Card

Filed Under: Books, Books for Homeschoolers, Homeschool, Homeschool Helps Tagged With: buying books, homeschool library, Library Books, used books

The Best Library Books About Going to the Library

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

Books are some of our favorite things in the Mullen household. Trips to the library are weekly or multiple times per week, sometimes even multiple trips in one day. On our trips we have found the best books on going to the library for kids. The best books are the fun ones that keep your kids guessing on what is going to happen next.

The Best Library Books About Going to the Library

The Best Library Books About Going to the Library

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Library Lion – Miss Merriweather is very particular about rules in the library. No running allowed. And you must be quiet. But when a lion comes to the library one day, no one is sure what to do. 

Library Mouse – Sam is a mouse who lives in a library. He loves to read all kinds of books and he learns that he also loves to make up and write his own stories. There are a number of these awesome books from Sam to check out.

The Library Gingerbread Man – The Gingerbread Man, who lives at 398.2 on the library shelves, decides to escape and leads the librarian on a chase throughout the library.

View this post on Instagram

I opened the bookshelve up to see this dinosaur just chillin' and holding the books in place. That is all. Nothing to see here. . . . #books #dinosaur

A post shared by Ashley (@forgetfulmomma) on Oct 10, 2019 at 5:12am PDT

The Berenstain Bears: We Love the Library – The Berenstain Bears are always checking out books about outer space, medieval knights, cute animals, and more at the library. But then one day, the family finds out the library may be shutting down forever. 

Lost in the Library – The two lion statues that faithfully guard the New York Public Library. When Patience goes missing, Fortitude realizes the secret to Patience’s disappearance may be within the Library itself.

No T. Rex in the Library – It’s a quiet morning in the library until a little girl roars out of control! Tess resigns herself to a time-out, but finds that she must be the one who has to maintain order when T. Rex leaps from the pages of a book into real life.

Make Your Own Comic Book – Comic Book Pages

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Library Day – One day, a young boy visits the library for the very first time. While he’s there he listens to stories, reads books and magazines, and learns that there are also movies, crafts, chess, and puppet shows—something for everyone!

The Library Book – What’s the best way to cure a gloomy day? A trip to the library!

The Secret Life of Library Books – Mrs. Davis, the Robinson Elementary School librarian, always looked forward to seeing her books after the summer break. But who sent the stack of letters she found on her desk?

Library Lily – Lily loves to read. She is fascinated by the stories in her books, and reads wherever she goes―through summer, autumn, winter, and spring. But one day, Lily meets a girl who hates reading.

View this post on Instagram

Library takeover. 2nd day of homeschooling 2019/2020 . . . #backtohomescho #library #mullenhomeschool2019

A post shared by Ashley (@forgetfulmomma) on Sep 4, 2019 at 5:06pm PDT

This was one of our favorite read alouds/audiobooks of the year, a bonus book that wasn’t in our curriculum:

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library – When Kyle learns that the world’s most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town’s new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, he’s determined to be there!

Recommended Products for Going to the Library

Similar posts that you may be interested in:

The Library: A Homeschool Family's Must Have

The Library: A Homeschool Family’s Must Have

Managing Your Library Books and Fines

Managing Your Library Books and Fines

The Best Library Books About Going to the

Filed Under: Books, Books for Kids Tagged With: Book, book recommendations, Books for Homeschoolers, books for kids, Library Books

Managing Your Library Books and Fines

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

We are big fans of the public library system. We are avid readers and books can be pricey unless you go to the library. All the books you could ever want to read are available for you to read and enjoy. For free, unless, you aren’t managing your library books and fines properly.

Managing Your Library Books and Fines

Managing Your Library Books and Fines

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Homeschoolers tend to have quite the impressive home library but you can’t buy, and store all the books, which makes homeschoolers faithful library patrons as well. No matter the curriculum you choose, you are always going to be looking for more books, more information on any given topic.

According to my check out receipt from our latest trip to the library so far this year I have saved $2,164.17 by using the library. It’s only the middle of February.

Keep Fines at Bay with A Designated Book Spot

Prevent lost books by keeping them stored in one spot. I started this a couple years ago and it has saved us. One bookshelf is only for library books. We have cut back on the lost books this way too. I’m not stuck spending hours turning the house upside down looking for a book.

For awhile we used a cube organizer to do the job, each child had their own cube for their books, but with rearranging and listing our home, we have switched things up a bit.


Using a library bag to bring your books home in as your way to keep all your books together in one spot might work well too, as long as you only use that bag for trips to the library. This bag is super cute, and obviously a library bag:

Managing your library books and fines

Sign Up for Alerts

Our library gives you the option of email notifications or text messages. I signed up for text messages. I am not great at checking my personal email often, so those reminders to my phone save us on fines.

It also alerts us to when our requests have arrived. These days make us very happy!

One Library Card

My two girls both have library cards, but I don’t let them use them. Why? Because it makes it a lot harder to keep track of the books and the books that are due back. That then results in library fines. Now we only use one card for the whole family.

We have a check out limit of 100 items, we have reached it a few times. This helps keep us from getting too many books and losing them as well.

Managing Your Library Books and Fines

Similar posts that you may be interested in:

The Library: A Homeschool Family's Must Have

The Library: A Homeschool Family’s Must Have

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Quiet Ways to Enjoy the Library with Kids

Filed Under: Books, Books for Homeschoolers Tagged With: Library Books, library Fines

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A Little About Me

I'm Ashley, a Canadian secular homeschool mom of 3, living in Nova Scotia.

I share our adventures in homeschooling and parenting.

You can usually find us at the library surrounded by books.
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