How many books do you have out at anytime?

[FussyElmo]

I have been sorting toys and books out etc as Im trying to get the children to get more out of them instead of just getting them out and throwing them etc.

So how many is enough at my busiest time I could theoretically have 7 children but not all will get a book. So is 9 too many?

Interested in what you lot do

[Mouse]

Children have free access to all the books here (and that'a a lot!)

I have a small bookcase in the playroom with about 30 books on. I change the books regularly, depending on the children I have, the time of year (christmas, starting school etc) and what interests they have at the time.

We also have another box which holds the library books - usually about a dozen.

Then, the main bookcases are in the hall and children can help themselves to books from there - the lower shelves having baby/toddler books on them.

[VINASOL]

We have a small bookcase too and I have about 100 books on there and children take them as they please; they can either sit in the book corner or take them to the sofa and read.

I do ask that as soon as they look at one, it goes back and then they take another. This works fine.

[mushpea]

I have one of those folding baskets full of books in but sadly only board books because I cannot trust most of the children i have to treat them nicley and thats from the 8yrold down to the 1yrold and all ages in between not just the little ones,, I seem to have four children age between 3 and 8yrs that dont appear to have any respect for toys at the moment,, in my kitchen area we have real egg boxs (with plastic eggs) as toy props and the youngest the other day just stood there and purposley ripped it up whilst laughing!, several toys and props have got broken like this just latley so all nice things have gone and all robust things are out!
sorry I digress,, anyway to answer your question I suppose there are about 20 books in the basket

[snufflepuff]

I have an ikea expedit unit in my lounge, which is the room we use most. One 'square' of the unit is filled with books. Theres probably about 25 books, and I rotate them with others from a bookcase in my son's room which contains about 60 more books. I have loads more on a high shelf- mainly special ones or paper ones that OH and I read to DS at bedtime.

I used to have a mindee who liked to rip books so I had to make sure the books in the lounge were board books only and that my sons favourites were kept in his room.

[Chimps Childminding]

I have an Argos wooden (6 cube) storage unit. One of the bottom cubbyholes has a box full of board books. Then on top of the unit I have a bookcase which has one of the shelves half full of "paper pages" books that the older/more responsible children can reach and help themselves to. I also ask them only to get one book out at a time and put it back before getting another one!

[miffy]

I have a bookcase in my lounge which is full of the children's books and they have free access to them.

I'm in the process of going through them and getting rid of some as we've just too many - some never get read.

Miffy xx

[FussyElmo]

Interesting I was advised by my DO and EYC as an action for my accreditition to limit the amount that books that the children can access.

I used to have a bookcase but it took up too much room and then went to boxes full of them. When they last came I had a box with about 30-40 books and my EYC said that was too many and to have less and rotate more.

[Rubybubbles]

I have a box full out and 3 in the cupboard and try to rotate them

I have been looking at this though http://bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox.co.uk/ it's on my wish list!

[sarah707]

For the babies I now have about 10 in a box and rotate with another 30 or so every week.

It's working much better!

For older children I have about 15 / 20 paper books out and again rotate.

Then we have a shelf of books I use when we are reading together. Those are the nicer books... children know what's up there and will ask for different titles.

I have 3 children who tear books so I don't have the nice ones within reach at the moment.

Hth

[FussyElmo]

I have a box full out and 3 in the cupboard and try to rotate them

I have been looking at this though http://bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox.co.uk/ it's on my wish list!

Looked at one of these but its slightly too big to go in my reading corner (sounds grander than what it is - an alcove with cushions and a little box of books in).

I just dont have room in my dining room for a bookcase and the ones in the living roomhave got my books on. There is a bookcase on the landing where the older children books are kept. But now two big storage boxes in front of that with the younger childrens books in.

I will see what they say when they come back can always add more books

[miffy]

Interesting I was advised by my DO and EYC as an action for my accreditition to limit the amount that books that the children can access.

What was the reason they gave for that?

I can understand it if all that happens is that children pull the books out and just throw them around (toddlers often go through that stage) but if the children are using them daily then I think it's good they have a wide choice.

I do have far too many books though - it's hard to get them all in the bookcase

Miffy xx

[caz3007]

I have just this weekend got rid of loads of books. Lots of friends give them to me as they have older children and I do like to buy some sometimes from The Works, so believe me we have tons. I now have about 40 of various sorts on the shelf and a box full of baby books for the very small ones. My son keeps all his own up in his room as he is much older than most of the mindies, but he has kept some of his favs including 'Down by the Cool Pool' and others.

[FussyElmo]

What was the reason they gave for that?

I can understand it if all that happens is that children pull the books out and just throw them around (toddlers often go through that stage) but if the children are using them daily then I think it's good they have a wide choice.

I do have far too many books though - it's hard to get them all in the bookcase

Miffy xx

That they would get more choice and more from the books if the choice was limited but to rotate on a frequent basis. If they had come before I had condensed down into one box I probably would have understood. I have 100's of books too and it is hard to keep finding places to put them and to stop buying them

But saying that the little corner is looking a lot more inviting both dd and ds have sat in it and picked one book out without any encouragement and looked at just one book each.

Also have done it with the instruments and happyland just need a another shed to put all the excess toys at the min they are in my room

[onceinabluemoon]

We have tons and they're in a kinderbox so the children can have free access to them whenever they want.

Some days we read 4 or 5 others we dont read any but the children can choose whichever ones they want.

[manjay]

I use the same principle with books as I do with toys. If there is too much choice it doesn't work. I like children to be able to see the pictures on the fornt of books as that way it is much easier for them to choose. Spines of books don't do much for a lo. I have a basket of about 10 board books on the floor for the babies which get rotated every week and I have a wall rack that holds about 30 for the older children (again rotated).

[appleblossom]

For 19 years I had an open bookcase with the books on so there was free access. But last year I started minding M (10 months). M liked to pull all the books off the shelves and throw them around the floor, then walk all over them So I bought a cupboard with doors and the books are in there now. I get out a few each day and at storytime I choose some relating to current themes/activities for me to read to the LOs.

I don't like having it this way but I don't like to see the books being ill treated.

M is now almost 2. I'm hoping that soon she will be able to understand me when I ask her to be careful with the books.

I do have a basket of board books out all the time. M has never really looked at these though; she just gets them out and drops them all over the floor. (She also does not sit with the otherLOs and myself at storytime either, preferring to wander off and do her own thing).

[mushpea]

although they only have access to board books we do read paper books but I keep those out of reach and call them our 'special reading time books' , I can understand young children not understanding how to look after them properly but the older ones I mind are just as bad which does annoy me.

[aunt sally]

I have a wall rack in the quiet area in the dining room that holds around 30 books. I have the babies books on the lower shelves and the older children's on the higher shelves. I always include a wide range of books and they get rotated regularly. In the playroom I have a low basket with around 10 board books in which the little ones can easily reach. I also have another basket in the playroom which has the current library books and some books which are relevant to the current theme we are using in our play. I do have lots of books but these are kept upstairs in the spare bedroom in bookcases and then I just rotate the books in the wall rack and low baskets.

[The Juggler]

I support my different 'areas' with books. so smallworld table and construction etc. will have books out. I also leave out the books the children have chosen that week from the library but my book chest is in the lounge and the children freely access that all the time.

the 2 year olds sit and go through it 'reading' book after book sometimes for over half an hour - I would not want to restrict that. They know to put the books away when they have finished. Or they choose a book and bring to me to read. Funnily enough they often don't choose the ones I put out in the different play areas, they like to choose their own so I'd hate to restrict that choice.