Are you constantly picking up books around your house? Do you find your kids uninterested or overwhelmed because there are so many books to choose from? Do you want less books but the thought of getting rid of precious literature makes your stomach turn to knots? Let me introduce you to my simple book rotation method that I’m convinced anyone can use and implement to make your life easier.
Now, before we dive into the specifics of the book rotation, let me just say that of course you could just donate and refresh your library of children’s books often. If you’re the kind of person who can do that, more power to you mama! If that’s the case, a book rotation may not be a good fit for your family.
I, however, am attached to every single book I’ve ever gotten for my kids. I strongly feel that each one is special and an absolute must have in our home, that’s why a book rotation works so well for our family. If you’re curious which books I consider a must have for children, you can check out my list here.
So, if you’re like me and can’t stand the thought of getting rid of a single book, then hopefully you will find this book rotation method helpful. I can’t even begin to tell you how much stress has been reduced in my life just since implementing this simple book rotation for my kids’ library of books.
Benefits of a book rotation
- Increased interest for literacy and reading
- It feels like you are getting brand new books each time you put a new set out
- Your kids will be excited to see some of their favorite books back on the shelf
- The more time your children spend reading, the less time they are spending in front of a screen
- Less books out at one time means its not overwhelming to your children
- Less books out at one time also means less books to clean up after independent reading time
- Builds independence and autonomy skills
Choosing the location of your library
You’ve heard the phrase, “location, location, location” right? Well, same concept absolutely applies to your children’s library. It should be in a place that is easily accessible to your children. The easier it is to access the books, the more likely they will be to read on their own or with you. Early literacy skills are so important for their big developing brains. Having fun and exciting books that they can get whenever they want will promote a love for reading later on.
Having books readily available to them also fills their independence bucket. If you have ever been around a 2 year old you have probably heard, “I can do it myself!” more times than you can count. You also know that any time you can safely fulfill that request for them, they are empowered a little more each time.
Our children’s library is in a corner in our family room. We have this bookshelf and it has made our lives so much easier. It’s so easy for the kids to clean up their books when they’re finished with them. It also looks tidy and pleasing to the eye without much effort. There are no books in backwards or sideways or stacked on top of one another. Since kids aren’t reading the title off of the spine of the book to choose which book they want to read, this bookshelf makes it easier for them to choose a book by being able to see the cover of the book instead. I’m telling you, this bookshelf is a game changer!
Our children also each have 3-5 special books that they keep on a shelf in their bedrooms that are not a part of the book rotation. These are books that were given to them that they feel are special, or books they have picked out to buy for themselves.
Separate and organize your books
You’ll first need to decide how often you want to rotate your books out. I went with a quarterly rotation for our library so that I can switch them out every 3 months. I also have it setup so that it aligns with the seasons. This way, I can put seasonal and themed books in the designated rotations. Rotating the books out every 3 months has worked perfect for our family.
Just when I start to think they are getting a little bored with the current selection of books, it is time to rotate them out and bring in a fresh set of books for them to enjoy. In the beginning, I only had two sets of books in rotation and I would just rotate them whenever I felt it was needed. I definitely prefer the way I have the book rotation it organized now. It’s much more streamlined.
Now that you know how many book rotations you want to have, gather all of the children’s books in your house and put them in the living room floor. Fair warning ahead of time: if you do this with your kids around, they will act like they’ve never seen these books before and be grabbing them like candy and mixing up all of your organization you’ll be doing. I would recommend doing this once they’re in bed at night.
Separate all of your books into piles. Here is how I separate them:
- February-spring themed books, Valentine’s Day books, Easter books
- May-summer themed books
- September-fall themed books, Halloween books, Thanksgiving books
- December-winter themed books, Christmas books
When you’re separating books, keep in mind that you want to have a good variety of books in each pile. Don’t put all of the farm animal books in one pile. You also want to make sure there’s a variety in the sizing and type of the books. Make sure each pile has some short books, some tall books, some books with texture, some with sounds, etc. Also try to make sure each pile has about the same number of books. I have found that 20-25 books is about the perfect amount for our bookshelf.
Put one set of books out into your bookshelf and the rest into individual boxes. These storage boxes have worked really well for us. All of the books fit nicely, they stack well, and they are durable. I also love that they have latching handles. Since you’ll have one set out, you’ll only need 3 boxes for the rotation (unless you decide to have more rotations).
I use sticker paper to put on the outside of the boxes and label them, “Book Rotation Box 1,” “Book Rotation Box 2,” and “Book Rotation Box 3.” You don’t want to name them by the month of the rotation because they will all be switched around in different boxes as you work through them.
Set up your filing system
Don’t get overwhelmed at the thought of using a filing system! I promise it’s so much easier to set up than you might think, and I’m going to show you how. However, the system still works without using a filing system. You can absolutely just separate your books into different boxes and wing it. You could even use old fashioned pen and paper as your filing system like I used to do!
I now prefer to use the app, Goodreads. Now that I use Goodreads I can’t imagine going back to pen and paper. It makes organizing the library quick and easy. It’s also really nice to not have to search and search for sheets of paper when I need to update the lists or look at them for some reason. My phone is always handy, which means so is my list of books!
If you choose to do pen and paper, you’ll simply write down the titles of the books in their corresponding categories. It’s helpful to have these lists so that you can refer to them if you need to. Just trust me, you’ll be glad you do this step. When I first started the book rotation, I didn’t have any lists. I just put books into random boxes and bins and if I ever needed one specifically, I had to dig through them all to find them. It was a nightmare.
If you choose to use the Goodreads app, first download the app and setup your account. Then, click on the tab at the bottom labeled, “My books.” In the top left corner, tap the “+” and then “Create new shelf.” I have a “shelf” created for each one of my book rotation boxes (4 in total), plus the special books that stay in each of my kids rooms.
I name each “shelf” according to the month I’ll be switching them out and their location. Each time I switch the books out, I update their location in the shelf name in the Goodreads app. For example, on September 1st, I put out the September book rotation box. Therefore, I have the following “shelf” names in my Goodreads app: September-out, December-Box 1, February-Box 2, May-Box 3.
Next, you will need to search or scan each individual book. After scanning, it will automatically be put into your “want to read” shelf. However, you can click the dropdown arrow and choose one of your other shelves that you just created to put the books in. After scanning each book, place it into the corresponding box.
Implement the system
Now, the fun part! Put all of your hard work into action and watch as your life is simplified and you see the joy on your kids’ faces each time they choose a book and bring it to you to read to them. Put your current set of books into your bookshelf and watch the magic! Store the other boxes someplace out of the way and forget about them until it’s time to rotate them out. It’s helpful to set a reminder or mark your calendar for the days when you need to rotate your books.
Do you currently have a system in place to organize or rotate your children’s book library? Have you tried out my book rotation system? I want to know how it’s working for you! Let me know in the comments, or send me a message here.