With the weather being nice, we have had so many people stop by our Little Free Library lately! It makes my heart so happy every time that I get to witness a family stop by and pick up a book or two, or trade some of theirs ❤️.

It has been so much fun for our entire family running this library. From collecting book donations & making sure it stays fully stocked at all times with materials for kids of all reading levels, we try to do our best as stewards!

As a homeschooling mother, it has recently come to my attention that two-thirds of American children that attend public schools cannot read at a basic level by the 4th grade, and most students are still not reading proficiently by the time they graduate. That statistic is WAY too high to be acceptable!!!!

This last year I decided to keep Sasha behind in language arts because she just wasn’t getting it. I didn’t want to do the dissatisfaction that public schools do by just moving on to “grade level” when she doesn’t fully understand the concept, or worse, getting annoyed with her for not understanding because that certainly doesn’t help anyone, especially her.

I selfishly thought, if I do that, she will be “behind” her peers. If I do that, people will think I’m failing at homeschooling and tell me I need to give up and put her back into public school. Then I realized, two-thirds of American kids in public schools can’t read. I’m not hurting her by going at HER pace, I’m helping her not be part of that statistic. She’s not going to be “behind” anybody.  She’s going to be right on her own time, and most importantly, she’s going to fully understand what she’s reading & be a strong, confident reader. Sasha is also currently working with our homeschool teacher of many talents, Ms. Natalie, helping her once a week to improve her reading skills in addition to her daily curriculum work. I know this was the right decision because she has come SO far this year using the Preschool curriculum instead of beginning at Kindergarten.  It has made a huge difference and I’ve seen a huge improvement!

With so many children left feeling a huge lack of confidence in reading, it’s no wonder so many kids say things like “I hate reading” and try to avoid it.

I think the biggest importance is to help children turn that hate for reading into a love for it. One of our ways to do that is to hunt for new Little Free Libraries together! We love finding new ones and enjoying how creative everyone is in their ideas! We enjoy trading books that won’t fit into our little library into ones that will. The kids love finding books for each of their siblings that they think they will enjoy. They also love tending to ours! Like they say “A family that reads together, stays together.”

I wanted to share a Cincinnati-based organization – The Queen City Book Bank – with you that helps make it possible for you to get your own Little Free Library in your front yard as well as provides you with gently-used books to fill your library with as well! Their mission is to get as many kids reading as possible to lift this statistic.

Their next free book giveaway day is July 9th, from 9 am – 3 pm. They ask that you please bring your own bags 🛍.

📚 If you are interested in becoming a Little Free Library steward in Cincinnati, reach out to their Program Coordinator, Shymain Walker, by email at  Shymain@queencitybookbank.org

If you have not already signed your child up for free books through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, make sure to do that as well!!

Our public libraries are currently hosting their Summer Reading Program as well! That is a great incentive to get your children reading!

Barnes & Noble also offers a free summer reading program too! No purchase is necessary to participate! You can go on a Little Library Scavenger Hunt together to find new books to read, or borrow from the library or friends.

There are so many ways & resources to get kids interested in reading! We as parents have to change this statistic ourselves!!! For the sake of both current & future generations!!!

“A child who reads will be an adult who thinks.” 📚

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov