What is a mother to do with children cooped up in the house, for a week?
Well, pull out your library card of course!
Your local library is likely a treasure trove of free entertainment for not only your children but also yourselves and your partners. Orange County Library system is an amazing resource not only for education but also for entertainment. Our local branch, and the other around town offer books for adults and children both in print and available for e readers like Kindle and IPAD. Never discount the entertainment value of reading to your children, with your children. My 8 year old son Samuel and I have read several books together and we are about to embark upon the Harry Potter series. Remember that if you lived but a few decades ago reading would have been a primary source of prime time fun. If you don't have time to read with your kids, and sometimes I don't have time to read with Sam every day, for those times and for the times I don't have time to read to myself, I utilize audio books.
Audio books come in several different formats, I prefer the mp3 cds and downloadables that I can put on my mp3 players . My library system used Overdrive and Hoopla, these are easy to use and comparable on lots of devices. CD versions of most popular fiction titles are available, We like to put cd books on in our car during commute, my children have a video game console they however do not have hand held devices and I have a smart phone but I do not have a hand held device. I feel that kids (including my own) are too plugged in and these tech toys come with a price tag as well. Unplugging and doing some good old fashion story telling is good for young minds and Mom's wallet!
There are lots of fun classes and activities to be had at NO COST at libraries as many computer software courses, cooking classes and other practical education courses are available for children and adults. Gymboree is $65 a month for children's music time. Every Tuesday there are children's time classes at our library. Over the summer each year for the last few years I have taken Sam to the summer programs at the library, we have seen Polynesian dancers, live wild life exhibits and fire service demonstrations these have been invaluable experiences for my family and we will continue to take advantage of the classes and activities offered.
I have a 6 month old now, and my husband and I used to go out to the movies but I am not the type to take baby with us to see The Hobbit, so DVD rental is how we experience movies. locally we can check out a large assortment of movies and television series on dvd from our library system. Many of the current DVD releases are added to our selection weekly. We also have forgone having cable for this reason, along with a Netflix subscription not having cable in our house has saved us a ton of money. Most of the shows we like come on network tv or are available on the internet so we can wait to see other premium shows until the next day or the next season. Since most people DVR popular shows for later in the week we rarely have a spoiler and we are watching the same things as everyone else for a fraction of the cost. In addition most libraries offer WiFi for lap tops and internet accessible computers so you can enter giveaways, keep up with blogs and use downloadable media even if you don't have computer access at your own home!
In closing you see keeping up with entertainment can be super cheap and in most cases free with a library card! I take my kids to classes, keep up with popular fiction on the go thank to mp3 downloads, and have really cut down on cable for way less than most families, and all it takes is a trip to your library!
I look forward to exploring more ways to save with the family in the future!
Jessica Long
