Up in my parents attic are my old children's books. Would it be worthwhile to get them out, clean them up, and put them in my classroom? Or should I only have newer books? Probably a stupid question.
If you are having a class room library, I would say the more the better.--- while seeing an oleder picture of strawberry shortcake at the dollar store on a children's wallet...... my girls did not believe that it really was her......... I told her thats what the character looked like when I was little!
I personally would keep them at home. My mom saved books she had as a young girl and shared them with my sisters and me. We, in turn, shared them with our children. I shared my books with my sons and hope one day to share them with my grandchildren. No, I wouldn't bring my personal books to school unless I planned to read them to the class.
You should definitely get those books for your classroom library. There are so many older books that are wonderful. Think of all of the books you read as a child that kids are still reading today. E.B. White, Beverly Cleary, and Judy Blume come to mind. Even the picture books that you have will be great to have in your classroom. I really wish I had kept all my old books from my childhood.
I would keep any that have a special meaning at home. The others I would bring to my classroom library. I found that while building my classroom library I would buy the cheapest I could find. That helped me get a good number of books to start off with. I frequent flea markets and garage sales for a lot of them. Now that I have over 3,000 books in my classroom library, I can be a little more picky and replace the older ones.
I think I would keep them at home. I looked up one book my mom read to us & it's worth like $65!!! I mean money isn't everything & I read my "old" books to my kids now. I would say if you think at all your kids or grandkids would be interested SAVE THEM!!!
Ms. Jane and ABall are answering the question from the perspective of content, and they make a good point. Few stories are so very tied to their times that they can't be reread and enjoyed decades later, and the enthusiasm with which a teacher shares her own personal favorite books with the class kindles a remarkable fire for reading in children. janlee and DizneeTeachR are answering from the perspective of particular objects that may have sentimental or even monetary value. They also make a good point: there is something to be said for being able to share the actual book that was one's childhood favorite with one's own children, and books in one's classroom do tend to undergo a good deal of wear and tear. MrsNickle, I hope it's clear that your question wasn't stupid at all. What do you think, now?
You might want to get them and go through them. The ones that have sentimental (or monetary) value probably shouldn't be put in the library but the others can. (I've been though that too) Those special books might be books that you could keep in YOUR shelf of books in the classroom for read-alouds. My first graders LOVED when I read books to them that I told them about my mom reading to me or this book that my 1st grade teacher gave me!
Yup. Just trying to help MrsNickle clarify which question she was asking, by way of helping her find answers that will really work for her.
I brought my books to my fourth grade classroom when I started. Towards the end of the year I realized the Cat in the Hat Comes Back was a first edition copy! Just don't put out ones that have a lot of meaning for you because they'll get some wear and may get lost.
I think I will keep the super special ones at home for my future children, and the rest will go to school for my students! Thanks for the variety of perspectives!
