CMP Review 2024-06-15

June 15, 2024

Building and curating a home library does not have to cost a fortune. Most of our books are library discards or thrift store finds. Earlier this week, I was at a thrift store and noticed a bin of books. I thought to myself, “Do I really feel like rummaging through this?” But curiosity got the best of me, and I started digging through the bin. I ended up with 10 books, and I only paid $1 for all of them. This is how you build a large home library—one 10 books/$1 Rubbermaid tub at a time.

As Charlotte Mason wrote, “One more thing is of vital importance; children must have books, living books; the best are not too good for them; anything less than the best is not good enough; and if it is needful to exercise economy, let go everything that belongs to soft and luxurious living before letting go the duty of supplying the books, and the frequent changes of books, which are necessary for the constant stimulation of the child’s intellectual life.”

I would venture most of us are on some form of budget, and what you see in our library has been accumulated over many years. We’ve paid less than a dollar for most books, and some have even come to us for free. Supplying our children with the best living books we can find has always been a top priority. We let go of other “soft and luxurious living… before letting go the duty of supplying the books.”

@tessakeath