Loving the Library

The of the Baltimore County Public Library has become our go-to spot for Sunday afternoon family outings. I suppose it’s not much of a newsflash that the library is great place to take the kids, but it’s a relatively new discovery for us.

Just before Lucy turned four, my husband took her with him to the one weekend day when she and her little brother were pushing each other’s buttons and we figured some separation would be a good thing for everyone. Of course that led to the discovery of the children’s section, which surprised us by turning out to be a good fit for both of our kids, even though Lucy is a preschooler and Ike is a toddler.

Lucy loves browsing books with my husband or me while the other parent hangs out with Ike as he takes on the little indoor play area where he can climb, crawl and slide. (Ike shows signs of being as big of a reader as Lucy is, but we don’t yet trust him to be kind to borrowed books.)

We were pleasantly surprised that Lucy has totally grasped the concept of borrowing books, that even if she loves one of her choices, she has to give it back to the library when the lending period is up. And we love how Ike has a place where he can freely walk around (thumbs up to whoever designed the glass enclosed children’s zone), taking in all the sights and sounds and absorbing by osmosis (for now, at least) that books are cool.

The library seems to have everything we need in a get-out-of-the-house-quick locale: It’s close to home, it gives both the kids a place where they can walk around and burn off some youthful energy before a nap, and it’s free. I’d love to have some more ideas for like this one. What’s your family’s favorite local weekend distraction destination?