Book Smart...Move

The book fairy visited school this past week.

As I was unloading the bag of books I had brought in, I noticed my mom had slipped in a few extra books.  My favorite was a book on relationships for couples from the 80's with an ugly pink and purple cover. It screamed "Bring Sex Back to Your Marriage".  I couldn't even think of why my mom even had the book- she was pregnant with my brother and sister during this decade.

There was no way I was taking the book up to my classroom.
I left it, and the other duds in the bag, thinking I'd bring it back with me to donate on the way home.
Teachers are nosy, by nature, and raided the books, and emptied bag. Most of the books, even a few duds, were gone and will be at new homes. Sweet success.  Not so sweet, the couples book was still sitting pretty, center of the table.

I'm sure my co-workers were wondering, "Who the hell would bring a book like that to donate to book basket?" That would be me, Grace.

Food Storage...Book Storage...What?

Some people have food storage, I have a "book" storage. Not a library, just an emergency supply of books.

I have books all over my house.  The piles are organized. The boxes are labeled.  I've re-purposed old books and recycled books that were beyond repair. I have sold books, donated and given books away, yet I am still overwhelmed by books.

This fall I unearthed the remaining boxes of school books in the storage unit with the goal of bringing them to my classroom to share with my 3rd grade kids.
(Once upon a time ago I taught 2nd grade, moved schools and ended up teaching a 5/6th grade class and later a 5th grade for the following 4 years and the books lived in storage.)
 It was super to remove the 10 (yes...TEN) boxes from the storage unit and then I ran into a bit of a glitch. I didn't have enough room for the boxes at my house.

Some of the books have arrived at school. Most have not. The biggest problem I've had in this whole "little" project is my classroom library is full.  Creating more space in the classroom, getting rid of books, and handing books down to other teachers takes time. I also have a habit of leaving things in my car and not taking those things out right away.

Some of the books are sitting in the dining room at my dad's house.  They have my "belongs to" labels on them, all ready to go (they've been ready to go since October).

Some books are in plastic tubs on my mom's covered porch.  Most of them are new. I can tell you how much I paid (no more than $2) for them and where I bought them.

The remaining books are in my house.
Time for the books to move on and move out. 

Pennant Banner- 1970's basal reading book-Coco's Kitsch

I suppose I'll start bringing the books to school each work day. One pile at a time, right?