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You've heard people say they have small libraries? They haven't been to Lawson! Our library would be described as "cozy" or "quaint" if a real estate agent were listing it, but it is perfect for our students. However, the small space and the fact that it is a multipurpose area create a special set of challenges. Our Headstart students attend school all day, but our Pre-K students attend in the morning or in the afternoon only. That means we have to go into arrival and dismissal mode twice each day, and our buses drop off our students in, you guessed it, the library. That means that every day, any PlaykerSpace materials or stations that are set up have to be moved out of the way so that 200 students can come through the library without creating unnecessary distraction. Because we change our PlaykerSpace stations every two weeks, our library also looks completely different twice each month.
For those reasons, nothing in our PlaykerSpace is permanent. Everything is quickly moveable and interchangeable. One of our best finds was a large, flat oil drip pan from the automotive section of a
chain retail store. These pans fit perfectly onto the endcaps of our library shelves and can be changed quickly and easily with different magnetic materials. We also keep one of these pans behind the door in the library office to use on the floor or the tables when we need a flat or magnetic surface. We bought
a Lego table from Lakeshore, several Lack tables from Ikea ($6), and two foldable, rectangular, adjustable tables from a local pharmacy retailer. We have lots of tables with wheels that fit easily under other tables for out-of-the-way storage.
Piles of money would make finding just the right items easier, but we're doing great with our donated and inexpensive ones; they serve their purpose well! We haven't spent a great deal of money on furniture, and the kids are so engaged they don't seem to notice!
Everything in our building is designed for the short stature of our students...except for the library, where everything seems to be too big. I plan to write a grant next year to replace our tall furniture and tables with shorter ones, and you can bet that everything I request will have wheels!
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