Host a Book Swap

Reading is SO important, especially this summer. It can slow summer slide, improve critical thinking and vocabulary skills, help kids learn about topics of interest, and foster of socio-emotional skills and empathy. Reading is also a great quiet activity when parents need to be in that Zoom meeting!

We have hosted book swaps before (here are some fun tips) but the rules have changed this summer. Why not try a social distance book swap? My family had a blast clearing out bookshelves, making fliers, collecting books, and seeing friends the day of the swap. I have advice on running a safe and fun book swap in your front yard.

For more ideas about summer experiences you can do while learning at home with your kids, visit the main page, Charter a Summer of Learning.

Set Up a Book Swap

Start by deciding a date and time, whether you will accept adult and children’s books, and how many people you want to invite. I highly suggest encouraging people to drop books off early—it made the day of the swap much easier!

I choose for my swap to be from 10 am–5 pm on a Saturday. You may decide on a shorter swap but because we had nothing else to do, it was a fun way to occupy an entire day. I also choose to include all books and invite everyone I possibly could.

Decide the safety rules for your swap. We decided that only one family could come in our yard at a time and that everyone had to wear gloves and masks.

Ask children to select books they are willing to swap. You may be surprised by how many books you have that they have outgrown! Do the same if you are including adult books. My daughter got so excited as she went through her bookcase that she made a book swap T-shirt!

Kids can use their artistic skills to make signs by hand or on the computer. Canva includes lots of free templates to easily make nice-looking fliers.

Managing a Book Swap

The day of the swap, have the kids help moving the books you pre-collected. It’s a good little workout! Make sure you space the tables out so there is plenty of room.

Once everything is set up, you can sit in some comfortable chairs in your yard or porch and wait for guests to come by. Then it’s a day full of friends, neighbors, and books! My family had the best day of quarantine so far as we talked literature with old friends and met new ones.

Lastly, consider what you will do with any leftover books. We are going to donate ours to little lending libraries in our neighborhood and SAReads when they open back up.

Charter Moms Chats

Watch Carly Friedman’s interview with Inga Cotton on Charter Moms Chats.

For more ideas about summer experiences you can do while learning at home with your kids, visit the main page, Charter a Summer of Learning.

About the Author

Carly Friedman is the Pre-Health Professions Adviser at St. Mary’s University and an avid reader. She updates her goodreads account regularly. She has two children, Miriam and Sam, who also love reading, riding their bikes, and interrupting mom’s Zoom meetings. Would you like some book recommendations from Carly? Email her!