Book Storage

As a teacher, I want summer to go as slow as possible for a number of reasons. One of the biggest is so that I can spend more time with my family, and another reason is so I can work on my summer teaching projects. All teachers have them...a list of ideas, lessons, or books they simply don't have enough time to read during the "busy" season. So, it is no surprise to my husband that I lug home boxes of things year after year in hopes of completing some of my summer teaching projects.
This summer I am trying to familiarize myself with as many picture books as possible, so I brought home a ton of books from my classroom. Of course, I am reading them to my kids as well, but I don't want my children to touch the books the way I let them touch and interact with our own books.

Lakeshore Learning sells magnetic shelves. I bought a set to use in my classroom, but was disappointed in them. I should have taken them back, but I never got around to it. So, I found a use for them in my kitchen. And, many of you might have this space!

The shelves are perfect here because they are partially blocked by the cabinets, which holds the books in better. They don't come out too far. And, they offer a beautiful display for books. As the kids get older you could display favorite books, or themed books. This would be a great place to put the Christmas books too. Imagine coming down first thing in the morning and a book catching your eye.

Your challenge - Find a place in your house to proudly display books. If you like the shelves, I got them at Lakeshore Learning. ($39.95 for 3 magnetic shelves) But, I must say I would not buy these again unless they were a little bit wider.