Children learn through their senses: smell, touch, taste, see, and hear. When it comes to books, children love the bright colors, smelling them, looking them over and over again, many times tasting them depending on the age, and listening to them read to them over and over again.

A recent problem we discovered in our home was how we were storing the books for our little children. We have many bookshelves full of books in our home and one large one for all the little kid books. Fortunately our children love to read. Unfortunately, they pull the books out of the shelves all day long. This isn’t because they are choosing to be little stinkers- it’s because they want to read and it’s not fun when you’re a kid picking out a book from the spine! Little kids want to see the front- or like my little tot- the back to see what books in the collection we still need to buy.

When I discovered galley shelves made of inexpensive vinyl gutters, I was thrilled! It was the perfect solution for the problem! The children could have shelves that look nice in the house (not ghetto) and best of all; they can see their books from the front or back depending on how they put them on the shelves. They are always accessible and the shelves encourage reading with the books flashing their bright colors and pretty pictures.

To make these shelves in your home here are the directions:

Vinyl Gutters (Price ranges about $6 a gutter)

Circular saw or hacksaw.

2 hangers per shelf- 3 if you plan to make them long

Long wall screws

Left and right end caps

Glue

Sandpaper

Washcloth

Tape measure
Directions:

Decide how many shelves you want and how long each one should be. Mark it on the vinyl gutter and cut with either a hand saw or circular saw. Sand the edges if you wish. With a wet washcloth wipe down the debris left from cutting.

Decide where you want the shelves. Some good ideas are in family areas of the home and next to beds with enough space to safely roll under them.

Slide on the gutter hooks; use two for smaller shelves and three for long shelves. Slide each hook/hanger to the end of each side. Screw the hooks into the wall. Add end caps, gluing into place if you want them more permanent.

Allow the kids to line up the books on the shelves and you will find more reading going on than ever before.