1000 Books Before Kindergarten
Why Read 1,000 Books?
Reading has been associated as an early indicator of academic success, yet numerous studies estimate that as many as one in five children have difficulties learning to read. During the critical development period of 0-5 years of age, parents and caregivers are the first education providers, and have the opportunity to help their children establish strong early literacy skills and gain the confidence necessary to become strong readers.
Sharing books and stories is important for a child's brain development. Reading aloud to your children encourages social, emotional, and cognitive development, as well as increases their vocabulary for when they enter school.
Program Overview
The concept is simple, the rewards are priceless. Read a book (any book) to your newborn, infant, and/or toddler. The goal is to have read 1,000 books (yes you can repeat books) before your precious one starts kindergarten. Does it sound hard? Not really if you think about it. If you read just one book a night, you will have read 365 books in a year. That is 730 books in two years and 1,095 books in three years. If you consider that most children start kindergarten at around 5 years of age, you have more time than you think (so get started).
The key is perseverance. Make it exciting. When your child reaches a milestone, give him/her a small reward (pencils, stickers, books). For each 100 books that your child has read, come to the library to pick up a new reading log and a milestone sticker. Read 1,000 books to complete the program and earn a completion certificate and a book.
Who Can Participate
Any child can participate in 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten as long as he/she is not yet attending kindergarten. You can enroll your child as an infant, toddler, or preschooler. The number of books read per day to reach your goal will vary depending on your child's age at enrollment.
How to Participate
Sign up your child at Perry Cook Memorial Library and receive your first book reading log (1-100 books).
Read with your child.
Log the title of each book you read with your child. Make sure that you record any book that is read to completion with your child, so ask caregivers, grandparents, siblings or teachers to log titles that they read with your child, as well. These reading logs will make a wonderful keepsake for you child.
After completing each 100-book milestone, stop in at the library for a milestone sticker and the next 100-book reading log. They will receive 10 milestone stickers in all.
A list of suggested books your child should hear before kindergarten can be picked up at the library or downloaded and printed from the attachment.
For additional information about the program visit 1000booksbeforekindergarten.
Notes:
- Please only log complete books - don't log partially read titles.
- Repetition is wonderful for reading development, so if you read a book multiple times, log it multiple times.
- Count all books read - so if a sibling/grandparent/teacher/child care provider reads a book with/to your child, ask them to log the title, too.
- Each child can only complete the program one time - after reading 1000 books and receiving a certificate, the program is complete.