The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program is designed to help parents prepare their children for one of life’s big milestones: kindergarten. Myriad research projects have proven over and over that children get ready to read years before they begin their formal education. The most effective way to get your child ready to learn is to read to them. To encourage you in that endeavor, you can sign up children ages birth to kindergarten for this reading program.
When you register for 1,000 Books before Kindergarten, you will receive a notebook, journal pages for the first 100 books, and tips to help make reading aloud one of the most enjoyable and beneficial activities you will ever share with a child. As you progress in 100 book increments, you will earn additional prizes and get new pre-reading skills to help prepare your child for kindergarten and life-long learning.
How To Get Started
Enroll your child at the Main Library or the Ossian Branch and receive your 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten journal, the pages to track your first 100 books, and your starting information.
After each set of 100 books is read and recorded, take your journal to either building to receive a prize, the journal pages for your next 100 books, and your literacy information for the next 100 books. Note: if you prefer to get a head start on the next section, below are links to each of the journal pages that you can print at home.
When you and your child have read and recorded your 1,000th book, take your journal to either building for your final reward. A staff member will take a picture of you and your child for the News-Banner or Ossian Journal. Your child will receive a keepsake book, too.
You may be asking yourself, “How will I read 1,000 books to my child?” One thousand is a big number; however, when you start breaking that number down over five years, or even two years, the task isn’t that overwhelming. If you would take the full five years to complete this program, you could read one book every other day and read 1,000 books before Kindergarten. If you would break this down over two years, that would be fewer than two books a day. This small time commitment is well worth the advantage you will be giving your child and the memories that you will form spending time with her.
Suggestions
Have fun! Reading together should never be a chore.
Take every chance you have to read with your children, tell and talk about stories, say nursery rhymes and sing songs.
Expose your children to a variety of different types of stories and vocabulary. It is completely normal and expected for children, especially very young children, to have their favorite books that they want to hear over and over again. When you have the opportunity though, introduce new stories so that your child has a chance to experiment and hear as many new words and concepts as possible.
Children learn best when they are in a good mood so read with your child when the experience will be the most pleasurable for both of you.
Pre-Reading Skills & Reading Logs
Browse through each of the sections of the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program binder or download below. Each section contains special tips and pre-reading skills to help make reading more enjoyable and beneficial.
Program Binder Downloads