Is it ever too early to start introducing literacy to a child? The short answer, no. Building time into your daily routine to read aloud to your child will help build their social skills, build their emotional capacity, and build character development. Your Library offers the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program to help encourage pre-reading skills and ensure success for when your child starts school.
How It Works
Make sure you have a crayon handy, because every time you read to your child, they will color in a book on their Road to Reading log! This visual guide is a great way to allow children to be active participants in their reading success. Each log will track 100 books and includes a literacy tip to help caregivers encourage good reading habits with their child. New logs are always available at the Children’s Desk.
Does your child have a favorite story that they ask for on repeat? Repetition is a great way for children to develop language skills and solidify the concepts they see in their books. Therefore, even repeated books can be included in your goal of 1,000 books!
Enrollment
This program is completely free! To sign up, a caregiver can come to the Children’s Desk to receive the first Road to Reading log and a folder with handouts about the importance of information literacy for children. We will also ask for some basic information about your child, including the year they are expected to enter 5K. You can sign your child up at any age before Kindergarten.
The Prizes
Each time you bring in a completed reading log, your child will get to choose a sticker to place on the back of their log. After reading 100, 300, 600, and 1,000 books, your child will be eligible for a big prize! We want to keep kids motivated to read, and these incentives give them a chance to be proud of their progress.
After 100 books you’ll receive a 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten tote bag, perfect for carrying your library book haul! At 300 books, your child can pick out a paperback book to keep. At 600 books, your child can pick out a hardcover book to keep. Once you reach 1,000, we’ll congratulate your child with a reading buddy stuffed animal, and they will receive a completion certificate! We’ll also ask if we can take a picture of the child with their certificate to showcase on our Facebook page.
You’ve Got This!
1,000 may sound like a big number, but it is completely possible to read that many books to your child before they reach Kindergarten! Just three books a day means your child will have read over 1,000 books in a single year. Books read at storytime at the Library, at daycare, and by other caregivers all count towards your goal. All reading is good reading. The only end date to the program is when your child enters 5K, so take your time to enjoy creating special memories and building a bond with your child through books.
The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program is sponsored by the Menomonee Falls Library Friends.