1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

The Schertz Public Library & the Schertz-Cibolo Lions Club have partnered to offer an early literacy initiative called 1,000 Books before Kindergarten. This project encourages parents to read aloud at least 1,000 books with their children before they enter school.

How This Program Works

  1. Enroll your child in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program and receive a tote bag and the bookmark to track your first 100 books..
  2. After each set of 100 books is read and recorded, take your bookmark to the Children’s Information Desk to receive a sticker and the bookmark for your next 100 books.
  3. When you and your child have read and recorded your 1,000th book, take your bookmark to the Children’s Information Desk for your final reward, a book!

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 one year, 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 one year, that would be about three 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 him/her.

Suggestions

  1. Have fun! Reading together should never be a chore.
  2. Take every chance you have to read with your children, tell and talk about stories, say nursery rhymes, and sing songs.
  3. 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, introduce new stories so that your child has a chance to experience and hear as many new words and concepts as possible.
  4. 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.
  5. Visit the library often. Discover new books and participate in storytime and other children’s programming.
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