Welcome to 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten! This program encourages caregivers and their children to read 1,000 books before the child enters kindergarten, giving the child a jumpstart in their educational journey.
For every 100 books you read, you can visit any Library location to pick out a free book for your home library! When children reach 1,000 books, they get a free backpack and kindergarten supply kit!
Remember, if you have not yet registered, there are two ways to participate in 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten:
- You can visit a Library location to receive a paper log. Staff will take your information and provide you with a booklet to keep track of all the books your child reads.
- Or sign up on Beanstack to track books online, the Library’s online reading platform. Just create an account and log books as your child completes them. You can even download the Beanstack app to log books by scanning their barcode with your phone!
Literacy at Home
Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words and is an important part of early literacy development in decoding (or learning to sound out words). A great way to work on this skill with your child is to share books with poetry and elements of rhyme. Not only are rhyming books engaging for reading aloud, but rhymes also help children recognize the sounds and syllables that makeup words! Reading Rockets, an organization that provides free resources for developing confident readers, shared this guide for more rhyming-related activities!
Book recommendations
Here are three great books that incorporate rhyme!
All Kinds of Kindness This bright and colorful board book shows how important kindness is for making our world a better place through a rhyming text.
Get Up, Stand up A picture book adaptation of one of Bob Marley’s songs, written by his daughter to encourage children to resist bullying and stand up for their rights.
See-saw A board book collection of well-known nursery rhymes with accompanying actions for the reader and the child to follow along with.
For caregivers: You may find, as you're teaching your child to read, that you need some resources as well! Here is a great book that will help you raise a lifelong, confident reader.
“The no-stress, ferociously fun way to raise a kid who loves to read--complete with reading recommendations and activities to inspire!
Teaching your child to read is monstrously important, and there's no better way to do it than with everyday opportunities for laughter and play. Bringing Up Bookmonsters is full of fun ways to build literacy at home--no flashcards or timers required! Feed your budding bookmonster's brain as you: Turn storytime into playtime to build comprehension. Get giggling with games and jokes that reinforce spelling. Converse at family meals with varied vocabulary. Satisfy your bookmonster's cravings with books they are sure to devour! These tips and many more make it easy to help your child develop an insatiable appetite for reading--and have a tremendously good time doing it!”
Library updates
During the month of October, the library is offering Outdoor Storytimes (weather permitting) every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at different local parks! Make sure to check out our events calendar to see the dates and times.
You can also visit one of the library’s outdoor Storybook Walks and enjoy either one of our monthly pop-ups or visit the Ruth Porter Mall Park Storybook Walk that features a new story each month.
SLPL offers a wide variety of virtual youth programming! To check out what we’re offering next, this calendar provides all of the information needed to enjoy one of our virtual programs.
Don’t miss out on our Take & Makes kits! Each month, we have a different craft or activity for both school-age children and tweens/teens.
Happy reading!
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