About 1000BooksB4K
The Kimberly Public Library offers an early literacy program called 1000 Books Before Kindergarten: Old MacDonald’s Farm. Using Old MacDonald’s Farm as theme and mascot, this program will be an on-going, multi-year project to encourage parents to read aloud 1000 books with their children before they enter school. The program is open to any preschooler in our service area.
When a child is registered at the library, he or she will receive a reading journal to record the first 100 books read to the child. Families are then encouraged to return to the library every time they finish reading and listening to 100 books.
For each 100 books recorded, a child will receive a farm sticker for the journal, a vocabulary/matching card set for each animal, and the next set of pages. A sticker will also be added to a segment on a giant farm mural at the library to show the community how much reading is being done. At the 500 level, the child will receive the Celebrate! CD by Wisconsin musicians Tom Pease and Stuart Stotts, which contains songs celebrating the joys of reading.
Each child who completes the program will receive a free book. Most importantly, that child will have received the tools for reading and school success.
Why are we offering 1000 Books BFK?
Author Mem Fox states in her book Reading Magic, “Reading aloud and talking about what we’re reading sharpens children’s brains. It helps develop their ability to concentrate at length, to solve problems logically, and to express themselves more easily and clearly. The stories they hear provide them with witty phrases, new sentences, and words of subtle meaning. Before long children begin to understand the look of the print and the way words work in sentences… No wonder experts tell us that children need to hear a thousand stories read aloud before they learn to read for themselves. A thousand! That sounds daunting. But when we do the sums, it isn’t as bad as we might think. Three stories a day will deliver us a thousand stories in one year alone, let alone in the four or five years prior to school. We can do it!” (pp.15-17)
1000 Books B4K Guidelines
- This program is designed for families with children birth through age 5.
- Sign up at the Kimberly Library to receive your reading journal (1 journal will be given per family).
- Record each book read. Repetition is good, so you may record a favorite book more than once.
- Pick out books you enjoy and have fun reading together (use expression!). Find a time when you and your child are in a good mood to read. Reading together should never be a chore.
- Each time you read 100 books, bring in your reading journal to either library. You will receive:
- two stickers – one for your book and one for the library wall
- two vocabulary/matching cards (save them to have a matching game when you complete the program!)
- your next set of pages for your reading journal
- at 500 books, you will also receive a music CD by Tom Pease & Stuart Stotts
- Be sure to stop in after each level – only one set of pages will be given out each time! Visit the library often and discover the wonderful variety of books to check out and read together.
- Don’t be daunted! Just 3 books a day amounts to 1000 books in 1 year, and this program is designed to give you time over a few years to meet your goal.
- After finishing 1000 Books, your child:
- will receive a certificate of achievement and a special book prize
- will have a set of farm vocabulary cards that also serves as a matching game
- will have his/her name proudly placed on the Wall of Fame at the library
- Once you have read 1000 books, you are finished with the program. Please continue to read together, and feel free to add your own pages to the journal if you wish.
Additional questions about the program can be directed to Ann at the Kimberly Library (920-788-7515).