1000 Books Before Kindergarten!
* You may be at home with your kids more, so you can keep track of your kids 1000 Books before Kindergarten progress by downloading these sheets!
The Mulvane Public Library is proud to participate in the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program, an early literacy program for children birth – 6 (and not yet enrolled in Kindergarten). Reading to your child is one of the most important ways to prepare them for school. Even 15 minutes a day can aid in language development and early literacy skills, not to mention the bond you will create with your child!
This program is being sponsored by the South Central Kansas Library System.
Download the App! You can download the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten app for Android or Apple. The app can help you keep track of your readers and what books they read.
Sign Up!
You can sign up online or by coming into the library and signing up at the circulation desk.
How do we start?
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll need to come into the library to get your reading log. Then you can get started reading! Each book you read to your child will count, no matter how many times you read it to them – repetition is important to children as they grow, so mark down the book each time you read it. Do you come to our weekly story times? Write those books down too! Any time your child is read a book, it counts.
Who can participate?
All children from birth through the time when he/she enters kindergarten. Families are encouraged to participate together, so feel free to sign up multiple children.
How long will it take?
This program is self-paced, so you can tackle it however you would like!
How can we possibly read 1,000 books before Kindergarten?
Easy! If you read just one book a night, you will read 365 books in a year. In two years, the number will grow to 730. In the third year, you will surpass the goal at 1,095 books. If you read 3 books every night, you’ll be able to read 1000 books in less than a year! If you consider that most children start kindergarten at age 5 or 6, you have more time than you think and it’s never too late to start!
Why should I participate?
Public formal education does not typically start until ages 5-6. Before then, parents and caregivers are the first education providers during the 0-5 early critical years. Reading aloud to children has clear cognitive benefits and strengthens their social and emotional development.
Tips for completing the program:
*Start reading to your child as soon as they are born! Black and white contrast books are perfect for newborns.
*Touch and Feel books are perfect for toddlers who are learning through exploration with their senses.
*Find books with rich vocabulary and bright pictures for preschool age children to help them identify things more easily and learn the words to describe what they are seeing.
*Pick 2 or 3 books out to read to your child every night before bed. This is a great way to cuddle up and spend meaningful time together before they go down for the night.
*Come to our weekly story times! We have a story time specifically for preschool age children on Wednesdays at 10:30am. We also have a story time for children age birth – 3 on Fridays at 10:30 & 11:30am (same program, just two different times to help with your schedule) with a play time in the middle at 11:00am.
Are you a working parent? Have no fear! We’ve got something for your family as well. We do a monthly Cookie bookie program for children (geared towards age birth-5) on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6:00pm, and a monthly Family Storytime the 4th Saturday of the month at 10:30am.