Help Your Child Read 1000 Books Before Kindergarten

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten reading program encourages parents of newborns to 5-year-olds to read a wide range of books to their child to help them get a jumpstart kindergarten readiness. Every word you say builds your child’s brain, and every book you read to your child gets them closer to a reading milestone prize at the library. The program was specifically designed to give babies and toddlers the best start on lifelong reading and learning skills, as well as to help parents and children get in the habit of reading on a regular basis. Reading together also contributes to children’s healthy development, encourages parent and child bonding, provides skills children need to succeed in school, and helps assure they become lifelong lovers of books. I believe that literacy is the cornerstone of learning and reading aloud to children – from the very beginning of a child’s life – creates the best environment for success in school. It’s a gift parents can give to their children that will pay off their whole lives!

According to Reading Rockets, a national literacy program, many students enter kindergarten performing below their peers and remain behind as they move through the grades and confront more-challenging reading material. Many children entering Kindergarten are facing up to a 30-million-word gap.

The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten at the Iowa City Public Library will encourage parents to make the time necessary for this essential building block of learning. As children move through the program, they will receive special incentives that have been bought through a generous grant from Pearson. For more information, log onto our website at: www.icpl.org/1000books to keep track of the titles of the books that you read with your child on our reading log bookmarks, or online keep track using Beanstack.