News / prepare your child for school and read 1000 books before kindergarten

prepare your child for school and read 1000 books before kindergarten

BELLEFONTE, PA (January 15, 2025)— Have you ever heard of the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge? It started as an idea posited in 2001 by reading literacy expert, Mem Fox, in her book, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. The idea is very simple: read 1000 books aloud to your child before they start Kindergarten. The books can be repeated and books read to your child by others (like teachers, family, and librarians) also count. A couple of years after the release of Reading Magic, a librarian from Indiana’s Bremen Public Library, Sandy Krost, was inspired. She started the first ever 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program at her library, offering small rewards and support to families who wanted to embark on the reading challenge. Since then, the program has spread across the county, now even having its own nonprofit charity: the 1000 Books Foundation. Luckily for all the families in Centre County, you all can embark on the 1000 books journey as well with support from your Centre County Library & Historical Museum libraries: the Bellefonte Library, Centre Hall Area Branch Library, and Holt Memorial Library.

Getting involved in the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program is very easy. First, you visit the library’s website at https://www.centrecountylibrary.org/1bbk or your favorite library branch in Bellefonte, Centre Hall, or Philipsburg to register your child(ren) for the program. Then you can start tracking the books your child listens to with the library tracking sheets. These can be printed off from the website or picked up at any library location. After you and your child have completed ten of these tracking sheets and turned them into the library, it’s time to finish the challenge and celebrate! Upon completion, kids will earn a special 1000 Books Before Kindergarten certificate, a commemorative book plate inside a new children’s library book, and a “picture frame” 1000 Books Before Kindergarten magnet.

But why should you be as excited as a librarian to read 1000 books with your child? Reading regularly with your child is known to promote parent/child bonding and early literacy skills. Between the ages of 0-5 (before Kindergarten) parents and guardians are the main educators of children. Reading books regularly together strengthens the quality of education that parents and guardians can provide their children. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program is an easy and fun way to make reading regularly together an easy and manageable endeavor.

For more information about the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program at Centre County Library & Historical Museum libraries, visit their website at https://www.centrecountylibrary.org/1bbk.

For media inquiries please contact

Elizabeth Schwartz

Communications Manager

eschwartz@centrecountylibrary.org

814-355-1516 x1016