I love setting goals and would love to impart that ambition to my son, so when I found out about the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program at my local library, I was excited to have something new to do with Jacobi that also had an end goal! While I definitely want to continue reading well past 1000 books, or kindergarten – this program has become a fun addition to our library routine.

I talked to the librarians for more information, as well as perusing the foundation’s website. Essentially, the mission statement for the foundation is to promote reading to children and also parent-child bonding through literacy. Of course we all know the great benefits of reading – and I would encourage you to check out Mrs. Lion’s post where she so eloquently shared some great resources and studies that show that immense benefits for children who are read to.

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We just recently started the program and J is just over two years old. There are 40 months, or 1216 days, between now and when J will start kindergarten, which translates to reading one book a day! There are some days we go without reading, and days we read 20 books over and over again (sometimes the same book 20 times). Each time we read a book, we keep track in the folder given to us from the library, which is made up of these reading log sheets from the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten website.

Each page that we received from the library logs 20 books, and each time he finishes a page, he brings it to the library and he can mark the completed page with a sticker. At each 100-book mark, he earns a reward. He recently hit the 100-book milestone, and was rewarded with a 1000 Books Before Kindergarten book bag! He loves to put the books he picks out in his own special bag to take home.

It is truly so simple. We go at our own pace, the program is free, and we keep track of the books read on our own – and yes, reading the same book is allowed! It makes it especially fun that there are milestones and rewards along the way.

Every two weeks, J and I make a trip to the library to return all the books he borrowed, and pick out new ones. I help him out too by requesting books I think he will love ahead of time so they are waiting for us. I’ve had a lot of fun looking up toddler reading lists and top books for kids to come up with new titles to read.

You can check to see if this program is located in your area here on their website!