I don’t program quite as much as I used to (and particularly not as much as I did during work-from-home pandemic times!). Stepping into management has meant stepping back from day-to-day programming. Most of my programming is filling in when my team are off.
I still enjoy programming, but since presenting programs is now adjacent to my job rather than its primary function, when I do program, I find myself repeating or reimagining programs I’ve done before. One of my favorite programs from both my current and last library has been a Pint-Sized Paint Party.
Pint-Sized Paint Party Logistics
Program Length: 45 minutes – 1 hour
Ages: 6 months – 5 years
Structure: station-based drop-in
5-8 stations spread out in a large programming room
Tarps on the floor under potentially messy areas
Mixture of clean and messy stations, though everything is non-toxic and washable
Prep: Decent amount of pre-program prep but almost all tasks can be done by volunteers (freezing paint cubes, opening paint bottles, stuffing bags, securing tarps to floor)
Pint-Sized Paint Party Stations
Paint-in-a-Bag Activities (Clean)
Participants could choose from a selection of 3 contained paint activities:
Bubble Wrap Pack (5 x 7 clear bubble wrap envelope with cardstock inside)
LOVE Canvas Bag (9 x 12 canvas with the letters LOVE taped in painter’s tape, all in a large freezer gallon-sized ziploc bag) Inspired by Eat Teach Laugh Craft.
Shaker (circular food container with piece of white cardstock and ping-pong ball inside)
Participants brought their selection to staff or teen volunteers who added drips of up to 3 colors of paint before taping the item shut with packing tape.
Families took their creations home with them to dry – though the LOVE canvases most resembled a long-term keepsake.
Ice Cube Painting (Messy)
Kids selected a frozen paint cube to color on cardstock as the paint melted.
I’ve read blog posts about folks successfully doing this with water and food coloring, but I’ve never got this to work well (the water melts, but it remains clear on paper).
Instead, I froze Crayola Washable Paint in ice cube trays with half-popsicle-sticks inside each cube. (And plenty of written and verbal warnings to caregivers that those cubes are all paint.)
The timing can be mildly tricky – the cubes should come out of the ice cube trays within a few minutes of coming out of the freezer. They can sit in a different container until they are used, but if you leave the melting cubes in the ice cube trays, they will start to stick to the tray and collapse.
Of course, you don’t want to take them out of the freezer too early, or they will melt before a kid can use them.
If you take them out too close to painting, they won’t have melted enough and kids will grow frustrated that nothing is happening.
While that sounds complicated – it really isn’t too bad in practice. Kids liked touching and manipulating the paint with their hands, and the frozen-style kept the mess pretty contained.
Kids pushed, poked, and explored freezer Ziploc bags with paint inside. They experimented with mixing colors.
Bags were securely taped to a wall or large moveable dry-erase board.
Dot Markers (Clean-ish)
Not quite paint, but close! Kids used dot markers to color pre-printed coloring pages or to make their own creations.
Art Crawl (Messy)
I only ran this station at one library – the station is fun, but the setup takes a lot of time. I used a freestanding baby-gate setup to create an enclosed area layered with tarps on the ground and butcher paper on top. I added piles of paint and various toddler paint toys, and then…I let the babies have fun!
This was supremely messy and required lots of cleaning supplies for caregivers. Not too many caregivers dared to put their babies in the paint pit – but those who did had a blast.
Other Toys
To help keep the youngest ones engaged, I also put out a variety of on-hand brightly colored baby-friendly toys, such as:
The concept for this kit was a reimagining of Bluffton Public Library’s program. I absolutely loved their idea and structure, but I made some adjustments to make my program activity-focused. The assembled activities for Reading Buddies were geared towards a broad range of ages (3-11). It was my hope that this kit would entice kids to enroll in our summer reading program and read to their buddy all summer long. To support this aim, I included several pages of reading recommendations for the age ranges 3-5, 6-8, and 9-11 and supplemental information about our summer reading program and events.
This program would pair well with any pre-K or school-age reading program in a school or library setting.
The kit came with several items:
Booklet of activities
Summer Reading Program materials (specific to our SRP; these were created by our marketing department so I have not included templates)
Reading Buddy in pillow box (information on purchase is below)
Choosing activities for this kit was a challenge because the age range was so wide. I chose ones that aligned with the animal theme of our summer program, Read & Roar and the activity sources can be found on the last page of the packet.
Each kit included a small stuffed animal purchased from Oriental Trading, and I put them in 7” pillow boxes so the animal would be a surprise. The label on the box (PDF included) encouraged the child to read to their reading buddy throughout the summer.
It was a simple kit to conceptualize, design, and assemble and it was fairly cost-effective at about $1.50 per kit. Grown-ups really appreciate the pickup kits at my library, and it is likely that we will continue creating them, even when we return to full-time in-person programming. The PDF files are included and please feel free to reach out to bookcartqueens@gmail.com to request the editable files.
After over a year of planning, I finally launched my library’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program! These blog posts often focus more on day-to-day or week-to-week library activities, like reading, programs, and storytimes, but on any random day, I’m also working on a lot of large behind-the-scenes projects too. I’m thrilled to finally be able to share one of those projects with you.
Part 1 focused on the logistics of the program as well as our physical workbook. In this post, I’ll focus on our online component run through ReadSquared.
What is 1000 Books?
1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a nationwide initiative, adapted by many libraries and educational institutions, to promote reading and encourage child/caregiver bonding through reading.
The goal is simple and pretty self explanatory: read 1000 books together before your child starts kindergarten.
Why run a 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program?
A child is more successful in school when an adult actively read, spoke, and engaged with them during the 0-5 years. The more words children hear at young ages, the larger their vocabulary, and the more prepared they will be to learn to read. Setting a high goal with a concrete reward system—like reading 1000 books before starting kindergarten—encourages adults to actively and continuously engage with their children. Children who start out ahead typically end up ahead. Studies show that these early language needs are even higher in lower socioeconomic households.
Other benefits to a 1000 Books program:
Brings a sense of ownership and pride to reading. After completing this program, kids know they accomplished something big.
Builds caregiver knowledge and interest about their role in school readiness.
From a library statistics perspective, 1000 Books programs boost circulation numbers.
1000 Books Before Kindergarten: ReadSquared Program
ReadSquared is one of a handful of online reading program management tools your library can purchase. Using a system like ReadSquared for your online reading program management takes away some of the freedom you would have by creating your own in-house summer reading management website, but, in exchange for unlimited customizability, you get a website that is hosted offsite with a great tech team that is always available to help you fix glitches and change the design of your page.
There are a lot of pros and cons to various online reading program management tools. This isn’t a post about that, but my quick feelings about ReadSquared are that (on the positive side) you do have a lot of customization options compared to its top competitor, Beanstack, and (on the negative side) the core layout of the website isn’t really negotiable, it looks a bit dated overall, and the back side is a bit of an organizational mess. Make sure someone on your team is familiar with basic HTML and has the time and patience to dig through many menus to find the exact editing tool you are looking for.
My library uses ReadSquared for our set-your-own-goal summer reading program and our BINGO-style winter reading program. 1000 Books is our first attempt at a year-round program, and I’m really happy with where we ended up. All the programs are supposed to be able to run smoothly at the same time, though we haven’t tested that out in full quite yet.
Every 1000 Books reader needs a ReadSquared account. They don’t have to use it for recording, but they do need an account so that library staff can keep track of their prizes.
If a family already has an account from a previous summer or winter reading program, they can log in with that account to sign up for this program. Kids can all be linked to the same account, making for easy book logging for the caregiver.
I’m not going to screenshot every element of this process, but to make an online account, we require that participants provide their first and last name, their email address, and a username and password.
Once they login or register, they will be taken to the home page:
Home Page
Families can immediately record their reading on the home page or they can use the various navigation menus to access other features. The home page also includes:
Progress Bar
Sponsor Information
Most Popular Books (books recorded by other participants recently)
FAQs
One important note for libraries considering ReadSquared for a 1000 Books program: at the moment, ReadSquared does not allow for public users to log more than one book at a time. So if a family read 20 books in one day, they do need to add 20 individual books. However, library staff, using the admin side of ReadSquared, can add any number of books at once with one click. So, if a caregiver does not want to type in 100 book titles, they can just stop by or call the library and ask library staff to record the reading for them.
Logging a Book
Families can log a book from the Home Page or the Logging page. When they select “Log Reading” they will be asked to add some information about the book (title, author, review). All of this information is optional–they could just push “Submit” and the system will log one book read.
Logging History
The Logging History page lets families see how many books they have logged (and which titles, if they provided that information).
Badges
That is all the technical content, what about the fun stuff? For our program, readers earn virtual badges whenever they receive an equivalent in-person prize (one for getting started (when they get their workbook) and another badge for every 100 books read). These match the sticker images that they will earn for their workbooks.
Missions
Our physical workbook contains a bunch of early literacy tips for different age ranges, and we wanted to convert that information to our online format (while also promoting other library services and programs). These turned into Missions. Missions don’t earn participants physical prizes, but they do earn a virtual badge.
Our missions and activities include:
Read Together: From birth, your baby can start to learn about reading, like how to sound out words and what direction to hold a book.
Ages 0-2 – Read together…even if just a few pages: Choose a time when your baby is relaxed and happy. Read for as long as your baby is interested. Just a page or two is fine! Try one of these.
Ages 0-2 – Join us for baby storytime: For a schedule of live storytimes, visit the library’s events calendar. Or watch on demand whenever is convenient for you with pre-recorded storytimes on our YouTube channel.
Ages 0-3 – Read a board book: Show your baby a board book. (A board book is made of thick cardboard pages.) Let them explore on their own, even if that means books get chewed on or thrown.
Ages 0-3 – Show babies other babies: Babies love to see other babies! Check out books featuring large, bright photographs of other babies from this list.
Ages 0-5 – Take a picture walk: You don’t have to read the words on the page! Talk or sing about the pictures instead. Identify the animals or colors or make up your own story–time spent with a book helps your child learn how books work.
Ages 0-5 – Sign up for free books: Fill your home library with books! Mailed to your child monthly until their 5th birthday, each book is a free gift for your child to keep. This service is made possible by the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library. Learn more.
Ages 0-5 – Watch a storytime video: Explore book retelling videos by your favorite librarians. Watch one of these videos.
Ages 0-5 – Take a book; leave a book: A wooden box filled with books, a Little Free Library is a mini collection you can browse any time of day. Take home whatever catches your fancy and if you want, bring back one of your own to share with others. No library card required. No fines. No need to return what you borrow. Learn more.
Ages 0-5 – Read a nonfiction book: Read a nonfiction book together. Nonfiction books help babies and toddlers attach words to everyday objects and help preschoolers realize that words represent other things. Try one of these.
Ages 0-5 – Point out the words: Run your fingers under the words on the page as you read them. Little ones will begin to understand that those shapes on the page mean something.
Ages 0-5 – Make books part of your daily routine: Make books part of everyday experiences. Place a bag of books in the car or near the table for meals, or read a book each day for a week before naptime, bedtime, or bath time.
Ages 2-3 – Join us for toddler storytime: For a schedule of live storytimes, visit the library’s events calendar. Or watch on demand whenever is convenient for you with pre-recorded storytimes on our YouTube channel.
Ages 2-5 – Read…and repeat!: Read the same books over and over again. Pause before a predictable word and ask your toddler or preschooler to guess the next word. Or ask what happens next in their favorite story.
Ages 3-5 – Read…upside down!: When reading, hold a book upside down until your preschooler notices. Show them how to hold a book. Talk about the book’s parts, like the cover, pages, title, and author.
Ages 3-5 – Join us for preschool storytime: For a schedule of live storytimes, visit the library’s events calendar. Or watch on demand whenever is convenient for you with pre-recorded storytimes on our YouTube channel.
Sing Together: When you sing, you slow down words. This helps your child hear the smaller sounds, learn syllables, and develop vocabulary. Singing also helps develop listening and memory skills. Singing together is a fun bonding experience – whether you’re a good singer or not!
Ages 0-5 – Dance together: Dance to music that you and your little one enjoy. Try these dance party favorites, free to stream or download with your Westerville Library card.
Ages 0-5 – Listen to your favorite (grown-up) music: Listen to your favorite music – your baby may recognize your grown-up tunes.
Ages 0-5 – Sing together: Sing a tune or nursery rhyme together. For a new song every day, visit daybydayoh.org.
Ages 0-5 – Read a singing book!: Some books have a natural rhythm or rhyme that are great for singing. Read one of these.
Ages 0-5 – Watch a video: Bounce to the rhythm or try out one of these favorite storytimes songs. Watch one of these videos.
Ages 0-5 – Make up a song together: Create songs about everyday activities, such as changing a diaper or putting on clothes.
Ages 0-5 – Adapt a tune: Adapt the tune “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” to “This Is the Way We…” (put on our pants, wash our hands, etc.).
Ages 0-5 – Clap your name: Clap or tap your child’s name. Focus on each syllable. Encourage your toddler or preschooler to try this too–you’ll be surprised how quickly they can find the syllables themselves.
Ages 1-5 – Shake!: Shake to the beat of a familiar rhyme or tune. Grab an item that your baby can grasp, or make a shaker out of an empty water bottle filled with baby-safe items.
Ages 1-5 – Clap to the beat: Clap the syllables of words as you sing. Breaking down words into smaller parts is a useful skill when your child starts reading.
Ages 2-5 – Sing fast and slow: Sing the same song at different speeds to help your little one get used to rhythm and tempo. Try singing familiar tunes faster and faster, then slower and slower.
Ages 2-5 – Freeze dance: Freeze songs are a great way for your child to practice self-control, focus, and listening skills. Turn a favorite song into a freeze dance by starting and stopping the music at random.
Ages 2-5 – Pause: “The Itsy Bitsy Spider went up the water….spout!” Pause while singing to allow toddlers and preschoolers to fill in the missing words.
Ages 3-5 – Create silly songs: Create silly songs by making up your own words for familiar tunes. Let your child choose unique animals for “Old McDonald Had a Farm” and unique actions for “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”
Ages 3-5 – Print the lyrics: Help your little one recognize that songs are made up of words. Print out the lyrics to your favorite song, then run your fingers under the words on the page as you sing them together.
Play Together: Playing encourages your child to put their thoughts into words, tell stories, problem-solve and imagine. All of these skills will help them become better readers and writers when they start school.
Ages 0-2 – Play peek-a-boo: Play peek-a-boo! Peek-a-boo helps babies understand that just because they can’t see something, that object still exists.
Ages 0-5 – Visit the story trail: Enjoy the fresh air, a stroll…and a story. This literacy adventure builds reading skills and creates memories, from start to finish. For all ages. Visit again and again; you may find a different story waiting for you. Learn more.
Ages 0-5 – Play with mirrors: Play in front of a mirror and point to your little one’s body parts.
Ages 0-5 – Borrow a learning kit: Play, sing, write, read, talk and have fun with your favorite little ones while using tip cards to practice early literary skills. Learn more.
Ages 0-5 – Read a playing book!: Some books include games or other interactive elements that are great for encouraging play. Read one of these.
Ages 0-5 – Visit the imagination station: Located in the kids department at the library, this interactive display is regularly transformed into a themed exhibit intended to actively engage, entertain and educate young visitors of all ages.
Ages 0-5 – Play and learn around the house: Running out of ideas? Try these easy activities you can do together with common household objects. Watch now.
Ages 0-5 – Play…and repeat!: Repeat the same game or activity over and over again. You might feel bored, but your little one feels reassurance and builds important connections through repetition.
Ages 0-5 – Play with music: Dance to an action song like “The Hokey Pokey.” Songs that name body parts build physical awareness.
Ages 0-5 – Play with words: When playing, use big words and small words. Use as many words as you can! The more words your child hears, the easier it will be to identify those words when they start reading.
Ages 0-5 – Moo, honk, beep!: Make noises for different toys, like trucks, baby dolls, or animals. Hearing different sounds and experiencing pitches, tones, and volumes helps your little one develop the basics of language.
Ages 2-5 – Play on the go: Play wherever you are! Play “I Spy” on a long car ride or in the grocery store. Introduce new vocabulary each time you play.
Ages 3-5 – Make open-ended art: Explore open-ended activities. Encourage imagination and problem-solving with art supplies for the sake of play, not to make a specific craft.
Ages 3-5 – Go on a letter hunt: Pick a letter and find five items around the house that start with that letter. Try a new letter each day!
Talk Together: When you talk to your child about different events and ideas, it helps them learn new vocabulary and to use words they know.
Ages 0-3 – Say my name: Babies focus on the word spoken immediately after their name. Instead of saying, “Julia, would you like to read a book?” Try saying: “Julia, book! Would you like to read a book?”
Ages 0-3 – Talk with sign language: Babies understand more than they can say. Using gestures, including American Sign Language, is a great way to communicate with your child. Practice words like more, stop, and no. Learn more with these books.
Ages 0-5 – Narrate your day: Talk to your baby all the time, even if they can’t respond quite yet. The more words your baby hears, the larger their vocabulary will grow.
Ages 0-5 – Read a talking book!: Some books encourage talking. Read one of these.
Ages 0-5 – Watch a video: Try some of these games and activities to encourage asking questions. Watch one of these videos.
Ages 0-5 – Pause for 10 seconds.: Pause. Toddlers and preschoolers need 7-10 seconds to process what you asked and create a response. Give them plenty of time to think before moving on to another question.
Ages 0-5 – Ask open-ended questions: When playing, ask your child open-ended questions, such as:
What do you think will happen if…
Can you think of another way to…
What else can you build… Give them plenty of time to respond. Some responses might not be verbal.
Ages 0-5 – Notice excitement: Your child will let you know what interests them by using actions, facial expressions, and speech. When they point out a window or give you a questioning look, put their action into words: “Yes! That’s a squirrel. Look at him running along the fence.”
Ages 0-5 – Talk with your eyes: When talking to your little one, actively make eye contact. Babies and toddlers learn to recognize emotions from facial expressions.
Ages 2-5 – Dial a story: Hear a story read aloud by your Westerville librarians. A great way to entertain kids at bedtime, in waiting rooms, or on rainy days. Available via phone 24/7. Call 614-665-9696. Learn more.
Ages 2-5 – Oops!: Make mistakes on purpose when singing familiar songs or completing familiar activities. Let your toddler or preschooler correct you. Make sure your little one is very familiar with your activity before trying this – you don’t want to confuse them.
Ages 3-5 – Talk about books: Look at a book together. What direction do you hold a book? Identify the parts of a book like the cover, title, author, and illustrator.
Ages 3-5 – Tell a story: Work together to tell a story. Put a series of events in order, tell a familiar story from the pictures, or make up a story using just your imagination.
Ages 3-5 – Talk about new words: Preschoolers learn new words best in context. When you discover some new vocabulary, discuss it at that moment. Try relating the word to a word they already know.
Ages 3-5 – Follow directions: Encourage listening with games that include clear directions, like Simon Says.
Write Together: Giving children opportunities to write, even if it is just scribbles, helps children understand that print can represent spoken words. It can also help children develop eye-hand coordination and the fine motor control they need to hold a pencil.
Ages 0-3 – Pick up sticks: Practice activities that build finger muscles, such as picking up Cheerios and grasping toys.
Ages 0-5 – Read a book about shapes: Learning shapes helps children more easily recognize letters when the time comes. Read a book about shapes.
Ages 0-5 – Watch a video: Practice a fingerplay to build the muscles needed to hold a pencil. Watch one of these videos.
Ages 0-5 – Read a writing book!: Some books encourage writing. Read one of these.
Ages 1-3 – Crumple paper: Practice activities that build finger muscles, such as crumpling paper and grasping small objects like shakers, straws, spoons, and more.
Ages 1-5 – Explore shapes: Explore shapes. Letters are made of shapes, so identifying shapes is a first step towards recognizing letters. Go on a shape scavenger hunt, finding three squares, three circles, and three triangles around your house.
Ages 1-5 – Color and scribble: Encourage your little one to color and scribble. You don’t need a coloring page–coloring outside the lines is just as beneficial as coloring inside them. Grasping a crayon helps build the muscles needed to hold a pencil in school.
Ages 1-5 – Play with letters: Build finger muscles and learn to recognize letters by playing with them! Make letters out of playdough or explore letter magnets.
Ages 2-5 – Write while playing: Incorporate writing into play activities. Write a pretend grocery list. Help your child pretend to take your order at a restaurant. Sign pretend receipts when you play store.
Ages 2-5 – Play with tweezers: Make pick-up games more challenging with a pair of toddler or preschool sized tweezers (plastic child-safe kitchen tongs might work too). Use the tweezers to sort pom poms, cereal, dice, or other small items.
Ages 3-5 – Write about your art: Ask your preschooler to write about their drawing. Even if they aren’t writing letters, this helps them recognize that written words stand for spoken words.
Ages 3-5 – Use scissors: Build writing muscles by practicing an important kindergarten skill: using scissors. Consider one of these activities or make up your own:
Cut lines in the top of a paper towel tube to create silly hair (don’t forget to draw a face too).
Cut along the lines separating paint chips.
Cut through rolled strips of playdough.
Ages 3-5 – Make dots with glue: Create a sheet of paper filled with evenly spaced tiny dots, about the size of the tip of a pencil. Give your child a bottle of liquid glue with a squeeze-top, and challenge them to limit the amount of glue they use–just enough to cover a single dot.
Ages 3-5 – Write together: Keep a journal for you and your child. Encourage them to draw a picture of something they did that day or something they are excited about. Ask them to tell you about their drawing, and write down what they say underneath. Read their words back to them, drawing your finger underneath the words as you say them.
Reading Lists
Our last bonus feature on our ReadSquared page is our 1000 Books Reading Lists. Approximately 40 Reading Lists are filled with book suggestions to help families keep reading. Topics include:
Animals & Pets
Baby Faces
Baby Favorites
Bedtime & Bathtime
Beginning to Read
Being Kind
Change the World
Dinosaurs
Early Literacy: Play Together
Early Literacy: Read Together
Early Literacy: Sing Together
Early Literacy: Talk Togeter
Early Literacy: Write Together
Explore Outdoors
Family Love
Family Read Alouds
Favorite Characters
Getting Dressed
Growing Up
Holidays & Celebrations
Kids Like Me
Laugh Out Loud
Learn Colors
Learn Shapes
Learn the ABCs
Learn to Count
Lift-the-Flap & Pop-Up
Nonfiction Fun
Potty Training
Preschool Favorites
Real Stories: Biographies
Seasons
Siblings
Starting School
Talk About Race
Things That Go
Time to Eat
Toddler Favorites
Unicorns, Fairies, and Everything Magic
Access those lists and more here (without logging in).
…and that is it! All of the different parts of our ReadSquared 1000 Books website. What kind of recording do you use for your library’s 1000 Books program? Share in the comments!
Dragon eggs are a simple craft that can work well as an element of magical décor during a program or as an easy take home or in-person craft program. In preparation for our annual Wizards & Wands Festival, library staff are taking home baskets of egg-making supplies to craft some new décor pieces during their work from home hours.
While we are using these as decor for a large library event, this could be turned into a fun craft program for all ages. Cost will vary based on egg size (as will time needed to complete the craft), but the final product is quite pretty and a lot of fun for fantasy fans.
Dragon Egg Craft Supplies:
Eggs: We’ve used a variety of different sized eggs. The largest eggs are best statement pieces, but those are a bit costly for a public craft program where you might be buying supplies per person (and they are also more time consuming to create).
Start in the center of the bottom of the egg. Push thumbtack in firmly.
Create a ring of thumbtacks around the one you first placed. Make sure they overlap slightly, so that no Styrofoam shows, but they don’t need to overlap a lot—you have a limited number of thumbtacks.
Continue around and around the egg until it is entirely covered.
Optional: After egg is covered with thumbtacks, use spray paint to create a shiny colorful sheen!
After over a year of planning, I finally launched my library’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program last week. These blog posts often focus more on day-to-day or week-to-week library activities, like reading, programs, and storytimes, but on any random day, I’m also working on a lot of large behind-the-scenes projects too. I’m thrilled to finally be able to share one of those projects with you.
And before this gets buried in all the upcoming text, a big shout out to my library’s marketing department who designed the physical book and put up with all of my edit requests.
What is 1000 Books?
1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a nationwide initiative, adapted by many libraries and educational institutions, to promote reading and encourage child/caregiver bonding through reading.
The goal is simple and pretty self explanatory: read 1000 books together before your child starts kindergarten.
Why run a 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program?
A child is more successful in school when an adult actively read, spoke, and engaged with them during the 0-5 years. The more words children hear at young ages, the larger their vocabulary, and the more prepared they will be to learn to read. Setting a high goal with a concrete reward system—like reading 1000 books before starting kindergarten—encourages adults to actively and continuously engage with their children. Children who start out ahead typically end up ahead. Studies show that these early language needs are even higher in lower socioeconomic households.
Other benefits to a 1000 Books program:
Brings a sense of ownership and pride to reading. After completing this program, kids know they accomplished something big.
Builds parent knowledge and interest about their role in school readiness.
From a library statistics perspective, 1000 Books programs boost circulation numbers.
How long will this take?
Parents may be daunted by the large number, but, by just reading one book a day, a child should finish the program in less than three years. Some possible program lengths:
1 book a day = 1,000 books in 3 years
2 books a day = 1,000 books in 1.5 years
3 books a day = 1,000 books in 1 year
5 books a day = 1,000 books in 6 months
1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program Specifics
Before starting your program, there are some specifics you need to figure out. These include:
How will participants log their reading?
What are the incentives?
How will you fund the program?
Answers to Participant FAQs
How will participants log their reading?
We give participants two options: a physical, spiral-bound workbook (more info below) and an online system managed through ReadSquared (more on that in a future post).
What are the incentives?
Our incentives include:
Sign up = workbook & pencil
100 books read = 1 sticker for every 100 books read (10 total)
I’ll share pictures of some of these below, but the timeline for purchasing some of these items depends on reaching certain program milestones (such as registering our first 50 kids). So, while I know what I would like to order, specific prize books have not been officially selected yet. For each prize book earned, families will have a choice between three prize book options.
How will you fund the program?
Our program is sponsored by our library’s Foundation. (Those incentives aren’t cheap!) I wanted to make this a program that would really engage our community and keep them participating over the years it will take them to finish, so we chose incentives that will hopefully encourage people to keep participating.
Answers to Participant FAQs
Your library’s answers to these questions might differ, but some of our FAQ include:
What if someone else reads to my child? Count all reading! Books read by caregivers, siblings, grandparents, friends, teachers, librarians, and more all count. Watch a storytime and count those books, too.
What if we read the same book more than once? Every time you read a book, count it in your reading log! Repetition is wonderful for reading development. Your child will notice new details during each reread. If you read Pete the Cat ten times in one day, that counts as ten books read!
We finished! Can we keep reading? Of course! While you can only receive prizes once, we encourage you to keep going. Stop by the library anytime for book recommendations.
1000 Books Before Kindergarten Workbook
At sign-up, each reader gets their own physical workbook and a pencil to log their reading. I love our 64-page workbook filled with many pages to log your reading, early literacy tips and book recommendations, advertisements for various library services, and more.
Our workbook begins with a page to label your workbook in case it is lost and to track how long the program took you to complete.
The next spread focuses on how the program works and those frequently asked questions we highlighted above.
Moving on to a spread with a reminder to log online if you would like (more on that in Part 2) and the first of two All About Me pages. This page should be filled out at the beginning of the program, with the second, similar page being filled out after you’ve read 1000 Books.
Next come the early literacy spreads! I love how these turned out. Four age ranges are featured: 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, and 3-5. Each spread has an early literacy tip for read, sing, talk, play and write, as well as 12 book recommendations.
Listing books in a printing of this volume (we purchased 1000 of these logbooks at once!) was quite an endeavor. While we still ended up publishing pages filled with many of my favorite books, some of these were round two or round three suggestions. I worked with our collection development team to find books that we could bulk up on copies of now and that we would hopefully still be able to purchase (or would still own) in 3-5 years, since these log books will be sticking around a while.
Next we have lots and lots of book logging pages. Each page contains 25 images. Each image represents one book. Families can color or check off each image for each book read.
Pages marking 100-book intervals have a special spot for a sticker that participants can pick up at the library. Our marketing department designed and printed our stickers in house on label paper:
But what if a family really wants to write down the names of the books they read? There are a few pages to record up to 30 favorite titles in the workbook, and the online system encourages writing out each title.
Wrapping up the workbook, we have our second All About Me page and advertisements for some of our other library programs and services.
