Here is our April update for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten!
Remember, if you have not yet registered, there are two ways to participate in 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten:
• You can visit a Library location to receive a paper log. Staff will take your information and provide you with a booklet to keep track of all the books your child reads.
• Or sign up on Beanstack to track books online, the Library’s online reading platform. Just create an account and log books as your child completes them. You can even download the Beanstack app to log books by scanning their barcode with your phone!
Literacy at Home
Do you ever wish kids came with an instruction manual? Or at least a checklist of exactly what to do to support them as they grow? Well, the folks at Reading Rockets can help us out – here are just a few questions you can ask yourself as you assess your early literacy at home environment:
- Do you or another adult in your household read a book with your child at least once a week? How about four times a week or more?
- Do you or another adult in your household use or teach your child new words at least once a week? How about nearly every day?
- Do you help your child learn to sing or say the alphabet?
- Do you help your child learn the sounds that letters of the alphabet make?
It’s important to remember that you are the most important teacher and role model in your child’s life. Daycare and classroom instructors will come and go, but the habits you model and encourage at home make an extraordinary impact:
- Does your child see you or another adult reading books, magazines, or the newspaper at least once a week?
- Do you talk to your child and have detailed imaginative or informative conversations with them? (e.g., “This ice cream is delicious! How do you think ice cream is made?”)
- Do you or another adult take your child to a library at least once every two months?
You are probably already doing many of these activities and routines with your child - way to go and keep it up! If some of these are unfamiliar habits to you, give them a try to supercharge your child’s early literacy skills.
See Reading Rockets’ full post for even more ways to support literacy at home and a printable checklist you can work through!
Book Recommendations
- Does your child have at least one alphabet book?
Dr. Seuss's ABC is Reading Rockets’ own recommendation for an alphabet book. A classic since 1963, Dr. Seuss’ silly rhymes and made-up words are a great way to have fun with sounds!
U Is for Universe by Greg Paprocki is the latest in the author-illustrator’s series of alphabet books. There’s even a page about an eclipse - perfect for the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8, 2024!
- Does your child have at least one rhyme book?
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate is another Reading Rockets recommendation. This charming book about a class of animals’ first day of kindergarten is both a great alphabet book and rhyming book.
Bathe the Cat by Alice McGinty is nothing short of hilarious. In this rhyming story, can the family get their house cleaned up in time for Grandma’s visit? Bathe the Cat is a new Thousand Book prize book for 2024, so don’t miss it when you pass your next 100 book milestone!
For Caregivers
Bringing up Bookmonsters by Amber Ankowski is chock-full of ideas that are as practical as they are fun. Publisher’s Weekly wrote in its review, “For parents looking to bolster literacy, these encouraging tips will feel like an easy-to-follow treasure map.” From teaching your bookmonster “tricks” like spelling and writing to tips and guidance on screen time and playtime, there’s something the grownup of every bookmonster!
Library Updates
Has your child completed their 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten in the last year or so? We would like to cordially invite you to our annual 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten graduation on Saturday, April 20 at Central Library! We will have opportunities for photos, a mortarboard hat craft, a brief storytime and “diploma” ceremony, and cupcakes! Not quite to your thousand books yet? Keep up your reading - we’re rooting for you! We will be so excited to celebrate your 1,000 Book graduation when you hit that marvelous milestone!
Have you been to one of our Live at SLPL performances? Check out our calendar for upcoming family-friendly music and theater performances! And summer is just around the corner – stay tuned for updates on SLPL’s Summer Adventure reading challenge and special events!
Happy reading!
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