1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
A brand new initiative launched in Fairfax County Public Library on November 1st, 2016: 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. This is a nationwide program that Fairfax Library Foundation is proud to help bring to our community. Sign-up in your library branch today!
Support this important initiative!
A $25 donation funds the participation of 10 or more children in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative. A small gift has a big impact: Donate now!
When you donate and designate your gift to 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, we’ll send you this window decal to show the community that you’re a proud supporter!
Why 1,000 Books
Studies show that children perform better in school throughout their education if they’ve started developing pre-reading skills before starting kindergarten. And reading aloud to children is important in fostering those reading and vocabulary skills—even starting as early as birth! Our goal in bringing this program to our community is to help parents and caregivers prepare children for kindergarten with these great tools for tracking books read and motivating young readers.
From the library, here are 5 Reasons to Read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten!
The 1,000 Books kick-off video:
How 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Works
From the Fairfax County Public Library 1,000 Books Page:
- Any child who hasn’t entered kindergarten yet is eligible for the program, including infants.
- Once your child has heard 25 books, sign him or her up at any Fairfax County Public Library branch and receive a packet of information with reading logs.
- Track your reading! At the following milestones, return to any Fairfax County Public Library branch to receive a prize: 100 Books | 250 Books | 500 Books | 750 Books | 1,000 Books
The goal is for your child to read or be read 1,000 books before he or she enters kindergarten. Reading unique titles or a child’s favorite book multiple times all count toward the 1,000 goal—we know children like repetition. Hearing books at storytimes also counts to the 1,000 book goal.
The library has excellent early literacy resources for preschoolers including book suggestions and an early literacy newsletter.
There’s an App for that!
The national 1,000 Books program offers a FREE mobile app. You can easily track the books read with a quick scan of the barcode.
Fairfax Library Foundation is a 1,000 Books Sponsor
Fairfax Library Foundation is proud to sponsor this initiative in Fairfax County, along with the Friends of the Library Groups. Contributions to the Foundation have already funded $34,000 in materials and milestone prizes—and we’re going to need more funds! Even before the launch date, we’ve had so much interest in the program we know we’re going to need raise more money. We want to make sure every child has a chance to participate and experience the rewards of reading. If you are interested in donating to this program, go to our donation page and write “for 1,000 Books” in the comments or write the same in the memo line of a check. If you are interested in being a sponsor of the program, please learn more on our sponsor page.
The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative aligns perfectly with the goals of the Foundation: to enhance Fairfax County Public Library. The largest program we currently support is Ready to Read Early Literacy Outreach, which also promotes pre-reading skills. Ready to Read sends trained staff and volunteers to Head Start and other preschool classrooms to do monthly storytimes, and provides children with picture books to take home and keep. We giveaway nearly 30,000 books each year, and these are often the only books in the child’s home.
Head to the library!
We hope you will head to the library to sign up the young children in your life. And maybe it will inspire us grown-ups to pick up an extra book, too.
