How To Read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

We have done this challenge twice and are starting a third. Get all the details on How To Read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten without stress.

Books have always been my thing.

In middle school, I was on the Battle of the Books team two years running and we won both years. In high school, I spent a ton of time at the library searching out new books to read. As an adult, I was an avid reader.

Admittedly, with three young kids and running a few businesses, my personal reading has gone way downhill in that last few years. However, I am constantly reading to the kids.

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When Zoey was little, Rob and I took her to an event at the library promoting 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. The kickoff encouraged reading at home, and while as teachers we knew how important that was, we kicked our reading up several notches with Zoey.

You see, Rob and I love a good challenge (see multiple marathons, running an Ironman, and eating vegetarian for a month), so trying to hit that 1,000 book mark was right up our ally.

Once we started to double down on our reading time with Zoey and keeping track of the books we read to her, we hit that 1,000 book mark in just eight months.

We did the same thing for William and we are now gearing up to start it with Hazel.

This post goes into more of the details of how to read 1,000 books before kindergarten. It includes why you should be reading with your children, changes we have seen in our own kids once we started this challenge, how we read so many books, how to keep track of everything we read, and a few of our favorite books.

As a note, we are a screen free family, which you can read all about here.

Why You Should Read To Your Children

As a former teacher of 11 years in English, ESL, and Reading Specialist roles, it was a bit jarring to see the amount of reading struggles so many students had.

By reading with your child as such an early age, you are creating those early literacy skills, giving them exposure to words and stories, and providing a bonding experience between you and your child.

Reading with your child helps develop their imaginations, ability to concentrate, vocabulary, and empathy.

Do not assume your children are reading at daycare (or even in K-12 levels). While many schools have a designated DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read), that time often gets skipped in favor of catching up on curriculum, assemblies, or fire drills.

Changes We Have Seen In The Kids From Reading

In the beginning, William did not want to be part of reading together. He would sit for 2-3 minutes before getting up to go play.

We continued to read around him even while he was tinkering with some other toy.

About 300 books in he started picking books from the book shelves and book bin for his playtime activity or grabbing one and wandering over to us to read to him with an emphatic, “Book,” directive.

As a result of all our reading, Zoey has an incredible imagination, is extremely empathetic (just watch her facial expressions when we read), and adores sitting with a pile of books. Reading is her love language and if you sit and read with her a while, you will hold a special place in her heart forever.

How To Read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

This task of reading 1,000 books may seem completely daunting, but you can do this. You need to be a bit strategic in the beginning, but it will feel like a natural part of your day pretty quickly.

Have books everywhere

We have two book bins in the playroom, bookshelves in the kids’ rooms, and an adult book shelf in the TV room. We make books very readily available.

Set a reading routine

We read a minimum of six books per day. It breaks down to two in the morning to wake up before breakfast, two before quiet time (after lunch), and two before bed. Other books are sprinkled in throughout the day as the kids ask to read together during our play time.

Read together

The goal of 1,000 books before kindergarten is not just to read the books, but to build that connection time with your child.

It is not always the books the kids remember, but the cozy time they got to spend with you, being still, and enjoying a story.

Let your kids play

Do not force your child to sit in your lap to read. Zoey would sit in our lap for hours to read if we let her.

William would sit for a few minutes and then get up to play with something. We still read, “teacher style”, by holding up the book and pointing to pictures while reading.

He was listening and now he will sit through as many books as he can get us to sit still for.

Get into it

Go all out with voices, follow up questions, arm movements, and emphasis. Your kids do not care if you sound silly or if your British accent is complete garbage. They just love your passion.

I use voices so much when reading with the kids that Zoey has taken to talking in different voices when we play pretend games.

Make it a priority

If you put books at the forefront of your day, you are going to tackle this challenge no problem. Getting into the flow of a reading schedule might be bumpy in the beginning, but stick with it and I promise it will just feel like a natural part of your day.

Be comfortable reading the same book over and over again

There is nothing wrong with reading a book your child loves multiple times. The fact that they want to share this book they love so much with you is a huge testament to the connection they feel with you.

Encourage variety

While you can embrace the rereading of a same book hundreds of times, also encourage your child to pick a different book, or take turns choosing. This gives them a wider exposure to different books and gives you a change.

How To Keep Track Of Your Books

Do the tracking in a way that works for you. Tracking your books should not be a stressor to this challenge, but something you do with a sense of pride.

Check with your local library if they have a tracking sheet you can use.

Add a sticker

Every time you read, your child gets to add a sticker to a chart.

Check Marks

Rob and I went really simple with William and just put tally marks on a piece of paper on the fridge. Quick, easy, and done.

Bead Jar

Count out 1,000 beads (or work in increments of 100). Every time you read a book, add a bead from the pre-counted beads to a jar.

Where To Get Books and How To Choose Books

I have had so many conversations with parents who do not read more with their kids because they are not sure which books to read.

It does not matter. Just start reading.

Library

The kids and I make a weekly library trip and average walking out with 40 books each time. I pick a few that seem like they work on specific skills – colors, sharing, etc – and then I let the kids pick whatever they want. Each child gets their own book bag to load up.

Once we get home from the library, we usually spend at least half an hour reading together from our new pile.

Book Sales

Your local library probably has a big book sale once or twice a year. We load up on books we think have longevity at these sales.

Garage Sales

You can find excellent and cheap deals on kids books at garage sales. Do a few minutes of research ahead of time to make sure they have books for younger kids before you go.

Buy Nothing Facebook Groups

I am part of a local buy nothing facebook group that usually has a few book posts each week. I have gotten tons of gems from this group and the kids are always excited to have new-to-them books in the house they can keep.

Gifts

We make it a point to gift the kids at least one book for every Christmas and birthday. You can adopt that idea or ask others to gift your children books.

Our Favorite Kids Books

This list of books is a mix of both the kids’ favorites and adult favorites.

• Dear Zoo
• Baby Faces
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• First 100 Words Board Books
• Little Blue Truck books
• The Pout-Pout Fish
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
• Elbow Grease vs Motozilla
• Fancy Nancy books
• Dr. Seuss books
• The “Hey! That’s My Monster” Books
• Elephant and Piggie Books by Mo Willems

Reading consistently with your child at an early age is vital to their literacy development. Start simply by putting a book bin or book shelf in your play area and setting a routine to read together for a few minutes at least once per day. Stick with it and within in a few months you will have made a big dent in that 1,000 books before kindergarten challenge.

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