Three local families were recently recognized for following the “1,000 books before Kindergarten” national program which Carnegie Public Library began to take part in a few years back.
Aaron Teter, the children’s services specialist at the Carnegie Public Library branch in Washington Court House, explained that the purpose of the program is to foster reading and to simply get children to read 1,000 books before they enter their kindergarten years.
Two of the kids who were awarded were Emma and Abigail Thoroman, daughters of Jeff and Jennifer Thoroman. Jennifer told Teter they kept a list of the books they have read.
According to Teter, the Thoroman family mostly reads at bedtime or during afternoons on the couch. Their favorite reads include “The Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn, “Frozen” books, the Froggy series by Johnathan London, as well as “Pajama time” by Sandra Boynton.
Two other children awarded were Kenley and Cali Six, daughters of Zach and Jessica Six. Teter explained the Six family said they read at home, in the car and at the library.
Their favorite reads includes “Dear Girl” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, “Pinkalicious” by Victoria Kann, “Fill a Bucket” by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin, “Hoptoad” by Jane Yolen, as well as Bill Martin and Eric Carle’s “Brown Bear, Brown Bear.”
Tori Schlichter was the member of the third family to reach the achievement of 1,000 books before Kindergarten but was unable to attend the event. She will receive her trophy at a later date.
Teter explained through an email that “the parents agreed that reading books have helped their children be prepared for kindergarten both as far as familiarity with reading and with general knowledge. They credit the library’s children’s programming with helping to build much needed social skills.”
The program does have an app to help keep track of books. The online website can be found at https://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org/ and contains a great deal of information.
It explains on the website that reading 1,000 books before Kindergarten is easier than people think and that books can be repeated. There are 365 days a year and if a book is read nearly every night, then in two years it equals about 730 books. After three years it would add up to approximately 1,095 books.
“It’s great for the kids to be more successful in school even if they aren’t really reading and they’re just listening,” said Teter.
Reach Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355.
