1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

Today’s guest blog post comes from an e-mail we received from one of the parents in our Kindermusik community.  Enjoy!

Miss Carol,

I wasn’t sure what to send you regarding our experience with this program so I just wrote it like a letter.  Let me know if you would like additional information.

As an educator for almost 10 years, I knew the importance of reading to young children, especially before they entered school.  Also, as a quiet stay-at-home-dad, who was not a big talker, I wanted to ensure that I filled my son’s day with words, songs, rhymes, and the joy that they all bring.  My wife and I found a library program on the internet called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten but it was not offered in any of the local libraries.  The program emphasized reading and preparing young ones before entering into Kindergarten and supported its claims through studies.

Studies show that reading to toddlers and preschoolers: creates a stronger bond between parents and children, leads to more success in school, increases and improves basic speech skills, creates more logical thinking skills, builds comprehension and context, enhances concentration and discipline, and increases their chances of reading more as they grow older (10 Reasons Why You Should Read to Your Child).

My wife and I were instantly hooked and began our, then, 18 month-old son on the program.  We explained the program to our friends and family and they assisted in the program as well by reading to our son, buying books for his own personal library, and emphasizing reading whenever they could.  We utilized the Salt Lake County Libraries massive resources of board books and picture books, along with his own personal 300 book library, and story-time from friends and family and Mrs. Patrice at our very own Kindermusik Class and are excited to say that he completed his journey this past fall.  It took a little over 2 years but the journey was, and still is, a wonderful one for him and the whole family.  We shared our experience with the Millcreek Center Library and Suzanne Tronier, the manager, has decided to adopt the program.  They are preparing the program for any interested parents as we speak.

I loved participating in this program.  It created a most wonderful bond between my son and I, and between him and the rest of our family and friends.  Through this program, he was introduced to so many things, such as: songs, rhymes, opposites, seasons and those things associated with seasons, animals, classification, colors, shapes, the alphabet, numbers, character building, concepts regarding our faith, diverse people and places, cultures, humor, vocabulary to recognize and express feelings, many different categories of random items (instruments, cars, farm equipment, dealing with construction, and different languages), and so much more.  I would recommend anyone to participate in this program and enjoy the little precious time we have with these little ones.

Demi Clinton

  • Post a comment

    Threaded commenting powered by interconnect/it code.