All aboard!! Welcome to 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten! This free, fun program encourages you to read 1,000 books to your child before they begin their 5K school year. Setting this goal helps establish reading as a healthy daily habit and gives your child the literacy skills needed to enter kindergarten ready to read.  Sharing books together daily encourages learning and helps develop critical pre-reading skills, setting the solid foundation for lifelong learning success.

Here are the easy steps for participation:

1. Read together. Start early! Sturdy board books are excellent starters for tiny hands.

2. Fill out your 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten reading log. For each book you read, color in or cross off a train car. Write down favorite titles in the spaces provided, so you’ll always have a record of your child’s favorites. If you read a book more than once, you can record it each time you read it. Books read during library storytimes, at daycare, or by others (adults AND older children) also count toward your child’s total.

3. Every time you finish a sheet of 100 books, bring it to the Cudahy Family Library and:

* Receive a sticker for your child’s accomplishment
* Help your child place a special circle sticker on our Railroad Readers mural
* Get rewarded with a book bag at the halfway mark (500 books)
* Upon completion of 1,000 books, your child:
- Gets a huge jumpstart on success in school
- Receives a certificate
- Has a new book added to the library collection, dedicated in their honor
- Has his or her name placed on our Conductor’s Wall of Fame

There is no end date to Railroad Readers except your child’s entry into 5K, so take your time and enjoy the experience. Every day, spend some time sharing books, telling and talking about stories, singing songs, saying nursery rhymes, engaging in one-on-one play, and attending library programs. Not only will you be reading 1,000 books before your child begins his or her 5K program, you’ll be creating memories, moment by moment.

Happy reading!

Sponsored by the Friends of Cudahy Library