Welcome to the Library's 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program!

"1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a program designed to help parents prepare their children for one of life’s big milestones: kindergarten. Research has shown that children get ready to read long before they enter school. An excellent way to get your child ready to learn is to read to them.

Reading with your child and making it a special time together shows them that reading is valuable and enjoyable. You can start to develop a love of reading in your child from a very young age!

Any child who has not entered Kindergarten is eligible to participate. Completion will take from a few months to a few years, depending on how often you read.

Any time your child listens to a whole book it counts! It can be a library book, a book from home, a book read at storytime... You can even count multiple readings of the same book. Multiple readings help to develop language skills.

You are your child’s first teacher, and your home is where your child begins to learn. When you talk, sing, read, write, and play you are helping your child get ready to read!"
 (L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, 2021)

Getting started:

• 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program Guide
• 1000 Books Booklist
• READsquared Instructions

L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. (2021, August 11). 1000 Books Before Kindergarten. Retrieved from L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library: https://www.ecpubliclibrary.info/kids/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/1000-Books-for-websiteMB.pdf

Early Literacy Resources

• Collierville Library Parent Guide - Helping Your Child Get Ready to Read
  
• Storytimes and Programs - Storytimes are for babies, toddlers and children up to age 5. The Children's Library offers other programs for children up to age 11. Some programs require registration through our Events Calendar. Others are weekly drop-in programs for anyone to join without registration.
• Zero to Three - Offers a comprehensive interactive resource for parents and early childhood education professionals on healthy development of children ages zero to three.
• STEM Backpacks - We have STEM backpacks for all ages available for checkout. Each of our STEM kits contains a fun science, technology, engineering or math activity for families to try at home. We even have a few STEAM kits for artists, too!
• Books From Birth - A book a month from birth to age five at no charge to families!
• Reading Bear - A fun way to learn to read with over 1,200 vocabulary items. 50 presentations cover all the main phonics rules.