Kutztown Community Library challenges children to read 1,000 Books before Kindergarten.
Reading to your child is a great way to spend time together, but did you know it can help with cognitive, behavioral, and emotional development? The Kutztown Community Library invites you to participate in the library program, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten.
The library is also a place families can show children the awesome effect of reading. A variety of books for children to read on many different subjects is offered. Children will learn that the library is a place of resources, education, and fun.
Why is reading important? Reading with your child not only helps them gain knowledge but also shows them that spending time together can be a fun and valuable experience. Children who read or are read to build their vocabulary, become familiar with language patterns, and develop background knowledge about a variety of topics.
You are not left on your own to complete this mission. Programs offered by the Kutztown Community Library help families participating in the early literacy program add more books to their reading list. Visit Story Time with Miss Taylor to hear stories, sing songs, and chase bubbles.
If your child is less than 2 years old, you only need to read one book per day. Children ages 3 and 4 should be read two or three books a day to reach the goal in time.
So far, 207 children are participating in the program. Combined, these children have read more than 44,800 books since the program began. More children are seeing the benefit of reading and how fun it can be.
Participants receive incentives at each 100 book milestone. Prizes include coloring sheets, stickers, a free book, and a fox T-shirt at completion.
1000 Books before Kindergarten is a nation-wide program. Its objective is “to promote reading to newborns, infants, and toddlers, and to encourage parent and child bonding through reading.”
The Fox is Kutztown Community Library’s mascot for “1,000 Books before Kindergarten” and encourages children to read and have fun.
The library needed a logo for this program and entered into Kutztown University Designathon. The Communication Design Department offers this opportunity annually to area non-profits across Berks County. Teams of students are given a real world opportunity to design logos, posters, brochures, ad campaigns, mural designs, and small scale websites all in 24 hours. Non-profits get free design services while students build their resumes.
Hollei Keifer and her team are the student designers of the Fox. Keifer created the logo, coloring pages, matching games, and many more activities for the young participants of the program. She now designs for Babies “R” Us.
“Other libraries have asked to use our design for their 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten programs,” said Janet Yost, director of the Kutztown Community Library. “It is amazing to see how the idea for cute animals has evolved.”
The fox logo and materials are used in libraries throughout Berks County and are shared with libraries from Michigan, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Indiana.
The Kutztown Community Library is located at 70 Bieber Alley, Kutztown. For more information, call 610-683-5820.
