Dear Parents/Caregivers!

On behalf of the 1,000 Books Foundation and The Learning Exchange, we invite you to participate in this free program which supports and encourages you to read 1,000 books with your child before he or she starts kindergarten! Make the pledge and start the challenge!

You can download a PDF version of this page here.

Program Overview

The concept is simple; the rewards are priceless! Read a book (any book) to your newborn, infant, and/or toddler. The goal is to have read 1,000 books (yes you can repeat books) before your little one starts kindergarten. Does it sound hard? Not really if you think about it. If you read just 1 book a night, you will have read about 365 books in a year. That is 730 books in two years and 1,095 books in three years. If you consider that most children start kindergarten at around 5 years of age, you have more time than you think! The key is perseverance. Make it exciting.

How To Participate

1. Make the pledge today and take the challenge! Register with The Learning Exchange online or start the program on your own. Just start!
2. Read with your child. Studies have shown that reading with your child provides a great opportunity for
   bonding. Reading together is fun and will create life-long memories for the both of you.
3. Keep track of the titles of the books that you or others have read with your child. Keep a record of what
   you are reading in the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten app, a notebook, on our convenient reading log sheets, online, or by whatever method you want. You can track any book that is being read to your child by others and every time a book is read (no matter how many times) can count towards the total and the record itself will make a fun keepsake!
4. Celebrate reading milestones! When your children reach a milestone, give him/her a small reward such as stickers, a big hug, a book or take a picture with a 1000Books milestone certificate available on TLE’s website (e.g. I READ 200 Books!).

Frequently-Asked-Questions

Who can participate in this program?
Any child from birth until he or she enters kindergarten can participate in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program.

How long will the program take?
The program will take anywhere from a few months to a few years. The program is self-paced and will depend on how often you read together.

How many of my children can participate?
All of them! Make it even more fun and read as a family!