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Early Literacy

Early literacy is what children know about communication, language—verbal and non-verbal—reading and writing before they can actually read and write. Last Updated: Apr 22, 2024 1:50 PM

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

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Help your child get ready to succeed in school by reading 1,000 books with them before kindergarten! Each book you read counts, including every reread favorite and book you hear in storytime! Studies have shown that families who start reading aloud to their children at birth help strengthen their language skills and build their vocabulary.

How the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Program Works

  1. Any child who hasn’t entered kindergarten yet is eligible for the program, including infants. 
  2. Go to fairfaxcounty.beanstack.org or visit your local library branch to register for the program. We encourage you to use a paper reading log to include children in the fun. Make sure to display reading logs in a special place so children can see their progress.
  3. Track your reading. At the following milestones, return to any Fairfax County Public Library branch to receive a prize.

25 Books | 100 Books | 250 Books | 500 Books | 750 Books | 1,000 Books


Need help using Beanstack? Watch our tutorials

Questions? Email LibEarlyLiteracy@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Reading Logs

Don't want to use Beanstack to log your reading? Print a paper log or get a paper log from any FCPL branch. Fill out your log and return it to your local library to receive a prize. 

Sponsors

Fairfax County Public Library is grateful to the following organizations for their support of the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program:

Fairfax Library Foundation provided funding for the program.

The following Friends Groups have sponsored one of our prizes, many thanks to all of them:

  • Friends of the Burke Centre Library
  • Friends of the Centreville Regional Library
  • Friends of the Chantilly Regional Library
  • Friends of the City of Fairfax Regional Library
  • Friends of the Dolley Madison Library
  • Friends of the George Mason Regional Library
  • Friends of the Great Falls Library
  • Friends of the Herndon Fortnightly Library
  • Friends of the John Marshall Library
  • Friends of the Kings Park Library
  • Friends of the Kingstowne Library
  • Friends of the Lorton Library
  • Friends of the Martha Washington Library
  • Friends of the Oakton Library
  • Friends of the Patrick Henry Library
  • Friends of the Pohick Regional Library
  • Friends of the Reston Regional Library
  • Friends of the Richard Byrd Library
  • Friends of the Sherwood Regional Library
  • Friends of the Thomas Jefferson Library
  • Friends of the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library
  • Friends of the Woodrow Wilson Library

Thanks also to Scholastic Literacy Partnerships for its support of the program.

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