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Local youngsters take 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten reading challenge

T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ Sam Kline reads to her children Cailynn, 5, and Catie, 3, as part of the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten reading challenge offered at the Gutekunst Public Library.

 STATE CENTER – Building vocabularies, bonding together and instilling a love of reading are the goals of the national 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten reading challenge, a non-profit entity with resources available for youngsters and their families everywhere.

At the Gutekunst Public Library in State Center, 26 children and their families are enrolled in the program, which the library signed up for in May 2018.

Infants, babies and toddlers have books read to them, and older children read, as they are able.

“It’s that one-on-one time together, and so many things are based on reading,” Children’s Librarian Linda Good said. “We’re stressing early literacy skills, and it is amazing the vocabulary they pick up.”

Good said children in the program don’t have to only read books at the library.

T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ Lauri Brockman reads to her children Isaac, 1, Elsie, 3, and Kayli, 5, as part of the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten reading challenge offered at the Gutekunst Public Library.

“Children can read at home, and they can read the same book over and over again,” she said. “I remember doing that with my daughter, and by the time she got to kindergarten she knew how to read from reading with me.”

A graphic on the wall in the children’s section of the library is a visual tracker of progress. When readers reach different levels, they receive little prizes.

Two local families, the Brockmans and the Klines, have each read 700 books with their children since May 2018, and are in the lead in the program.

Lauri Brockman’s children Isaac, 1, Elsie, 3, and Kayli, 5, all enjoy the program and have been signed up since Gutekunst began offering it.

“I wanted reading to be a big part of their lives. We homeschool, and some of our curriculum is read out loud and not just a typical textbook,” Brockman said. “We want them to be good readers and learners. They love books and look forward to it on a daily basis.”

Sam Kline and her two children Cailynn, 5, and Catie, 3, have also been signed up since May 2018, and their progress is also noticeable.

“We wanted to introduce them to books and love them, to better their education,” Kline said. “We’ve really read our whole life together, so they love reading and talked at an early age.”

She said Cailynn, who started kindergarten this school year, is now reading to her younger sister.

“We have a number of them that read as families,” Library Director Mara Edler said. “It was a fun thing to launch and we talked about bringing the program here for several years.”

The 1000 Books Foundation is a 501(c)(3). For more information, visit 1000booksbeforekindergarten.org

Locally, the program is also offered at the Marshalltown Public Library, Albion Municipal Library and Melbourne Public Library.

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Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at

641-753-6611 or

sjordan@timesrepublican.com

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