Cobar’s little bookworms celebrated some big reading milestones in their 1,000 Books Before School program on Friday, with one reader, Teddie Prisk, having already clocked up a tally of 1,000 books this year.
Since Cobar Library’s reading incentive program for pre-schoolers commenced in January this year, more than 20 young readers have signed up to read 1,000 books before school.
The program is designed to help children build early literacy skills while encouraging parents and carers to share stories regularly.
And it’s clearly working with participants having collectively logged over 1,700 books in just a few months.
Librarian Jane Siermans said the idea is simple, every book counts.
Whether it’s a bedtime story at home, a picture book at daycare, a tale heard at Library Storytime, a magazine (yes, Bluey absolutely qualifies), an e-book, or even the same book read over and over again—if the child listens, it goes on the tally.
“Anything is reading.
“Some kids love repeating the same story again and again and that’s not a problem at all.
“They’re still developing a love of reading, and that’s what matters,” Jane said.
The program offers small incentives along the way to keep kids motivated.
Every 50 books earns a dip in the prize box, and each 100-book milestone comes with a special badge, plus another small prize.
Friday’s milestone celebrations at the Cobar Youth and Community Centre included face painting, games and plenty of food (and a bit of reading) to celebrate the joy of books.
And if you’re wondering whether you’ve missed the cut-off—don’t worry. The 1,000 Books Before School program runs continuously, and families can sign up anytime.
“There’s no limit on what you read or how you read it,” staff said. “It’s all about encouraging kids to discover the joy of books.”
For now, Cobar’s youngest bookworms are well on their way—one story at a time.
