This past month, my son and I had a lot of fun reading together.  The books we read covered many different themes and ideas.  We read books about animals, parts of the body, colors, shapes, and springtime.  We also read both toddler and easy picture books.  He is enjoying story time more and we are getting into a good routine of reading before bedtime.  Some of his favorite books were:

My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis – This book was by far his favorite.  We read it every night and most nights we read it twice.  This book is about a truck that gets stuck and other vehicles try to help it get unstuck.  This book has counting and rhyming text which makes it fun and easy to read.

All About Me! by Dawn Sirett – This book talks about a group of toddlers who name different parts of the body.   This lift-the-flap board book is a lot of fun.

Baby’s very first touchy-feely animals book by Stella Baggott - This touch and feel book has bright colors and the textured patches make it fun for babies.

Where is Baby’s Belly Button? and Where is Baby’s Yummy Tummy by Karen Katz – Karen Katz’s books are still a favorite of his.  These books are great to help toddlers identify parts of the body and with fun flaps to lift, it makes each page a surprise.

This has been an exciting month of reading.  I am also finding out that it is hard to get him to like new books.  He is very comfortable in having the same books read over and over.  We read the same books for about 2-3 weeks and then we read new ones for 2-3 more weeks.  Repetition in books seems to make him comfortable.  He likes knowing what books will be read and gets excited with every turn of the page.  I am hoping that as we explore the books and since we read the same books over and over, he will learn new words and be able to identify new objects.

For more tips on how to read to your toddler and information on the 6 pre-literacy skills, please visit the Ready to Read page of the website.

303 books previously read. 96 books read this month. Total of 399 books read so far.

1,000 Books before Kindergarten – 399 books read = 601 books left to read

I am about 3 months into the 1,000 Books before Kindergarten challenge and I must say it is going well.  I ask my son every night if he wants to read books with me, he shakes his head yes and runs into my room and tries to climb on the bed.  After I bring him a pile of books, he hands me the one he wants to read and we begin.  If he doesn’t like the book I am reading, he takes the book from me, closes it, and hands me another one.  We are having lots of fun reading together.  I have noticed a remarkable improvement in his communication skills as well.  He is responding to questions with a yes or no by shaking his head, attempting to say words when he points at things, and he began to say “mama” when he needs me (and sometimes when he doesn’t!).

I attribute this communication improvement to our daily reading adventures.  I ask him questions as I read and he interacts with the book by pointing out objects on the pages and turning the pages.  We explored a variety of books this month which included colors, shapes, and continued with the touch and feel and lift the flap page books he likes so much.  The books he enjoyed the most were the books about our bodies.  He loved finding his toes, fingers, and mouth just like the children in the books.  We are going to continue to explore more books about parts of the body since he responds so well to them.  Our favorite books this month are:

All About Me! ; Baby’s Very First Touchy-Feely Animals Book ; Knees and Toes ; Where is Baby’s Yummy Tummy ; Eyes, Nose, Toes Peekaboo ; Beep! Beep! Peekaboo ; and Baby Loves Peekaboo

We also started to add songs to our story times.  He loves the song Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes especially when I sing it fast.  We also sang I’m a Little Teapot, This Little Piggy, and Itsy Bitsy Spider.  All of these songs involve parts of the body and he seems to really respond to them at this age (20 months old).

If you are interested in starting a story time with your child but may have trouble getting started, the library has many Ready to Read kits available and each one has a different theme.  The kits include books, CDs, fingerplays, and an educational toy.  To learn more about the kits and early literacy skills check out the library’s website. You can also find tips on reading with your child in the library’s Parent’s Guide.

180 books previously read – 123 books read this month = 303 books read so far

1,000 Books before Kindergarten – 303 books read so far = 697 books left to read

303 books and counting!!!

I had planned to read my son 1,000 books before kindergarten…..does it count when you read him the same book 1,000 times?  I read my son the book baby beep! beep! and he fell in love with it!  I read him this book every night at least 3 times.  I have already renewed it once from the library and it looks as though I may renew it again.

I chose to read him ‘lift the flap’ books and ‘touch and feel’ books this month.  He is 18 months old and this is a great way to introduce him to books.  He is able to feel the different textures in the ‘touch and feel’ books and he likes the surprises under the flaps in the ‘lift the flap’ books.  Most of the books were small enough for him to handle himself and were board books so he could turn the pages himself.

Our favorite book this month was obviously baby beep! beep!. Here are a few of our other favorites:

Where is Baby’s Belly Button?, Spot Goes to the Farm, Baby Max and Ruby Peek-A-Boo, Superhero Me!, Curious George the Movie, Come Rhyme With Me, Where is Baby’s Puppy?, and What I Like About Me!

Goal 1,000 books before kindergarten.

Books read last month 94 - 86 books read this month = 820 books left to read

180 books and counting!!!!

I have read that the best way to teach children early literacy skills, is to read to them.  Research shows that reading a child 1,000 books from birth to age 5 is the best way to prepare them for kindergarten.

I am going to read my son 1,000 books before kindergarten.  I have a goal to read him 3 books a day for a year that will be 1,095 books (in the case of 2012 it will be 1,098 books since this is leap year).  I hope to read him 1,000 books before the end of October.

Follow along as I keep track of our reading progress.  I will write a list of our favorite books that you can check out at the library.  Some book we have read and enjoyed so far are:

Froggy Gets Dressed; Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? ; I Love You Through and Through; The Very Hungry Caterpillar; The Little House; Baby Talk; From Head to Toe; Good Night Gorilla; Sleepy Baby; and Where is Baby’s Belly Button?

Goal 1,000 books – 94 books read so far = 906 books left to read.

94 books and counting!!!!