Books

It all began with the summer challenge from Little Mama Shirt Shop to read 100 books to your kids before Aug. 31. I have read to Henry and Norah since they were babies, but we generally read one or two books a night and weren’t really in a hurry to meet any goals. I knew this challenge would help me make reading a priority, since I intended to finish 100 books in about a month.

THEN, when I posted on Facebook inviting friends to join us on our challenge, a sweet friend asked if we were participating in our local library’s program: reading 1,000 books before kindergarten. Um, this was the first I’d heard of it — and we had less than two months to cram in more than 350 books if we were going to make it.

Here’s the thing: I couldn’t care less about sports or games, and I’m not a competitive person. When it comes to books, though, I will rise to meet the challenge. I knew it would take some planning, but I also knew we could make it.

Guess what? We CRUSHED our goal and finished our 1,000th book with almost two weeks to spare, all while juggling full-day preschool three days a week, a full-time job, and several family trips. I say this because if I can make it happen, you can make it happen!

While you probably won’t be cramming 350 picture books into 50 days like I did, you can still read a lot of books in a short amount of time — or you can start planning now, while your kids are small, to read 1,000 books before kindergarten. Either way, these tips can help:

Keep track of the books you read in an easy way

I dislike paper (more about my obsession with recycling later) and often misplace notebooks anyway, so the easiest way for me to record all the books I read to my kids was creating a Goodreads list. If you’re not familiar with Goodreads, it’s a website and app that lets you record and organize all your books. I simply added a new shelf called “hn” and added titles to it whenever we read another book. I also went through their bookshelves and added all the books we’d ever read to it.

If you prefer writing down books by hand, get a cute notebook or journal so you can keep track of them. My sister is much craftier than I am and actually made a paper journal herself, complete with pressed fiber paper, and she keeps her list there. No matter how you do it, it’s important to know which books you’ve already read. You’ll be surprised at how many you’ve already read to your kids once you start adding them up.

Use library holds to your advantage

If you don’t put holds on the books you want to read at the library, you’re doing it wrong. OK, not really, but this is an easy way to always have new reads on hand. Use your library card to log in and then search for books you’re interested in. Once you find one, place a hold, select a library close to you where you can pick it up, and repeat.

I used to put two or three books on hold and then have to go to the library several times a week to pick them up before the holds expired. While you certainly can do this, I find it’s much easier to put, say, 10 books on hold at a time. Then you can pick them all up at the same time (hopefully) and read them all before heading back again.

Make reading a habit

Most families read bedtime stories at least occasionally, but do you read consistently with your child? I actually find it hard to read books at bedtime sometimes, because my kids are wound up, I’m tired, and I can’t get them to sit still to actually listen and look at the pages. In our home, reading a few books at mealtimes works really well, especially at lunchtime. I work from home several days a week, so we can make this happen, but you could also try reading at breakfast or dinner.

No matter which time of day works for your family, be consistent. You’ll miss a day here or there or end up just putting the kids to bed without a book sometimes, but it’s much easier to achieve your goal if you read a few books every day around the same time.

Pay attention to your kids’ interests

My son is still obsessed with all tractors, trains, and fire trucks, so I try to find interesting books about these topics so he’ll want to listen. My daughter loves mermaids and unicorns, so I’m on the hunt for those books as well. I want to introduce them to lots of different books, so I get one or two books on their favorite topics and then choose the rest from authors I love or titles friends or bloggers have recommended.

Ultimately, you want to have a good mixture of books that meet your kids’ interests and stretch them to try something else they might like. This keeps things fresh and doesn’t make reading together a chore.

Remember the real reason you’re reading

It’s awesome to tell friends you read 1,000 books to your kids before kindergarten or even 100 books in a month — but the real reason I read to my kids is that it has massive benefits for them. Reading aloud helps your child develop their vocabulary and concentration and critical thinking skills. It also helps them speak and read better themselves and helps to cultivate a love of learning.

Reading aloud has connected me better to my kids and helped us have important conversations about a lot of different topics, including kindness, empathy, embracing differences, and being yourself. If you need a motivator to keep reading to your kids, pick one of those benefits (or the many other reasons reading is so important). It’ll help you achieve your goal and keep reading long after you achieve it.

Have you done a reading challenge like this before, alone or with your family? Share your experiences with me!