To say it or even to try to count it, 1000 is a large number. To think of reading 1000 books is overwhelming. How does one actually track reading 1000 books before kindergarten? You can track the books digitally or on paper. The good news is I have made a 1000 books tracking sheet for you to use.
Digitally Tracking 1000 Books
When my son was 2 years old, I was very active on my book review blog, Rebecca Reads. I kept a running list of the books we read in an easy to access place. I liked having it on the computer. For his project, I decided to be overly ambitious and write the titles of 1000 different books we read together. Yikes, that’s a lot!
Pros:
- I can search to see if I’ve written a book down already.
- I can copy and paste from the library site into my own file.
- I’m a fast typist.
Cons:
- I cannot carry it around with me to write the books as we read them.
- I can’t show my child the heft of the record of all the books we’ve read.
- It could get deleted.
Keeping Track of 1000 Books on Paper
When my daughter was about 18 months or 2 years old, my library began a 1,001 Books Before Kindergarten program, where the provided lined pages for writing down the 1000 books we read together. I love that it went above and beyond by adding that extra book, ha ha. I have liked having her “binder” of books read to refer to. She loved carrying it in to the library to show off her progress. I did not obsess as much about it being “unique” books. Let’s face it, we read the same books over and again most of the time! The distraction this time was simply finding time to write the books down since with 3 children, life has become much more busy!
Pros:
- I can take it with me to write in as we read books together.
- We had a physical log to show all we’ve accomplished. My daughter could see the progress.
- We could easily add the date to the things we’ve read.
Cons:
- We can’t go back and enter books we forgot to write down in the chronological order.
- There is no way to search for if I’ve written a book title down before.
- My handwriting = atrocious if i’m in a hurry.
- It is more paper to keep track of.
Download a 1000 Books Tracking Sheet
I’m about to start tracking books for my nearly 2-year-old daughter now. I decided that I wanted to make sure that my blog readers had access to a tracking sheet like the one my library was able to provide me. I made two versions. One is bare-bones black and white version. In this, I simply have a b/w cover (for the kids to color) and lines from 1 to 1000 for you to record the books you’ve read. It’s free for your use! (I also created some cute reading bookmarks for you to use as you read together.)
Get this 1000 books recording set when you sign up to become a Line upon Line Learning VIP!
I’ve also made a colorful premium version. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten reading chart is in full-color, with kids reading and friendly animals to lighten the pages. Every few pages also features a quote about reading aloud or about the joys of reading for encouragement. I love the friendly look of this set of pages. Because it took about 5 times longer to format with all the clip art, I’m charging a few dollars for right now.
I hope you can enjoy this friendly version if you’re looking for a 1000 books tracking sheet for your own use!
Most of all, I hope you enjoy reading with your children. That is the whole purpose of this five-day series. Just read!
More about Reading 1000 Books Before Kindergarten
Favorite Picture Book Characters to Read before Kindergarten (Monday)
Why Read 1000 Books before Kindergarten? (Tuesday)
Stages of Reading with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers (Wednesday)
Building Your Home Library (Thursday)
Keeping Track of 1000 Books before Kindergarten (today)
I would like information about using your color tracking sheet for library use. We are planning to engage 600 children for 1000 Books Before Kindergarten and if it’s within our budget, I’d love to use the one you designed!