500 by 5 Early Literacy Program
The Charles County Public Library is dedicated to doing our part in our community to get every child ready to read. The 500 by Five initiative inspires children to read 500 books by 5 years old.* Reading daily builds a stronger relationship with your child, increases basic speech and communication skills, improves logical thinking, increases vocabulary, enhances concentration and discipline, helps ease transitions to major milestones, promotes school readiness, encourages a love of learning, and it is just plain fun!
*Only children five years of age and under are eligible for participation in this program.
How the Program Works:
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To register for the program, you must sign up on Beanstack here. Logging your child’s books into Beanstack is not mandatory, but if you’d like to keep a digital record of your child’s reading list, this is a great tool to use.
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Upon registration, you will then be able to pick up your child’s FREE 500 by 5 activity book for tracking books read.
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Start reading with your child! Every book counts–don’t forget to count the books you read during Story Time, as well!
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Track your progress! In the 500 by 5 activity book, color a numbered circle for every book read – even if it’s a book you’re rereading – or digitally log books read in Beanstack. Once you’ve reached 500 books, head to any CCPL branch to get your certificate and your completion reward!
Reading with young children daily is a lifetime gift for everyone. Start reading today!
Have you signed up for the Imagination Library of Charles County yet? All Charles County kids ages 5 and under are eligible to participate in this program to receive a FREE book every month!
If your child was signed up for Imagination Library at birth, and continued to receive a book each month until their fifth birthday, your child would have 60 books to count towards their 500 by 5 total!
For more information on Imagination Library and to register, click the button below!