By Miranda Wisor
Imagine standing in your kitchen, holding a bottle of cold medicine for a sick child. You squint at the label, but the letters swim on the page. You can’t tell how often to offer the medicine or find the warning about mixing it with other drugs. For too many adults in our community, this isn’t hypothetical. It’s daily life. Illiteracy impacts health, economic opportunity, and self-esteem.
While the Adams County Library System does provide essential adult services, the conversation usually shifts to a different question: How do we stop the cycle before it starts?
When we talk about long-term change, the kind that alters the trajectory of a life and a community, I don’t think anything is as impactful as our 1,000 Things Before Kindergarten program.
We are proud of our partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which ensures every child under five in Adams County has books mailed to their home. Having books in the home is a massive predictor of future academic success, but having the book is only half the battle. If a parent is unsure how to read to a child, or if reading feels like a chore, those books can gather dust.
That is where 1,000 Things Before Kindergarten changes the game.
The premise is simple. Before a child starts kindergarten, they should experience 1,000 little moments; not just reading books, but singing songs, playing with rhymes, noticing letters on a cereal box, or retelling a story. It sounds like a huge number, but it breaks down to just one activity a day for three years.
What makes this program more impactful than almost anything else we do is that it makes literacy fun and relationship-based. It takes the pressure off the parent and puts the joy back into the child.
Many parents want to help their children but don’t know where to start. 1,000 Things provides the roadmap. It teaches parents that they don’t need a teaching degree to build a foundation for literacy long before the first day of kindergarten. Parents just need to talk, sing, and play. It teaches them that running a finger under the words on a page or asking, “What do you think happens next?” builds crucial brain architecture.
Finally, it creates a family culture. This isn’t homework; it’s family time. When a family participates in 1,000 Things, they weave literacy into the fabric of their daily routine. When a child hits 100 things, it’s a celebration. This positive reinforcement builds a love for books far stronger than rote memorization and the shared activities build on the family bond.
When we help an adult learn to read, we change a life. When we help a parent raise a child who never knows the struggle of not being able to read, we change a generation. That child will never squint at a prescription bottle with a knot in their stomach.
If you have a child under five in Adams County, stop by the library and ask about 1,000 Things Before Kindergarten.
Miranda Wisor is Executive Director of the Adams County Library System.