Kinder Ready

Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?

In kindergarten, your child will develop skills in a variety of areas. However, kindergarten makes up only a small part of each day. The key to a successful school year is a strong partnership between home and school. Review the activities in this brochure and congratulate yourself on how much you are already doing to prepare your child for kindergarten. Then select a few new activities you can introduce to your child. Place emphasis on trying a new activity rather than mastering the skill. Remember that children learn by playing. You can show your child that learning is fun as well as important! There is no single measure that guarantees that a child is ready for kindergarten. In general, as your child nears his or her fifth birthday, he or she is ready to start school when it begins in the fall. In addition, the following information describes where most students are developmentally before beginning kindergarten.

Keep in mind that each child will come to school with a variety of strengths and skills. Think of the following list as a way to identify your child’s strengths, rather than using it to decide whether he or she is behind or ahead of other children.

If you want to help your child prepare for success in kindergarten, try the activities suggested in this guide. And once the school year begins, know that his or her teacher will create a learning environment that gives each individual student an opportunity to thrive and learn new skills throughout the year.

Talk to your child about the first day of school. Address any fears and concerns your child may have and reassure him/her that everything will be alright. Keep a positive attitude. If you are excited about the first day of school chances are your child will be too!

Please help us better support your fall Kindergarten student by completing a Kindergarten Transition Summary Form.

Kindergarten Transition Summary Form (KTSF ) - Use to document your child’s strengths and communicate with the child’s kindergarten teacher.

A Letter to Families - Your child is ready to enroll in kindergarten, now what?

Kindergarten Admission

An educational program shall be provided for kindergarten children who have reached the age of five (5) years on or before midnight, August 31, providing their parents or legal guardians are residents of the Evergreen School District. Parents or legal guardian shall be required to present a birth certificate, passport, or hospital certificate, before the child may be enrolled. (Board Policy 3111)

Early Entrance

Evergreen Public Schools does not provide for early entrance into Kindergarten. The only exception is for students who move into the district after the beginning of the school year, provided that they legally resided in a district which provided kindergarten as a part of the school system and that they were enrolled in that kindergarten program without violating any district residence or entrance requirements.

Immunizations

All kindergarten students must meet the following state requirements in order to attend school. Your child must have the following:

At least four doses of DTP vaccine. Pertussis (whooping cough) is required. There must be at least 6 months between the 3rd and 4th doses. The last DTP vaccine must be given to your child on/after the fourth (4th) birthday.
At least four doses of polio vaccine. Three polio vaccines are acceptable only if the last dose is given on/after the fourth (4th) birthday.
Two doses of MMR vaccine. There must be at least 28 days between each dose of MMR vaccine. Both MMR vaccines must be given to your child on/after the first (1st) birthday.
Three doses of hepatitis B vaccine. There must be at least one month between the 1st and 2nd doses, at least 2 months between the 2nd and 3rd doses and at least 4 months between the 1st and 3rd doses. The 3rd and final hepatitis B vaccine must be given to your child at/after six (6) months of age.
Two doses of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. Both vaccines must be given on/after the first (1st) birthday. Varicella must be received the same day as the MMR vaccine OR at least 28 days apart.

You must supply the type of vaccine and month, day, and year of each vaccine. It is best to get any needed immunizations and bring in the dates as soon as possible. Please be aware that any exemption from a vaccine (either medical, religious or personal) could result in your child being excluded from school if there is an outbreak of that particular disease.

Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten

Is My Child Ready (English)

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