Transition to Kindergarten
Kids need to be ready for Kindergarten, but Kindergarten needs to be equally ready for kids, with developmentally appropriate curriculum and expectations. The Collaboration seeks to connect the complex systems that must work together to establish that foundation.
A Kindergarten ready child has the foundational social-emotional, physical, and academic skills needed to transition into a formal school setting. Self-regulation and the ability to successfully interact with others are the key goals. Families need the resources necessary to support these goals; and schools need to come together to align around it. Explore the sections below to learn more about information and programs that support this mission. Click on any topic to see more information.
Starting Kindergarten: The Nuts & Bolts
Children must be 5 years old by September 1st in order to start kindergarten. To register your child, you will need proof of residency — such as a lease agreement, mortgage statement, and utility bills — and your child’s birth certificate. Contact your local school district for more details. Oak Park and Forest Park school districts have full-day kindergarten. River Forest currently offers half-day kindergarten.
Learn more about your district’s kindergarten registration requirements:
Your school district may ask incoming kindergarteners to participate in a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. This screening does not affect a child’s ability to enroll in kindergarten. Rather, it helps teachers get a snapshot of each child’s readiness to learn. Screenings last about 90 minutes and include both the test, as well as a meeting with the child’s parents/guardians.
In addition, make sure you have completed the health requirements for Kindergarten:
- Physical exam
- Dental exam
- Eye exam
- All required immunizations
Ask your child’s pediatrician or schedule an appointment at Children’s Clinic, sponsored by the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society to make sure your child has all the completed health requirements.
Kindergarten Readiness Assessments
These assessments do not affect a child’s ability to enroll in kindergarten. Rather, they help teachers get a snapshot of each child’s readiness to learn. There are a few assessments for kindergartners that you may hear about and be asked to participate in as a parent or caregiver.
Used in the classroom, the Kindergarten Individuals Development Survey (KIDS) is an observational tool designed to help teachers, administrators, families and policymakers better understand the developmental readiness of children entering kindergarten. KIDS is core to the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) goal that every child in Illinois deserves to attend a school wherein all kindergarteners are assessed for readiness. KIDS focuses on the knowledge, skills, and behaviors across four key domains that most impact long-term student success. The domains are: Approaches to Learning and Self-Regulation; Social and Emotional Development; Language and Literacy Development; and Cognition: Math.
The Kindergarten Readiness Test (KRT) is administered to incoming kindergarten students to assist in determining a student’s readiness in beginning Kindergarten. The readiness skills assessed are vocabulary, letter identification, visual discrimination, phonemic awareness, comprehension & interpretation and mathematical knowledge.
Parents of incoming kindergarteners may be asked to complete this questionnaire to help provide the district with a more complete picture of their child at the time of kindergarten entry. This 36-question survey will ask about your child’s behavior with regard to self-regulation, compliance, communication, adaptive functioning, autonomy, affect, and interaction with people. This questionnaire is filled out by the parent or caregiver and can help identify their child’s strengths as well as any areas where a child may need support. The questionnaire takes only about 10–15 minutes. It’s that quick and easy.
Ready, Set, Kindergarten!
Ready, Set, Kindergarten! (RSK) is a four-week summer program designed to help support incoming kindergartners master the preschool concepts that will help them to confidently enter Kindergarten in the fall. This program first launched in the summer of 2020 in partnership with the Oak Park Public Library and E-Team Oak Park.
Students attend one-on-one sessions with a certified teacher and engage in play-based learning activities which focus on phonemic awareness and number sense. Each week, students receive a box from the RSK team which includes an outline of the following week’s activities, books from the Oak Park Public Library, kits to inspire creativity and links for live events and videos for yoga, art, music, and outdoor activities. We also host a support circle for families to get tips and support from each other.
Please note that while 2020’s program design was facilitated remotely, the program structure may change in future years. To learn more about Ready, Set, Kindergarten! Contact us.
Ready4K Text Service
Developed by educational researchers, Ready4K is an evidence-based family engagement curriculum delivered via text message. Each week, parents receive fun facts and easy tips on how to promote their children’s development by building on existing routines – like pointing out the letters on shampoo bottles during bath time and naming their sounds. The Ready4K curriculum covers the whole child starting at birth. The curriculum will continue to change as your child continues to grow and develop. Text messages are available in Arabic, English, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Ready4K is completely free for families in Oak Park and River Forest (text messaging rates apply). Learn more about Ready4K or…
If you are a child care program director, teacher or family child care provider, you can also encourage your families to enroll in Ready4K by sharing this page with families. You can also contact us to learn more about how to use Ready4K to help you meet your family engagement goals. Ready4K is available to Oak Park and River Forest child care programs at no cost. Please don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more.
Sign up for Ready4K today.
Ready4K is an evidence-based family engagement curriculum delivered via text message.
