Kindergarten Readiness

Kindergarten Readiness Workshop Schedule 2024

Location	Time	Dates
Durango Public Library	Tuesdays 11:00 AM	March 26th - April 30th
Sunnyside Library	Tuesdays 2:00 PM	March 26th - April 30th
Pine River Library	Thursdays 11:00 AM	March 28th - May 2nd
Fort Lewis Mesa Library	Thursdays 2:00 PM	March 28th - May 2nd

Come stop by one of our workshops, where you and your little one can join in activities that support growth in early literacy and language, math, motor, and social emotional skills. Preschool age children will receive a free book and other goodies to help support their readiness to thrive in school. No registration necessary. Email schoolreadiness@ecclaplata.com with any questions.

What is kindergarten readiness?

Kindergarten readiness is a way to describe the things a child should know and be able to do when they start kindergarten. These skills and abilities are related to different areas of child development, including:

Health and physical skills
Motor skills
Social and emotional development
Language skills
Approaches to learning
General knowledge

There’s a lot to learn in that first year of school, and in addition to the lessons and activities, a kindergarten classroom also has schedules and directions to follow, lines to stand in and other children to get along with. So kids need social and behavioral skills — like independence, curiosity, and self-control — as much as they need early academic skills — like counting or knowing some of the letters in their name.

Knowing their letters and numbers is helpful, for sure, but based on our understanding of early brain development, the skills that are most important for success in school — and in life — are things like communication, problem solving and working well with others. These skills start developing from birth and throughout the first five years, when a child’s brain grows faster than at any other time in life. Kids keep learning and developing in later years too, but early childhood lays the foundation for their future learning.

What can I do to help my child be ready for Kindergarten?

Read with your child every day

When you make reading part of your daily routine, you’re helping your child develop the language skills they’ll need to learn to read. Reading and telling stories together is quality time with you, and children’s books also introduce new and unusual words that you might not use in everyday conversation. That’s important because vocabulary is a big part of school success. Find books that your child is interested in, and ask them questions about the story while you’re reading — “What do you think will happen next?” Reading together also helps your child develop other skills to prepare them for kindergarten.

Help your child be more independent

The months leading up to the first day of school are the ideal time to help your little one develop the independence and self-confidence they’ll need to be ready for the transition to kindergarten, but it’s never too early to start. Give your child simple tasks or chores, like making their bed, dressing themselves and clearing their own dishes. These things take practice, but over time, you’ll teach your child to be more independent.

Bring your child to our Kindergartden Readiness Workshop

The Early Childhood Council of La Plata County, in partnership with local community libraries, presents a six-part series of free workshops for parents/caregivers and their preschool age children. The workshops will focus on key categories of kindergarten readiness and include activities that support growth in early literacy and language, math, motor, and social emotional skills. Preschool age children will receive a free book and other goodies to help support their readiness to thrive in school (supplies limited). To get the most out of these workshops we highly encourage attendance at all sessions. See schedule at top of page