Frequently Asked Questions

READY! for Kindergarten is a program of The Children’s Reading Foundation. It was developed by a team of early childhood educators, kindergarten teachers, parents and others who worked with young children during a seven-year period in conjunction with the Kennewick, Washington School District. Educators and specialists continue to be involved in the curriculum updates and resources.

READY! for Kindergarten’s parenting practices and activities are designed to support parents or caregivers in preparing their child to enter kindergarten performing at average levels or higher. The targeted skills are those required of children as they begin kindergarten. READY! for Kindergarten activities do not require participants to be professional teachers. They are designed to be used by any caring adult, and enable children to experience the joy of learning that will last a lifetime.

Parents or caregivers find READY! for Kindergarten programs in their community through local promotions done by the organization offering the local READY! workshop, or by visiting our ‘Attend a READY! Workshop’ map on this website. Workshops noted on the map are included automatically when organizations utilize our online parent/caregiver registration tool. If parents don’t see a program in their area, they are directed to call their school district about offering the READY! program.

Each year, parents and caregivers of children birth to age 5, attend a series of three READY! workshops based on their child’s age (Birth – Age 1, Ages 1 - 2, Ages 2 - 3, Ages 3 – 4, and Ages 4 – 5). Each workshop is a different lesson.  Participants attend one workshop per child.

Many districts and sponsors do provide child care as part of the program. If you will be providing child care, we encourage you to include that information when promoting an upcoming workshop.

Generally, we count backward from when the child will start kindergarten. For example, the parent/caregiver would attend the age 4 - 5 class if their child will enter kindergarten NEXT year, and they would attend the age 3 - 4 class if their child will enter kindergarten in two years.