DeKalb County parents prep kids for kindergarten with helping hand

SYCAMORE – Although summer’s here and a new school year seems a distant thought, DeKalb County parents got some recent help prepping their children for kindergarten.

The DeKalb County Community Foundation recently distributed 949 kindergarten readiness toolkits to families across all eight public school districts and three private schools in DeKalb County, according to a news release.

“The toolkits sparked real excitement in our preschoolers – they couldn’t wait to start kindergarten,” Sycamore St. Mary’s Catholic School kindergarten teacher Tammy Agnello said.

Designed to support early learning and development, the toolkits equip parents and caregivers with engaging resources to help young children build essential skills for a successful start to kindergarten.

Each toolkit offers a well-rounded educational experience, including a children’s book, dry-erase board and marker, flashcards with a social-emotional focus, an easy-grip pencil, counting dice, scissors, Play-Doh, crayons and a farm-themed matching memory game.

The items are meant to promote literacy, fine motor skills, emotional intelligence, creativity and cognitive development.

Since the program’s launch in 2018, more than 7,000 local children have received a toolkit, according to the foundation.

Foundation staff said the initiative supports the critical transition from pre-K to kindergarten and reflects the power of community partnerships, including donors, Thrivent Financial, School Tool Box, DeKalb County Farm Bureau Agricultural Literacy and BASICS DeKalb County.

For more information on the Community Foundation’s work to support early care and education in DeKalb County, visit dekalbccf.org/kindergarten-readiness.