FY25 Jump Start Kindergarten Requests are open Aug 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025
Overview: By sharing early literacy practices, such as Every Child Ready to Read’s five early literacy practices (“Sing, Talk, Read, Write, Play”), Jump Start Kindergarten is an outreach activity that connects library staff with parents/caregivers of young children about to enter kindergarten and emphasizes daily activities that will help children learn to read. Primarily designed for public library staff to conduct outreach activities in their local public elementary schools during kindergarten registration events, this program also helps parents/caregivers understand all the resources public libraries can provide to assist with school readiness and connects them with these resources through library card sign-up/promotion.
Learn more about the Idaho Commission for Libraries’ (ICfL) Jump Start Kindergarten program below:
- What’s the purpose? See Program Objectives
- Who can apply? See Program Eligibility
- How does it work? See Program Details & Requirements and Program Timeline
- What materials are provided? See Program Resources
- What schools are already being served? See weekly upload of Registration List
Program Delivery: This program was designed for in-person kindergarten events and that remains the best practice for this activity. Jump Start K supports libraries reach out to upcoming kindergartners, ensuring these families know how to sign-up for a library card and how to access early literacy library programs at your library. Public libraries may request Jump Start K materials from the ICfL at any time during the year when your library is conducting outreach services for this targeted group of children (ages 4-5) and their caregivers. This could be for a local daycare’s family night, a Head Start’s monthly family literacy night, an evening event at the school, or another community event targeting this audience. Public library staff are also encouraged to work closely with local elementary school library staff to coordinate the dissemination of the Jump Start Kindergarten materials at the school’s registration event or family literacy night. Not sure if your outreach idea is a good fit for the Jump Start program? Contact Kristina Taylor at the ICfL to discuss.
Resources: This year, we will be offering the last of several titles: Bear About Town (in English and in Eng/Span bilingual), Nuestro Autobus/The Bus for Us (in Eng/Span bilingual), and King of Kindergarten (in English). You can mix and match in your request as we have varying amounts of each title. Utilizing these titles now will allow room to provide a new title next year with an early math literacy focus! We also have the preschool, bilingual flip book, DJ’s Busy Day, for the younger siblings of your Kindergartners (you can request copies of these too – up to 50% of the number of Kinders you anticipate serving). Like last year, we once again have the two-pocket “Get a Jumpstart on Reading @ Your Library” folders and the early literacy handouts available. All of this may be requested in the program request form below.
Questions? Contact Kristina Taylor
This program is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.