Trying to prepare your little one for kindergarten in the fall, but wondering if he or she is truly ready? You’re not alone – thousands of parents every year face this tough issue and all the questions it brings. In fact, in an effort to help kindergartners be more prepared for school, more than a dozen states have changed the age criteria for children entering school for the first time. If your youngster is one of the many who could start school either this year or next year, though, sometimes age regulations only add to the parental confusion – to school, or not (yet) to school? “There’s no exact way to tell if a child is ready to start school,” says Cari Diaz, our Club Z! Franchise Director. “A good way to get kids ready for kindergarten is to find a program geared toward doing just that. We see the necessity of this and have created a program to help children get ready for school.” When it comes to kindergarten readiness, programs like Club Z!’s may be just what the teacher ordered. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 94% of kindergarten teachers surveyed believe that a child’s readiness can be enhanced by providing experiences children need to build important skills. Successful school-preparation programs offer things like readiness tutoring, social and emotional development skills, and motor, cognitive and language skill improvement. Engaging young minds: the first step towards school Many experts agree that reading aloud every day, playing counting games, and engaging in creative hands-on activities like working with crayons and clay are some of the best ways to get kids ready for kindergarten. Exposing young children to a variety of learning methods helps to engage them regardless of their learning styles. In addition, when adults are excited and take an active interest in a child’s education, children usually follow in those footsteps. “There are so many things that can help a child get ready for school,” says Ms. Diaz. “Programs like ours offer children the chance to be imaginative and try to inspire them to get them excited about learning. Once they see how fun it is to learn new things each day, they will take an active interest in school. And that’s where success begins.”