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“Kinder Ready Go” Kindergarten Boot Camp, the Chula Vista Public Library’s successful introduction to kindergarten, won an international award from Altrusa, a community service organization with a focus on literacy and other local needs. Altrusa International of Chula Vista, which lends financial and volunteer support to the Boot Camp, received First Honorable Mention (IE, second place worldwide) in the Letha H. Brown Literacy Award at the 2015 Altrusa International convention in July.

Upcoming Boot Camps are at the South Chula Vista Library, 389 Orange Av, Monday through Friday, September 21-25. Session one will be held from 10:30 a.m. to Noon. Session 2 runs on the same dates from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Parents are asked to register online at www.chulavistalibrary.com (click on Calendar of Events). The Civic Center Library, 365 F Street, will host its session Monday through Friday, September 28-October 2, from 10:30 a.m. to Noon. Check-in on the first day is at 10 a.m. Parents must register at (619) 691-5287.

The library system hosts at least six Kindergarten Boot Camps each year in these two branches. The popular and free sessions are designed to help young children between the ages of three and five (and their parents) prepare for kindergarten. Sessions are typically four days a week for an hour and a half each day. The program, now in its third year, hosts 20 children at a time. Parents do not remain with their children, but are briefed at the end of each day.
“Kindergarten Boot Camp introduces children to what kindergarten will be like,” said Stephanie Loney, the library’s public services manager. “It also introduces good practices to parents, such as the importance of regular attendance.”

During the first hour of the sessions, children participate in activities that are designed to familiarize them with the kindergarten classroom environment and materials. These activities are selected to allow children to practice working in large groups, small groups and individually, as they will in a classroom. They are selected to help foster skills in all areas of development such as social/emotional, cognitive, and fine/gross motor skills. Participants learn how to use scissors, hold a pencil or pen, trace, tie their shoes, along with creative play. At the program’s end, parents and children attend a “graduation” ceremony, and parents are given a workbook of activities completed by their children.

“Academic expectations have grown tremendously in the decades since we were in kindergarten,” added Loney. “Many parents today don’t realize how much their children will need to know by the time they enter, and we help them understand that preparation is vital.”
Altrusa of Chula Vista members partnered with the Chula Vista Public Library to create the program and address the lack of preparedness of local children entering school. An earlier report by local community leaders and educators had identified this lack of readiness as one of three primary causes that held children back at grade level, thus impacting their ability to successfully graduate from high school. Altrusa provided funding for Boot Camp class supplies for each participant, a collection of library materials, class materials, “Kinder Ready Go” readiness kits for parents to check out, and volunteer help at the sessions. Other funding for the 2014 and 2015 boot camps was supplemented by a Great Neighborhood Challenge grant from the San Diego Foundation written by Altrusa.

Many studies show that success in kindergarten leads to school success later on. The first few years of education and preparedness are crucial to setting a solid foundation for adapting to school and learning, emotionally and academically. At the library’s “Kinder Ready Go” Kindergarten Boot Camps, children will meet new friends, learn the first steps toward school success, and build social skills – all while having fun.