The DeKalb County Community Foundation is proud to announce the distribution of 949 Kindergarten Readiness Toolkits to families across all eight public school districts and three private schools in DeKalb County.

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

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 and promotes literacy, fine motor skills, emotional intelligence, creativity, and cognitive development.

• • Children’s book
  • Dry-erase board and marker
  • Flashcards with a social-emotional focus
  • Easy-grip pencil
  • Counting dice
  • Scissors
  • Play-Doh
  • Crayons
  • Farm Matching Memory Game

Since the program’s launch in 2018, over 7,000 local children have received a toolkit. The initiative supports the critical transition from pre-K to kindergarten and reflects the power of community partnerships, including generous 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.

“The Kindergarten Readiness Kits are such an important part of our Kindergarten Readiness programming. All of our families are welcomed to our school community with the tools they need to be successful, and we are grateful for the support from the DeKalb County Community Foundation!” – Kimber Larson, Indian Creek Elementary School Principal