Check for Resources
Discuss the time, space, and staff requirements with your management about your capacity and resources.
- Planning/prep time
- Ordering materials
- Space requirements
- Additional staff
- Program schedule
- Room set up
When to Have Your Program
- Decide if you’re having it once a week for ten weeks or twice a week for five weeks.
- Decide day(s) and time for the program. It should be one hour per session.
Where to Have Your Program
- Determine two different spaces for this program: one for the kids and one for the caregivers.
Staffing Needs
- At least three staff are needed to run this program: two staff with the kids and running Kindergarten Gear Up and one staff with the caregivers facilitating Caregiver Gear Up.
Class Size
- Based on CA state standards, we are suggesting no more than 24 kids per session with 2 adults.
- There should be a sign-up list. This should not be a drop-in program.
Selecting Lessons
- There is curriculum for fifteen different lessons. Choose ten lessons.
- The first must be Be Yourself, but the other nine can be any of the other fourteen.
- Click here for the lessons.
Choosing Speakers
- Once you’ve picked which lessons to use, look through the list of potential speakers for the Caregiver Gear Up discussions.
- Choose which speakers you would like and contact them.
- If you have a local speaker/resource that would be better than the suggested speakers, please use them.
Caregiver Gear Up
- Once the speakers are booked, look through the Caregiver Gear Up lessons and plan out discussion questions for sessions without a guest speaker.
Books!
- Look through the book lists for each lesson and choose which book you will be reading during the Kindergarten Gear Up lesson.
- Collect your potential books and make sure you read through them to choose the best one.
- See the book list.
Activities
- Look through the activity list for each lesson and choose which activity you will be doing during the Kindergarten Gear Up lesson.
- Check through the supplies and make sure you have what you will need for each lesson.
- Also make sure you have enough time to prepare and do the activity during the allotted time. See the activity list.
Lap Games
- Each lesson begins with lap games. These are free, cheap, or easy games for the kids to use before each lesson.
- We have a list of potential free lap games listed here.
- If you have the budget, you can also buy manipulatives or other games for this time.
Room Set Up
- On the kids’ side, you’ll want a table, chairs, magnet/flannel board, and sitting space.
- On the caregiver’s side, place chairs facing each other, and a table is recommended but optional.