Website Resource Available to Parents of Preschoolers

In an effort to help every child in America achieve “school readiness,” Jumpstart is launching a free service for parents of children ages 2½ to 5½ called Jumpstart to Kindergarten. Through this service, parents receive personalized monthly emails containing tips, advice, and resources to help their child stay on track for success in kindergarten.

“We’ve taken years of research and practice and packaged it so that any parent – no matter how busy – can take an active role in the early learning of their children,” reported Rob Zeaske, Jumpstart Vice President. “Jumpstart to Kindergarten is a huge leap in our effort to prepare every child in America to succeed.”

Parents who register at www.jstart.org/js2k will receive an email each month focusing on an important developmental area including social & emotional development, language & literacy development, physical development, and cognitive development. Each email will explain to parents what should be expected developmentally for their child’s current age and offer resources to support their child’s learning. These resources include activity suggestions, published articles from educational experts, and book recommendations. The entire service consists of 36 developmental updates over three years, all presented entirely free of charge to parents and families.

As a national leader in early childhood education, Jumpstart has refined research and practice to prepare preschoolers for school success for over a decade. In developing Jumpstart to Kindergarten, the national leader utilized expert research and resources from the Pearson Family Education Network, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and PBS Parents among others. Through this program, Jumpstart extends that expertise to parents and families across the country.

“This is an exciting addition to our one-on-one mentoring program, “said Colleen Romito, former site manager for Jumpstart Ohio University-Zanesville. Through extraordinary attention in yearlong one-to-one relationships, Jumpstart Mentors inspire children to learn, adults to teach, and families to get involved. In Zanesville, Jumpstart and Ohio University-Zanesville partner with Careytown Preschool to pair 21 Zanesville campus college students with 19 preschool children.

Visit www.jstart.org/js2k for more information, to register, to view a sample email, or to tell a friend about this program.