What is the Ready for K Alliance?
The Ready For K Alliance is aligned with the Evolve 502 initiative to improve the quality and access to early care and education programs. It is a partnership of leaders from local education, business, philanthropy, social and health sectors, and government entities working together to effect dramatic improvement in the kindergarten readiness for Louisville-area children age 0-5.
COVID-19 Resources and Activities for Kids
The Ready for K Alliance is committed to the ongoing development and education of children birth – 5 years old in our community. We know that in the current environment children, families, and caregivers are spending more time than ever at home. Below is a list of free and low-cost resources and activities for children and families to utilize at home ensuring continued engagement and learning.
- Kentucky Educational Television (KET) Online Resources & Free Learning-at-Home Toolkit for Families and Educators
- Kentucky Science Center – Do Science at Home Experiments available on their FB page HERE
- Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Supplemental Educational Materials
- Louisville Free Public Library Online Sign-up for Library Cards
- Family Health Centers (FHC) – Free playgroups on Facebook live HERE
- Scholastic Learn at Home Free grade specific learning, articles and videos
- Free video tours and virtual fieldtrips https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SvIdgTx9djKO6SjyvPDsoGlkgE3iExmi3qh2KRRku_w/mobilebasic
- Listen to famous people read stories for children of all ages https://www.storylineonline.net/
- 30 days of at home activities for children http://30days.familieslearning.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/NCFL30Days.pdf
- Free art class for kids via Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/makepaducah 2 pm every weekday
- Home safari from the Cincinnati Zoo daily at 3 pm – https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatizoo
- Drawing class every day with Mo Willems https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/
- BrainPOP – Fun and educational videos
- Art classes and activities via the Speed Art Museum HERE
- Free fun and educational movies from Louisville Children’s Film Festival – https://www.facebook.com/louisvillechildrensfilmfestival
- Free! Preschool fun pbs.org/parents
- Free virtual music and dance playgroups held Tuesday and Thursday mornings – https://www.facebook.com/growbabydance/
- Free educational and literacy resources from NCFL – https://www.familieslearning.org/resources/out-of-school-time
- Wonderopolis® invites children to explore intriguing questions about the world around us. The goal is to inspire curiosity that leads to deeper learning. Each “Wonder of the Day®” includes a series of fun and engaging online and offline activities. The 30-minute activities reinforce content learned while building background knowledge and vocabulary skills. (Available in 60 languages via text and text-to-speech in partnership with Microsoft’s Immersive Reader.)
- Camp Wonderopolis® offers interactive STEM and literacy-building topics boosted by Maker experiments. There are five editions of Camp Wonderopolis available, each with a different theme. Children work their way through seven modules within an edition and earn badges. Camp Wonderopolis teaches vocabulary, background knowledge in science, reading comprehension, critical thinking and other literacy skills.
- 30 Days of Families Learning Together is a guidebook to a month’s worth of family literacy activities designed to inspire family memories rooted in imagining, playing and learning together. (Also available in Spanish)
- Cultivating Readers is a parent magazine that provides effective and easy strategies to promote reading in children’s early years. (Also available in Spanish.)
- Healthy Family Habits offers step-by-step guides for parents to talk about staying healthy and getting moving.
- Miss Katie Sings: Music education and exploration for children
- Go on a Virtual Field Trips with My Big Little Adventure
- Try some fun activities from My Big Little Adventure
- Play some games on PBS Kids
- Dance with Go Noodle
- Make some music at home
- Teach your child colors with these activities
- Sign up for daily newsletter and activities from PBS Kids
- Sign up for Free ABCmouse, Adventure Academy and ReadingIQ
- Practice phonics with StarFall
- Play some games to enhance literacy
- Check out some Non Screen Activities
- Get up and move with these activities
- Practice Fine Motor Skills for Kids
- Try some fun preschool activities
- Visit the Georgia Aquarium
- BookFlix (PreK-3)
- The Frazier History Museum is offering free Virtual Museum tours with new content daily and lots of kid-friendly interactions and activities. Sign up for daily updates here.
- Unite for Literacy – www.uniteforliteracy.com Free online children’s books available in 40+ languages
- StageOne digital platform, Channel StageOne is hosting digital content 5 days a week appropriate for ages ranging from 2-18
Overview Video
Mission Statement
Ready for K Alliance is committed to developing a collaborative network of early care and education providers, partners, and other key stakeholders to provide a seamless system of support for children ages birth to kindergarten entry via evidence-based best practices in the areas of access, quality, engagement and transitioning into kindergarten.
Guiding Principles
- Families are assets and a child’s first teacher
- Early Childhood Educators are lifelong learners and need to be afforded the opportunity to continuously learn and grow
- Programs, schools, and the community need to meet families ‘where they are’
- Projects and programs must be evidence-based, culturally and linguistically responsive, and developmentally appropriate
- Partners are dedicated to using data and leveraging existing services to enhance services for children and families
- Increase community understanding about the benefits of investing in early childhood development
Action Networks
- Access & Quality: Working to increase the quality of and access to early care and education programs.
- Engagement: By increasing parents’ and caregivers’ knowledge of and involvement in helping their children become ready for kindergarten.
- Transitioning: Working to create shared understanding and ownership of kindergarten readiness to ensure partnerships between community, families and schools so that children smoothly transition to school.
View Word of the Week videos explaining a new word and giving suggestions on how to practice them with children! Check back often—a new word is introduced each week by Say & Play with Words!
JCPS Ready for Kindergarten Website
Parents: Visit JCPS' website for lots of great information and resources for parents around kindergarten readiness!