Creative Discovery Museum is making sure the children of Chattanooga are ready to start kindergarten with the Countdown to Kindergarten campaign.
"They may not know their numbers quite yet, but preschoolers across Chattanooga will soon be counting down the days to start kindergarten as members of Creative Discovery Museum’s new Countdown Kids Club," officials said.
The club, made possible by a donation from Unum and United Way, gives parents and caregivers of young children information and resources needed for their child to be better prepared to start school.
“Children who enter kindergarten with the emotional, social, physical and intellectual skills needed to be ready for school are more likely to be successful during all of their school years,” said Jayne Griffin, director of Education at the Creative Discovery Museum.
“Creative Discovery Museum is proud to partner with other community organizations that support parents and children as they prepare for this meaningful milestone.”
The club, part of the Museum’s Countdown to Kindergarten campaign, will seek to enroll all 4,000 children expected to start kindergarten in Hamilton County.
All Countdown Kids will receive tip sheets written by Hamilton County kindergarten teachers, a commemorative t-shirt, invitations to community readiness events through social media, one free visit to the Museum and admission to the Countdown Kids Club celebration on Aug. 1.
Rising kindergarteners can enroll at various locations including Creative Discovery Museum, all four branches of the Chattanooga Public Library and at multiple community events throughout the spring.
The Countdown to Kindergarten campaign will culminate in a grand celebration at Creative Discovery Museum on Aug. 1. The event will honor rising kindergarteners and their families and celebrate their hard work in getting ready for school.
Creative Discovery Museum is leading this effort in collaboration with many partners in the Chattanooga area including: the Hamilton County Department of Education, Head Start, Tennessee Child Care Resource and Referral Network, UTC, United Way, Chattanooga Public Library, Chattanooga Area Association for the Education of Young Children, Chattanooga State, First Things First, Imagination Library and Read 20.
The Museum will host a press conference on March 11 at 10:30 a.m. to launch the campaign. Guests scheduled to speak include Hamilton County Department of Education Superintendent Rick Smith, Creative Discovery Museum Director of Education Jayne Griffin, and registered children in the Countdown Kids Club. For more information on Countdown to Kindergarten and how to participate, visit
www.cdmfun.org.