# Ready and Healthy for Kindergarten: A Collaborative Multilingual Family Involvement Program Created by Teachers, Pediatricians, and Parents

## TL;DR

Ready and Healthy for Kindergarten is a multilingual program that helps families prepare preschoolers for school by combining health and literacy learning.

## Contribution

The program uniquely integrates health education with literacy through a collaborative approach involving teachers, pediatricians, and parents.

## Key findings

- The program successfully engaged families through eight virtual sessions focused on health and literacy.
- Collaboration among educators, pediatricians, and families helped establish routines promoting child well-being.
- The program demonstrates how multilingual partnerships can support early childhood development.

## Abstract

Ready and Healthy for Kindergarten is a Spanish/English multilingual family involvement program that is grounded in sociocultural and family literacy theories since it focuses on health and literacy development. The program’s development reflects a collaborative partnership of teachers, pediatricians, families, and an advisory board of multilingual parents dedicated to preparing preschoolers and their families for kindergarten. Health themes are presented to introduce foundational literacy and social-emotional skills, and the program comprises eight one-hour virtual sessions intended to engage both children and their families through active participation in learning. The program highlights how parents, educators, and pediatricians can come together to align their expertise and impact family knowledge around child development needs. With this strong collaboration when designing and implementing the Ready and Healthy for Kindergarten program, we were able to successfully provide guidance and support for families, which helped them to establish routines that promote health and well-being, along with some literacy skills.