The Allegan AESA is underwriting an exciting initiative in all the area districts we serve. The initiative began this winter in Plainwell and Otsego school districts. The 5 x 5 program was the brainchild of Plainwell Community Schools Superintendent Sue Wakefield. “We wanted to encourage parents to help their children get ready for kindergarten by having these 5 important skills,” Superintendent Wakefield said.

“These skills can all be learned by playing games, singing songs, and working with their children with crayons, pencils, and paper.  The most critical part is that the parents and children are doing activities together,” explained Denny Patzer, Superintendent of the Otsego Public Schools.

The five skills identified for parents to help children acquire by the time they are five years old are:

1. How to say the alphabet
2. How to count objects up to 10
3. How to identify rhyming words
4. How to print their first name
5. Memorize their first and last name, their parents’ names, their address and phone number.

Information about the Five by Five Initiative will be available in all the school districts. Click here to download the flyer. 

To view the flyer you will need a PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.  If you do not have one you can download it for free at Adobe's website.