With August just around the corner, it’s almost time for that milestone moment: the first day of kindergarten. For many New Orleans families, that big leap into “big kid school” can feel exciting and also overwhelming. That’s where the Louisiana Children’s Museum’s Kindergarten Kickoff comes in. On Thursday, July 31, from 4:30-7 p.m., the museum will host its third annual Kindergarten Kickoff, a free, hands-on event designed to help incoming kindergartners (and their grownups) ease into this new chapter with confidence, celebration, and a whole lot of fun.
Designed specifically for first-time kindergarteners, the event offers interactive stations, opportunities to practice classroom skills, and expert advice for families navigating this important transition. Kids can practice writing their names, cutting with scissors, balancing lunch trays, packing their backpacks, and even hopping aboard a real school bus for a trial ride.
“It’s a celebratory event to mark this big transition, but the way we do that celebration is by thinking about what can make that first day a little bit smoother,” says Tifferney White, CEO of the Louisiana Children’s Museum. “What can relieve some anxiety for parents and children around something that’s unknown?”
Throughout the museum, attendees can meet with kindergarten teachers, participate in storytime, and explore activities in healthy eating, speech and hearing screenings, and physical exercise. Spanish-speaking educators will also be on-site, ensuring accessibility and inclusion for all families.
The museum is teaming up with a powerhouse lineup of partners for this year’s event, including Manning Family Children’s Hospital, NOLA Public Schools, New Orleans Speech and Hearing, ThriveKids, and The Parenting Center. Many of these community partners will offer valuable services during the event; Think vision and hearing checks, immunizations, and health screenings. This gives families a chance to check off many back-to-school to-dos in one convenient stop.
For White, Kindergarten Kickoff reflects the Museum’s deep commitment to early childhood development and kindergarten readiness. “One of our impact areas is around early learning,” she says. “We don’t start preparing for kindergarten when they’re four—we start as soon as they’re born. From the time they’re born, we’re saying to parents, ‘This is how you can help developmentally, get them to where they need to be.’”
The event also serves another important purpose: creating joyful first experiences at the museum itself. “For some people, this is the first time they’ve ever been to Louisiana Children’s Museum,” White explains. “So, we’ve tried very hard to make this event accessible. There’s not a cost, because we want to make sure that everyone can come.”
The inspiration for Kindergarten Kickoff came shortly after White joined LCM in 2023 and realized that while the museum had long focused on kindergarten readiness, it lacked an opportunity to celebrate it. “We were doing the work around getting children ready for kindergarten, but we just didn’t have anything where we were celebrating that,” she says. “So for the first year, we prototyped it to see if people would respond. And it was hugely popular.”
Now in its third year, the event has grown into a beloved summertime tradition for New Orleans families and a powerful example of what happens when play meets purpose.
Ultimately, White hopes families walk away from Kindergarten Kickoff feeling ready and reassured. “I hope that parents and children walk away saying, ‘I can do this,’” she says. “‘It’s not as scary as I thought it was going to be.’ That anxiety is relieved. They are prepared and ready.”
And ready they’ll be… for day one, for the cafeteria line, and for a lifelong love of learning.
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