With the message that parents need to become informed about the educational practices that affect their children, this book offers a guide to different approaches to kindergarten, expectations for incoming students, and ways to obtain needed information for parents new to the process of schooling. Following an introduction that calls for increased parent involvement in schools, the book contains four chapters: (1) "All Kindergartens Are Not Alike," describing five commonly used approaches to kindergarten; (2) "Kindergarten Issues," discussing issues parents face when their children enter kindergarten; (3) "Doing Your Homework," advising parents about how to find out information before their children enter kindergarten; and (4) "Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten," discussing how to help your child meet school expectations for incoming students. In the conclusion, the book reminds parents how slowly schools change and how adaptable children can be. Contains endnotes organized by specific topics covered in the book and 75 references. (AMC)