Cool to be Kind(er): Meet Mackenzie Magaurn, Founder of Kinder With Mackenzie

By Emily Merrell 

Is your child kindergarten ready? But really, are they? If you’re not sure, keep reading and get to know Mackenzie Magaurn. She’s a kindergarten teacher turned “kindergarten whisperer”,  dedicated to helping kids and parents alike prepare for this important next stage in their lives. 

SDS: Can you walk us through who you are, what you do and your journey to entrepreneurship?

Mackenzie Magaurn: I’m the founder of Kinder With Mackenzie. I’m on a mission to help parents and kindergarteners set the foundation to have a strong kindergarten year, creating success in kindergarten and beyond. I work with both the parents and students one-on-one, as well as host small groups of bootcamps. I also squeeze in in-person tutoring when possible. 

From second grade onward, I wanted to be a teacher. I took every opportunity presented, and created them when they weren’t available, in order to become a teacher in my hometown (one of the top rated districts in the US). My passion for education started young and has brought me here today. 

In 2020, I was teaching kindergarten and in 2021, due to low registration numbers, I was moved up to 2nd grade. Teaching 2nd grade was fun and all, but it highlighted just how perfect of a match kindergarten and I are. Teaching during the pandemic was, well, an experience to say the least – but it really was quite heartbreaking. There were so many things parents and students needed, that I wasn’t able to or allowed to provide. I soon realized I could have more of an impact by working with parents outside of the classroom and I took the leap into the online coaching world. 

SDS: As a kindergarten teacher “on pause” you created Kinder with Mackenzie. Can you tell us more about the company and what you hope to achieve? 

MM: Yes! Kinder With Mackenzie was created to give parents and kids the tools they need to truly be set up for success in kindergarten and beyond. Kindergarten is such a vital year and can often be confusing since it’s the first year of public school. 

My hopes and dreams for KWM are big. I want to help kindergarten students have the communication skills to speak up when they need help. I want kindergarten students to have the independence to get started on their work and do it on their own. I want kindergarten students to be able to communicate their frustrations with their peers and problem solve “small problems” on their own. All of these skills start at home with the parents, so that’s where my work begins. My mission is to help parents foster these skills in their children – they are developmentally appropriate, just often overlooked, and are so vital. 

SDS: Kindergarten is the gateway to college. Tell us more – what are the biggest misconceptions about kindergarten?

MM: Kindergarten really is the first step toward college. The kindergarten year sets the foundation for all of a child’s school career to follow. Skills learned in kindergarten – reading, basic writing, basic math – all of these skills are built upon each year that follows. If a child starts off behind, then it’s really hard to get them caught up down the road. Parents have the power to set their child up for a successful kindergarten year by focusing on kindergarten readiness that really counts. 

The two biggest misconceptions are that it’s all about academics and that parents have no control over a child’s classroom experience. So often when there were conflicts between students, a parent wouldn’t ask how their child was involved and would quickly jump to blaming the other child. They also were eager to solve their child’s problems for them, instead of with them. This one’s huge. 

If I could give every kindergarten parent one piece of advice it would be to support them by helping them solve their problems, not by solving them for them. Helping a child through it shows them they can do it themselves, which gives them highly valuable independence. I know that every parent wants the best for their child, so I understand where they’re coming from – I’m here to help with some of the blind spots. 

SDS: What’s the most surprising thing about being a coach and entrepreneur? What’s delighted you the most since you’ve started? 

MM: What’s delighted me most since I’ve started is how much people want this support in their lives. I knew I had an idea and a passion, I just didn’t know how badly people would want it. 

SDS: What advice do you have for preparing your little for kindergarten and beyond?

MM: A huge part of the kindergarten year has nothing to do with academic learning. It’s all about communication, problem solving and focusing on one task all the way through to completion. I would encourage parents to foster these skills at home and prioritize this over creating flashcards of any sort. 

Focus on fostering strong skills: communication, self-awareness, resilience and independence more than you focus on having them memorize the alphabet. 

SDS: Lastly, what exciting things are coming up in your life and business? 

MM: In my personal life, I’m getting married this year, so that’s exciting! In business, I have a few things coming up to support parents who have kindergarteners right now and parents who have kindergarteners starting in the fall. I’m super excited to get these things rolling, as they’ve been in development for quite some time now. 

I’m really focused on fostering my community right now through my Instagram and my email list, so I’m excited for more specialized content coming to both of those places. (Hint hint: hit follow & sign yourself up!)