BAY MINETTE — Ask Ava Collier how old she is, and the flaxen-curled cutie gets down to business.

“I’m 5, and I’m gonna be in kindergarten, and my mama says it’s gonna be fun. But it’s gonna be work, and I’m gonna have to do what the teacher says just like when I’m at home,” said Collier, of Bay Minette, enjoying a breezy Sunday on the grounds at 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center with her parents and baby brother. “Mama says I’m gonna have to learn to listen better and not talk so much; and I promised I would ‘cause I don’t want to get in trouble.”

And while all students might not be as excited as Collier about a new school year starting in August, parents only have a few weeks to line up the proper paperwork for kindergarten registration.

Baldwin County Public Schools have designated April 26 for kindergarten registration, and parents are asked to report to the school serving their attendance zone between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Terry Wilhite, spokesman for the school system, said parents should bring with them the following items:

r Certified birth certificate for each child.

r Social Security card.

r Proof of residency.

r Proof of immunization record, also referred to as blue cards.

Parents can obtain both the State of Alabama Certificate of Immunization, or IMM-50, and Measles Immunization Certificate, or IMM-90, from either their pediatrician or the Baldwin County Health Department at 23280 Gilbert Drive in Robertsdale. In lieu of the immunization forms, parents may also provide an official Certificate of Religious Exemption, or IMM-52.

Students must be 5 on or before Sept. 2 to enroll in public kindergarten, and Wilhite said parents and guardians are encouraged to bring their children to registration, so they can take a readiness survey.

The health department will host immunization clinics today as well as April 13, 26 and 27 in Robertsdale. The charge for the service is $15 per child. To schedule an appointment or to learn more about the clinics, contact the health department between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at (251) 947-1910.

The health department’s Bay Minette and Foley locations can also provide up-to-date “blue cards.” Phyllis French, Baldwin County Public Schools’ elementary and staff development coordinator, said the registration process helps provide local schools with an accurate count of children planning to attend fall classes. Parents can still register their children at their respectively zoned schools after this date, but those students will not necessarily be included in any planning projections.

For more information, call French at (251) 972-6866.