I’m Ready!™ How to Prepare Your Child for Reading Success

Studies show that children who start school with higher levels of early literacy skills have greater academic success. As the most important teacher in your child’s life, you play a critical role in promoting these skills and giving your child the best possible start.


Building early literacy is easier than you think

All your child really needs to develop early literacy skills is... you! Children learn literacy best not by being “taught”, but by having enjoyable conversations with the most important people in their lives – their parents. That means you don't need any special tools, apps or activities to give your child the support she needs. 

But the way you interact with your child during these everyday moments can make a very big difference in how much your child learns. By making small but important changes to the way you communicate with your child, you can maximize his or her chances to develop the key early literacy skills that lay the foundation for learning to read and write.





The five building blocks of literacy

Here are the five early literacy skills your child needs to learn to be prepared for school:

  • Conversation – A child’s ability to use and understand speech is directly related to her literacy development. The better her conversational skills now, the easier it will be for her to understand what she reads later on.
  • Vocabulary – The more words a child knows, the easier it is for her to learn new words and to gain meaning from the stories she reads.
  • Story comprehension – Experience listening to and understanding stories will eventually make it easier for a child to read and write stories on her own.
  • Print knowledge – Before a child can read and write, she must understand how print works. For example, she’ll need to know that print is made up of letters of the alphabet, that letters combine to make words and that print is read from left to right.
  • Sound awareness – To be prepared to read, children must understand that words can be broken down into syllables and smaller sounds, and that letters correspond to certain sounds.


How I’m Ready! helps

Based on the most current research in early literacy development, I’m Ready! shows you the most effective ways to nurture your child’s early literacy. The guidebook (available in print and digital formats) offers practical, easy-to-use interaction strategies that you can easily apply during the everyday routines and activities you're already doing with your child. 

I’m Ready!
offers:

  • Straightforward and easy-to-read descriptions of practical strategies, using memorable acronyms and clear charts and checklists.
  • Dozens of concrete examples for what to say and do, and how to respond to the child in ways that foster learning.
  • Full colour photos of real parents using I’m Ready! strategies with their child
  • Try-It-Out sections at the end of each chapter to guide parents in planning what they’ll do and reflecting on the child’s progress.
  • A list of Suggested Children’s Books for choosing the best books for promoting each literacy skill.
  • Print and e-Book format