Our Programs

READY! for Kindergarten®

The READY! for Kindergarten program engages parents and caregivers in their child’s learning from birth to age 5. READY! builds strong parent involvement and teaches families new skills and helpful tips to nurture a child’s development in ways that foster essential early literacy, math and social-emotional skills. READY! parent workshops, learning targets, and take-home activities and tools, equip parents and caregivers to help babies and young children develop strong brain connections for success in school. The program is designed to tailor to local needs and opportunities including Head Start, preschools, home visitor and other community models. Lessons are available in English and Spanish, and can be adapted for other non-English speaking populations. At the end of fiscal year 2015, there were 170 READY! programs nationwide in 25 states.

The READY! for Kindergarten app is currently under development. The games are based on many of the READY! for Kindergarten Age Level Targets© and are designed to work on mobile devices. The READY! app will provide another tool for families to use as they spend time each day with their child to learn and practice skills to prepare them for future learning.

The Children’s Reading Foundation teaches families new skills and helpful tips to nurture a child’s critical brain connections in ways that foster essential early literacy, math and social-emotional skills.

READ Up: Stop the Summer SlideSM

The summer slide begins the first week students are out of school. School-age children can lose up to three months of reading skills in just one summer. The READ Up literacy program promotes reading as part of daily summer routines, so children don’t miss out on critical brain development during the summer break.

READ Up events are for children from birth to age 8 and their parents or caregivers. At every event, adults leave with new skills and motivation to encourage daily reading, while children leave with a new book and fun take-home materials.

In fiscal year 2015, more than 400 READ Up events were offered around the country by chapters of The Children’s Reading Foundation, school districts and other early learning organizations.

Team READTM

Reading on grade level by the end of third grade is a critical milestone because until that point children are learning to read, after third grade they are reading to learn. IMPROVING READING SKILLS ... ONE STUDENT AT A TIME/

Team READ is a community of volunteers that mentor struggling young readers in the first, second and third grades. The volunteers read with students one-on-one, twice each week during the school day. The literacy skills of students who participate in Team READ improve throughout the school year by reading with and to their mentor and practicing vocabulary words. The ultimate goal is to ensure every child is reading on grade level. Currently, Team READ is offered by The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia chapter.