About The Ready Child
About The Ready Child
An early learning resource for teachers and families, and is powered by Early Discovery Network
In 2012 and 2019, the University of Illinois Chicago College of Education launched Early Math Counts and Early Science Matters to help foster the development of early math and science skills in children from birth through age five.
In 2023, we expanded our early learning offerings with the launch of The Ready Child, a website designed to help children get the most out of their kindergarten experience.
The Ready Child has five core objectives:
- To define school readiness as it pertains to the whole child, which includes physical and cognitive development, as well as language skills, attention, emotional regulation, play skills and social skills
- To shift the paradigm from readying children for kindergarten to readying school for children, wherever they may be on the “readiness continuum” when they enter the kindergarten classroom
- To encourage educators to view children and their families from a strength-based perspective
- To provide practical activities and ideas for supporting young children's growth at home and in the classroom
- To provide online, open-access and user-friendly kindergarten-readiness resources
We are grateful to the CME Group Foundation, The Pelino Charitable Foundation and the Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood for making these pioneering projects possible!
Questions or comments? Please contact us at info@readychild.org.
About Early Discovery Network
Early Discovery Network helps early childhood educators build the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills they need to create engaging learning experiences for young children.
We specialize in early mathematics, science, engineering, and school readiness, translating research and best practices into approaches educators can use every day. Through professional development workshops, classroom coaching, consultation, and free online learning resources, we support educators and programs in strengthening both teacher knowledge and practice, both in the classroom and in natural spaces.
Early Discovery Network is home to Early Math Counts, Early Science Matters, Engineering Explorers, and Ready Child, a collection of research-informed resources designed specifically for early childhood educators and families.
Our goal is simple: to make high-quality, practical early childhood professional learning accessible and useful, and to help educators turn what they learn into meaningful experiences for young children.
About the CME Group Foundation
The CME Group Foundation was created in 2008 and endowed with a gift of $16 million from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Trust. The Foundation works to advance the economy by supporting education from cradle to career, primarily in the Chicago region. CME’s early education funding is largely centered on its Early Math Education Initiative, which aims to improve math skills in the birth-through-third-grade demographic. Recently, the CME Group Foundation broadened their focus to improve kindergarten readiness by increasing the KIDS assessment scores for Black, LatinX and low-income children in Illinois. After investing $11.7 million in early math education over the past eleven years, the Foundation Board decided to expand our early childhood education focus to include all three domains measured by the KIDS assessment.