About the Ready or Not Project
Kansas Action for Children launched the Ready or Not project in 2005 to promote school readiness among Kansas children. The project focuses on three essentials that children need to succeed in school and in life: access to health care, early literacy and Pre-Kindergarten.

• Access to health care. Good health is the foundation of a child’s ability to thrive and learn. It directly affects a child’s attention to tasks, engagement in activities and ability to socialize – all of which is influential when it comes to success in school and in life. Children who are healthy when they start school learn better, have fewer chronic illnesses and grow up to be healthier adults.
• Early literacy. Research shows that children who are read to daily, starting from the age of 4 months, generally have more extensive vocabularies by 18 months. An early vocabulary advantage means better reading skills and, later, greater readiness for school. Besides stimulating language skills, reading aloud to a child provides positive reinforcement, which builds motivation, curiosity and memory.
• Pre-Kindergarten. Pre-Kindergarten provides an age-appropriate learning environment that helps children ages 3 to 5 develop the social, emotional, intellectual and language skills they will need in the classroom. By the time a child reaches Kindergarten, 85 percent of the core brain structure is already formed. So, helping children at ages 3 and 4 is none too soon.