What’s the importance of an at-home kindergarten readiness program? . . . Because children who are ready for school do better in all the other grades and have more chance of finishing school. Because many children who enter school unprepared or behind their classmates stay behind. But mostly because being ready for school starts long before getting there: it starts at home—this and parent involvement are shown to be critical factors in the child’s success at school. Today’s Learning Curve interviews Barbara Allisen, the author of, 123 Kindergarten: Everything Your Child Needs to Learn Before Kindergarten. www.123kindergarten.com (http://www.123kindergarten.com) Barbara has more then 30 years in the classroom. She speaks from experience. Today’s show reveals: How critically important the child’s early learning years are, and why. Ninety-percent of learning and brain development happens in the first five years! Early parental involvement is a key factor in a child’s success at school. Why and how to make your home the child’s first classroom. There are many, many precursors to basic concepts that we assume children know, but fail to ensure they know to the detriment of the child’s development and later success at school—how to be sure your child has these basic elements. Children need to feel comfortable with the whole issue of learning—those children who know they can learn and who expect to learn are the most successful at school. Find out how to use everyday chores as learning opportunities for your child. Points to consider when determining when to first send your child to school. Find out why kindergarten is a pivotal year for children. Find out how to have your child prepared for and excited to go to kindergarten, confident in its grasp of the needed basics. Roger & Virginia at The Learning Curve www.howtolearneasily.com (http://www.howtolearneasily.com)