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LANGUAGE & LITERACY

I'm Ready!™

The Hanen Program® for Building Emergent Literacy in the Home  

Who it's for
Parents of preschool and kindergarten children ages 3-5

Available Formats

In-Person
Online

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About

Your child’s journey toward literacy begins long before they start to read and write. Even in toddlerhood as your child explores the pages of a book or scribbles on a piece of paper, they have already embarked on the path to literacy. 

If your child is between the ages of three and five, it’s important to make sure they have a strong foundation of emergent literacy skills – the early skills that set the stage for your child to read and write when they are ready. The Hanen I’m Ready!™ Program is designed to help you build your child’s emergent literacy in a way that’s natural and fun, and that fits easily into your everyday life. The program is based on research showing that:  

  • Children who start school with higher levels of early literacy go on to have higher levels of academic success. 
  • Children learn these skills best during language-rich everyday interactions about the things that interest them. 
  • Parents play a critical role in fostering the kinds of interactions that help children learn literacy. 

Highlights

Research-based

Research-based

I’m Ready! draws from current research on what early literacy skills children need to learn and the most effective ways to build these skills.  Read more about the research.

A naturalistic approach

A naturalistic approach

I’m Ready! strategies help you prepare your child for reading and writing success by making the most of book reading and other activities you do with your child. You’ll learn how to share books in ways that create enjoyable and enriching opportunities to nurture your child’s literacy.  

High-quality learning experience

High-quality learning experience

You learn the program strategies during engaging sessions with other parents, where you view video examples, have group discussions, ask questions and plan how you will apply what you learn with your child. 

High-quality learning experience

Individualized support

The Program Leader provides individualized coaching and feedback to support your learning experience.

Developed by a trusted leader in parent-implemented early language intervention

Developed by a trusted leader in early language development and intervention

Since 1975, The Hanen Centre has been at the forefront of developing evidence-based programs for parents and educators to help them build the best possible early language, literacy and social skills for all young children. 

What You'll Learn

At an I’m Ready! Program, you learn research-based techniques for sharing books and having conversations with your child in ways that support the early literacy skills your child should learn before they start school:

  • Conversation
  • Vocabulary
  • Story comprehension
  • Print knowledge
  • Sound awareness 

Program Components

In-person Program

  1. Six training sessions, plus an Orientation Session, for parents in small, personalized groups. 
  2.  Simultaneous sessions where children continue to build their language and literacy skills with the help of trained support staff. 
  3.  Practice opportunities at the end of each session with parents and children together. Parents receive individualized coaching from the program leader and support staff. 

Online Program

  1. Six training sessions, plus a live online or pre-recorded orientation session. 
  2.  Three individual sessions with the program leader, parent and child. During these sessions, parents are videorecorded using program strategies with their child, and they receive individualized feedback and coaching.  

Program Resources

During the program, you’ll use the guidebook  I’m Ready! How to Prepare Your Child for Reading Success. This guidebook outlines the program strategies and includes many practical examples and “Try It Out” checklists for each topic.  

You’ll also receive Home Plans to personalize the content and plan how you will use it with your child. 

Which Children Will Benefit?

I’m Ready! is ideal for children ages 3-5 who are developing as expected for their age, as well as those who have mild language difficulties.

Find Program

Looking for an I'm Ready Program?

I’m Ready! Programs are offered by Hanen Certified Program Leaders, who may choose to offer them in-person or online.  To find a Program Leader, contact us at the link below: