Beginnings of School Readiness

Sarah Taylor Vanover, EdD, has been working in the field of early childhood education for over eighteen years and has had the opportunity to be a teacher, a director, and a trainer for other early childhood educators. For the past several years she has focused her work and research on assessing quality early childhood programs for health and safety requirements and school readiness skills. She is the author of Finding Quality Early Childcare: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents about What Matters Most (2016) and Stick Situations: Case Studies for Early Childhood Program Managers (2016).

• IntroductionChapter 1: Social and Emotional SkillsChapter 2: The Importance of Routines Chapter 3: Infant and Toddler Language SkillsChapter 4: Promoting Play SkillsChapter 5: Physical Development of Infants and ToddlersChapter 6: Developing Self-Help SkillsChapter 7: Cognitive Development and Pre-Academic SkillsChapter 8: Assessment and Early InterventionChapter 9: Parent Involvement in the Infant/Toddler ClassroomReferences

“School readiness” is an unfamiliar term to many infant and toddler caregivers. Dr. Vanover’s book, The Beginning of School Readiness, helps explain what actual “readiness” is for a young child and the stages of learning. Specifically, her discussion on development demonstrates the important role of play in a child’s overall education.