Many of our children are poorly prepared to face the challenges of school and growing up in our complex society. The term readiness is misrepresented in the field of education; this book implies a different type of readiness involving a process that can be taught and nurtured within each child. Going beyond what our schools typically assess to determine readiness to attend school, which is often based upon age, this book addresses the synergistic aspects of readiness, learning, and adaptation that allow children to be optimally ready to learning and capable of handing for challenges and transitions. This more holistic and interactive understanding of readiness involves not only the typical physical development, but also psychological aspects including the cognitive, emotional, spiritual, behavioral, and environmental pieces.The goal of this book is to provide the necessary lens through which we can see what is really hindering many children in schools today, along with possible approaches and interventions typically not seen as educational in nature, but what may be just the needed prescription for our ailing youth.

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Understanding the Concept of Being Ready and the DisconnectsChapter 1: What is Being Ready All About?Chapter 2: The Paradoxes and the Disconnects?Chapter 3: Catalysts to our Understanding: Theoretical and Research FoundationsChapter 4: The Meaning of ReadinessPart II: A Synergistic ReadinessChapter 5: The Physical PieceChapter 6: The Cognitive PieceChapter 7: The Emotional PieceChapter 8: The Core PieceChapter 9: The Behavioral PieceChapter 10: The Environmental PieceChapter 11: The Synergistic Process: Promoting Readiness for Learning and Readiness for LifePart III: The Interventions and DiscussionsChapter 12: Getting Ready Physically: Predominantly Physically Based Interventions and ConsiderationChapter 13: Getting Ready Cognitively: Mainly Cognitive Interventions and ContemplationsChapter 14: Getting Ready Emotionally: Essentially Emotionally Based Interventions and ReflectionsChapter 15: Getting Ready with Our Center: Core Interventions and RespectsChapter 16: Getting Ready Behaviorally: Generally Behavioral Interventions and ConsiderationsChapter 17: Getting Ready Environmentally: Needed ChangesPart IV: Bringing it All Together and Hope for the FutureChapter 18: Ready for Learning & Ready for Life in a Nut ShellChapter 19: Where Do We Go From Here?References