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Governor
Granholm stated in her 2003 State of the State address, “By the time a
child arrives for kindergarten, 85 percent of the brain is developed. If
the brain is purposefully stimulated and nurtured before a child is old
enough to tie his or her shoes, that child’s lifelong capacity to learn
will be forever enhanced. And, unfortunately, if it is not, an opportunity
is lost forever.”
The Governor continued by saying, “The challenge to completely shift our
thinking to seize this incredible opportunity is immense. Let the
immensity of this shift not deter us, but stir us to concerted action.
First, we must focus on educating new parents – before their baby is born,
in the maternity ward, at check-ups and later at home. No one wants to be
a bad parent, but not everyone understands what it takes to be a good one,
particularly when it comes to stimulating and nurturing the supple minds
of young children.”
 In 1998, the Michigan Department of Education, in coordination with early
childhood and early literacy experts throughout the state, designed the
Read, Educate and Develop Youth (R.E.A.D.Y.) program. This program was
developed to provide parents and caregivers with engaging early childhood
materials and activities to enhance a child’s lifelong capacity to learn.
This program is also a priority with both the State Board of Education and
the Michigan Ready To Succeed Partnership.
R.E.A.D.Y. is a national award-winning program and has become one of the
most effective, cost-efficient early childhood parent information efforts
in Michigan’s history.
The main component of the R.E.A.D.Y. program is the R.E.A.D.Y. kit
designed to help parents stimulate and nurture the supple minds of young
children. This colorful and engaging kit contains both age-appropriate and
non age-specific information and materials. Age-specific materials for
infants (0-1), toddlers (1-2), and preschoolers
(2-4) are packaged in a R.E.A.D.Y. folder and include:
• A quality children’s book;
• Over a dozen parent/child learning activities;
• A reminder activity magnet; and,
• A pocket-sized list of enjoyable age-appropriate books.
Non age-specific kit materials include:
• A R.E.A.D.Y. brochure on the importance of engaging and reading to young
children;
• A child development guide;
• The nationally acclaimed I Am Your Child development video tape; and,
• A music cassette of nursery rhymes and children’s favorite songs.
  In 2000, the R.E.A.D.Y. for School Literacy Pack was developed to provide
parents of preschool and early elementary children with over thirty easy
to use literacy-building activities centered on the The Very Hungry
Caterpillar book. The response to this “for sale” pack has been
outstanding, resulting in orders for over 50,000 packets. Pack Cost $3.75.
In addition, the program developed the award-winning “It Starts with a
Book … And You” video illustrating model early childhood parent/child
activities. This product is also for sale for $6.50.
All production, sales, and distribution are managed through a partnership
with the Educational Materials Center (EMC) at Central Michigan University
(800) 214-8961.
Program Results – R.E.A.D.Y. WORKS!
• R.E.A.D.Y. is one of the most popular and successful parent
information efforts in Michigan history stressing the importance of early
learning and reading.
• According to program research, over 95 percent of families receiving the
program’s R.E.A.D.Y. kit remembered, valued, and used its materials.
• Two thirds of parents and caregivers were motivated to read and interact
more with their young child -- critical factors in ensuring children enter
school READY.
• R.E.A.D.Y. has become a national model and has been awarded the
prestigious Council of State Governments (CSG) Innovations Award.
• Total families impacted by the program exceed 630,000.
• Parents valued the kit at $20-$50.
• Parents, educators, communities, legislators, the State Board of
Education, state and local agencies, and associations such as the Michigan
Ready To Succeed Partnership, Michigan Business Leaders for Education
Excellence (MBLEE), and others support the program.
R.E.A.D.Y. Kit Distribution
To date, over 630,000 R.E.A.D.Y. kits have been hand delivered to
parents of young children in Michigan. Prior to 2002, R.E.A.D.Y. kits and
products were distributed through a network of county coordinators who
performed this service free of charge. These included: intermediate school
districts, Family Independence Agency offices, human service agencies,
libraries, family resource centers, Multi-Purpose Collaborative Bodies (MPCB’s),
Early On® offices, Head Start programs, and others.
However, the quantity of kits distributed varied widely county by county
and was dependent upon the resources of local coordinators. The percentage
of parents of 0-4 year-olds receiving kits per county ranged from a high
of 60 percent in urban areas to a low of less than 10 percent in rural
areas. From 1998 through 2001, approximately 30 percent of parents with
young children received the kit statewide.
Specifically:
• Most birthing hospitals in urban areas distributed R.E.A.D.Y. kits.
• All Family Independence Agency specialists conducting home visits
received and distributed kits.
• All licensed child care providers received kits.
• Most 2000-2001 Head Start programs received and distributed kits.
• Hundreds of community literacy and early childhood programs used the
R.E.A.D.Y. kits as a critical home visiting and parent involvement
component including ASAP-PIE grantees.
 A GREAT START FOR R.E.A.D.Y.
Since her inauguration, Governor Granholm has discussed the need to
provide new and expecting parents with information to stimulate and
nurture their child’s development. The R.E.A.D.Y. program is uniquely
poised to accomplish this goal through the development of a more
comprehensive R.E.A.D.Y. kit for parents of infants. This new kit goes
beyond the current “early learning” kit by incorporating its most
effective components and adds important health, safety, and nutrition
information to become a comprehensive “early childhood development” kit
that focuses on “the whole child.”
Continued products include:
• A quality children’s book;
• Parent/child learning activities;
• Activity magnet;
• A pocket-sized list of enjoyable age appropriate books;
• A child development wheel guide;
• The nationally acclaimed I Am Your Child development video tape;
• A music cassette of nursery rhymes and children’s favorite songs; and
• A R.E.A.D.Y. product brochure.
New additions include the Michigan Department of Community Health, Women,
Infants and Children (WIC) and Family Independence Agency brochures:
• Lead – Is Your Child Safe?;
• Good for You, Good for Your Children;
• Breastfeeding: Getting Started in 5 Easy Steps;
• Save a Life, Sleep Right;
• MIChild Health Insurance You Need;
• MIChild/ Healthy Kids Application;
• How to Choose a Child Care Provider; and
• The kit also contains information on car seat safety from Highway,
Safety and Planning and Healthy Weight in Preschool Children cards.
To store this information we have added three new folders:
• Health and Safety;
• My Child’s Records (for report cards, immunizations records and other
important information);
• Caring, Playing, and Learning (replaces the previous infant folder).
R.E.A.D.Y.’s Future
During FY 1998 - FY 2001, the R.E.A.D.Y. program received a total of
$7.7 million in federal and state funds and $1.1 million in multi-year
corporate financial contributions to produce and distribute over 630,000
free R.E.A.D.Y. kits to Michigan parents at a cost of $10 per kit,
including shipping and handling. Expenditures also included product
development, test marketing, and program administration.
Governor Granholm has strongly supported the R.E.A.D.Y. program; and,
while Attorney General, provided the program with substantial resources
derived from a Toys-R-Us settlement.
The R.E.A.D.Y. program has been the only state-funded early learning
program in Michigan history targeting all parents of young children. The
program has been proven both effective and cost efficient. However, as the
result of declining state revenues, state funding for the program was
eliminated in FY 2002.
New 2003 Kit
Since that time, to ensure the long-term viability of the R.E.A.D.Y.
program and its products, the Michigan Department of Education has entered
into an agreement with Central Michigan University’s Educational Materials
Center to continue to provide kits and products remaining in inventory on
a for-sale basis. While R.E.A.D.Y. products have remained available, the
parents who may benefit the most from this kit are also those who can
afford it the least.
In her 2003 State of the State address, Governor Granholm said, “I will
ask Michigan’s foundation community, which has already supported important
work on this issue (early childhood and literacy efforts) in our state, to
do even more.” As a result of the Governor’s commitment and existing
R.E.A.D.Y. inventory, foundation support has been secured to:
• Provide 40,000 free kits to the parents of our neediest infants who
qualify for Medicaid;
• Provide free Hispanic R.E.A.D.Y. kits to our Spanish speaking parents;
and
• Develop a new Arabic kit.
2003 corporate sponsors include:
Consumers Energy Scholastic
Dow Chemical Skillman Foundation
I Am Your Child Foundation
1998-2002 corporate sponsors included:
Allstate Insurance Ford Motor Company Sony Music Special Products
Consumers Energy Harper Collins Publishers Scholastic
Daimler Chrysler Corporation I Am Your Child United Parcel Service
Detroit Edison Kmart Corporation Walt Disney Corporation
Dow Chemical Sesame Street Whirlpool Corporation
In addition, the R.E.A.D.Y. program will continue to provide high quality,
low cost products including:
• R.E.A.D.Y. kits for toddlers and preschoolers
• R.E.A.D.Y. learning packs for toddlers or preschoolers containing a
book, learning activities and activity magnet and pocket-size book list;
• The popular R.E.A.D.Y. for School pack designed for four to six
year-olds filled with over 30 literacy building activities involving the
book The Very Hungry Caterpillar; and
• The award-winning R.E.A.D.Y. video titled “It Starts with a Book and
YOU!” illustrating everyday learning activities parents and caregivers can
use to help increase the language and literacy development of young
children.
The new R.E.A.D.Y. kit will be distributed free to 40,000 parents of
infants eligible for Medicaid through interested home-visiting programs,
as well as, health clinics, family practices, Women, Infant and Children
(WIC) offices, and other health care professionals. In addition, to ensure
all parents have access to the new infant kit, parents, family members,
caregivers, parenting professionals, family literacy experts, educators,
and anyone else important in the life of an infant can purchase a kit for
$10. If you have questions on Medicaid contact (888) 367-6557.
Also, for the first time, as a result of the high level of interest
nationwide in early childhood development, a similar National Infant Kit
and the R.E.A.D.Y. for School pack will be available for parents and
programs outside Michigan at a cost of $15, of which, $5 dollars of every
sales goes to fund free kits for Michigan parents.
All R.E.A.D.Y. products may be purchased on-line at
http://www.emc.cmich.edu/ready
or by requesting an order form at (800) 214-8961.
GREAT STORES, GREAT CAUSE
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, R.E.A.D.Y. kits can be purchased
at a very special store called the Store of Dreams. This store was the
dream of Bob Schostak, a mall developer who has generously donated an
entire store in three metro Detroit malls to showcase early childhood and
local education programs, as well as retail nearly 100 products to benefit
important charities like St. Vincent de Paul, the Michigan Humane Society,
Detroit Public Television, and the Detroit Historical Museum. Store of
Dreams’ locations are in Macomb Mall in Roseville, Laurel Park Place in
Livonia, and Fountain Walk in Novi.
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