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Welcome to the Ready Child blog!

View posts by our early learning expert to gain valuable insights into the developing brain and learn about activities that you can easily incorporate into your day to help every child succeed in kindergarten and in life.

Check back often so you don’t miss a single blog—and join in the conversation by asking questions or leaving comments at the end of each post.

About our blogger Diann Gano, M.Ed

Diann Gano

Diann Gano, M.Ed

Diann Gano—who opened her family child care program, Under the Gingko Tree in 1986—has long believed that “the earth gives us what we need to learn” and that nature is “the perfect environment for little brains to grow and learn in every day.” While conducting research for her master’s thesis on outdoor learning in early childhood settings, she learned about the Nature Explore Classroom Certification Program, which recognizes schools and other organizations that have made a commitment to providing outdoor classrooms and comprehensive programming to help children use the natural world as an integral part of learning. She enrolled in the Nature Explore Classroom certification program after completing her master’s degree in 2010, and Under the Ginkgo Tree was certified as a Nature Explore Certified Outdoor Classroom Program in 2011.

A member of the Erikson Family Child Care Portal Project Advisory Board, Gano has also participated in the Erikson Institute’s Early Childhood Leadership Summit and served as a webinar panelist for Town Square Illinois, an online resource and professional development tool for home-based providers. She has presented at the local, state and national levels on topics such as indoor and outdoor learning environments, the importance of loose parts in early math education and the impact of immersion in the natural world on brain development in young children. In 2016, Gano was honored as a recipient of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Child Care Innovator Award for creating a school environment that inspires children to become more active and engaged learners. In May 2019, she received the prestigious Terri Lynn Lokoff/Children’s Tylenol National Teacher Award, which honors 50 outstanding early child care professionals across the nation each year for making a lasting difference in the lives of the children they serve and setting them on a path to success in school and in life. She received her BS in liberal arts from Western Illinois University and her MEd in education from St. Mary of the Woods College in Indiana.

Count With Your Eyes: Let's Subitize!

Four-year-old Juan shakes a die between his palms, rolls it, counts each pip (dot) on the side facing up, and announces, “One, two, three! I rolled a three!” “My turn!” Maria announces as she shakes the die between her hands and rolls it. “Six! I win! Six is more than three!” Maria doesn’t need to […]

An Educator's Wish

This morning, I had an interesting conversation with a kindergarten teacher as we were enjoying our last day of summer vacation at the local pool. When I asked what she thought parents should work on as they prepare their early learners for the transition to kindergarten, she was quick to respond: "I wish parents would […]

Building Blocks for Developing Brains

You can’t teach creativity. But you help foster this important life skill by encouraging your child to explore new ideas and giving them ample time to engage in hands-on problem-solving. Today, dark skies and a steady rain seem to have sapped the children's energy and contributed to a general state of fatigue in the classroom. […]

Kindergarten Success Starts Here!

With less than a month to go until the start of the school year, many parents are wondering if their preschoolers are ready for the academic challenges of kindergarten. If this is you, we've got some reassuring news: Kindergarten readiness is less about academic readiness and more about learning readiness! In other words, most teachers […]

Melting Crayons in the Summer Sun

“It is so hot!” moans five-year-old Manuel, who is sweating profusely in the sweltering heat. The temperature, which has climbed into the 90s every day this week, is taking a toll on everyone.  “It is so hot!" Lauren sighs, echoing Manuel. "Can we have a popsicle?" (Lauren knows I'm a sucker for keeping kids happy […]

Kindergarten Ready With Summer Water Play

It’s another 90-degree July day and we've taken a deep dive into water play to keep our budding mathematicians as cool and contented as possible. Children are naturally drawn to water, which fosters curiosity, imagination, investigation, and experimentation. This is science, technology, engineering, and math all rolled into a calm afternoon of playful learning!  Math […]

Joyful Learning With Nursery Rhymes

Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin? Here I am. Here I am. How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you. Run away. Run away. Decades after learning that nursery rhyme as a kindergartener, I still have vivid and happy memories of sitting around the well-worn piano in my kindergarten classroom singing "Where is Thumbkin" […]

Playful Adventures With Animal Figures

“Are you making a zoo?” Rosalie asks Gabriel. “I am making families, but we could make a zoo!" Gabriel answers. "Want to help me?” Research shows that animal figures score higher than any other type of toy for stimulating creativity, imagination, social interaction, and verbalization in young children. This holds true for girls and boys, […]