It has become even clearer to us how hard it is to break through the public’s misunderstandings of early learning (where the child is seen as an empty vessel into which the adult pours cognitive facts, figures and information). Thus, this initiative is intended to counter these assumptions by showing research in action. It will focus on:

• the problem—how the understanding of early learning is out of synch with what science finds;

• what we know about early learning, from many different perspectives, including memory, literacy and communication, numeracy, theory of mind and so forth;

• what children need to be ready for school; and

• how early childhood programs can help children become ready for school.