Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) is an initiative created to provide caregivers and families with resources to support their child’s early literacy development. As a parent or caregiver, you are your child’s first and best teacher and the ECRR initiative provides tools and resources to help your child enter school with the skills they need. It is increasingly common that children will go into kindergarten without the skills they need to succeed, which can negatively affect all areas of development. Only 51% of Orange County children were deemed “ready for kindergarten” according to scores by the Florida Department of Education eceived from the Star Early Literacy Assessment in fall 2021. Early Literacy development involves all areas of development, including cognitive or thinking, physical, social, emotional and language development. ECRR focuses on five early literacy components to promote these areas of development. The five early literacy components of ECRR include reading, writing, talking, singing, and playing and the Orange County Library System uses all five of these to create family-centered programs and events. All five components are essential and can be practiced in day-to-day life with your child.

Writing might not seem important for young children; however, the skills we need to write must be built as we grow. The muscles and movements involved in writing can be strengthened by your child's activities. Coloring prepares your child for the arm strokes they need to write and strengthens their hand muscles, so they are prepared to hold a pencil.

As your child’s literacy skills develop, there are some fun ways you can notice and help improve their pre-handwriting skills. Children learn to write in a step-by-step process that includes:

• Growing Interest
• Vertical Lines
• Horizontal Lines
• Circles
• Crosses
• Shapes and Letters

As you draw or color with your child, take notice of their stage and support those skills the best you can. Providing your child with coloring pages can allow you to explore these skills while you learn about different topics that might appear on the coloring page. Blank paper and various crayons or markers can also provide excellent practice for your little ones while they explore their creativity. Supporting your child’s creativity will promote their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, which they will use for the rest of their lives.

Think about how much you use your hands during your work day and throughout your life. Your child will need to control their large and small muscles to complete tasks at school and home. The act of coloring, drawing, painting and more can promote the development of the hand muscles and depending on how big their creativity takes them, their arms, legs, and other large muscles. Your child will use writing to learn and grow both academically and socially, which is why it is necessary to promote these skills early.