By Fallan Patterson

Staff Writer

Four- and 5-year-olds April 5 excitedly grabbed a stuffed black bear, placed hearts and stars inside and chose blue plaid or shiny pink pajamas to clothe their Reading Buddies at the Kissimmee La Petite Academy.

The daycare is one of several private child care centers in Osceola County whose staff is trained to specifically focus on planting reading and math seeds in pre-kindergarteners.

Build a Reading Buddy is a part of the Wee Read program, designed to foster early literacy in pre-schoolers and get parents along for the literary journey. The initiative is a partnership between the Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County, the School District of Osceola County, Walt Disney World and private child care facilities.

“If you start ahead, there’s a likelihood (the child) will stay ahead,” Kathy Unger, prekindergarten specialist for the School District, told parents who attended the event.

Parental involvement is critical and the Reading Buddy takes a cue from the “Disney-marketing approach.”

“Appeal to the children and the parents will come,” Susan Sunka, executive director of the coalition, said. “We’re building that foundation for them.”

While the children build their buddies, parents sit in on an educational session hosted by Unger, who explains how critical reading to their child is and how to make reading fun and educational.

Parents participate in three family events designed to educate parents on ways to appropriately and effectively increase their child’s literacy and math readiness. The year-long READY! for Kindergarten program focuses on oral language, phonics, alphabet recognition, pre-writing and math skills.

The child care centers are chosen annually through an application process. La Petite Academy Director Joanna Andersen is excited she and four of her teachers were selected to complete the 40 hours of training. This was their first year.

“My teachers are getting a lot out of it. It’s a good enhancement program to go along with the curriculum we offer,” Andersen said.

Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) students take pre, mid and post tests to assess their skills and measure improvements. The tests, Sunka said, allows staff to “initially identify the child’s early literacy skills and to make adjustments in teaching strategies throughout the year that will maximize the learning potential of participating children.”

The family events provide opportunities for parents and children to get on the same page and make educational commitments to one another.

As the children promise to read to their Reading Buddies for 20 minutes three days a week, parents also make that same pledge to their child.

“It has really helped our parents understand what VPK is all about and how to, at home, give their child a head start,” Andersen said.

The importance of reading to a child, Sunka said, is the child begins to recognize one reads left to right, from top to bottom of the page and that the symbols “actually mean something.”

In addition to the stuffed bear reading buddies, whom the children named, families receive a bag of books such as the children’s classic “Leo the Late Bloomer” and rhyming games to take home further encourage parent-child interaction. Thanks to the donation of 200 children’s books from Disney Publishing Worldwide, children also receive additional books for their early literacy home library.

“Because a lot of the children don’t have books at home, the books they get at the events are the only ones they own,” Sunka said.

Nancy L. Gidusko, director of community relations for Walt Disney World Resort, said her company brings Belle “the princess who likes to read the most” from “Beauty and the Beast” to events. Belle reads stories and takes photos with the children.

“That’s someone they would recognize,” Gidusko said. “She makes reading fun. It’s another way to encourage reading.”

Disney also provides the materials in the gift bags and gives an annual gift of $10,000 to Wee Read.

“This is one of the most cost-effective programs. To move test scores for $10,000... it’s just priceless,” Gidusko said, adding she personally is inspired to give books to children who may otherwise not have any. “Saying there’s too many books is like saying there are too many flowers.”