The Reading Gap Can Often Start Before Kindergarten: Let’s Unpack That…

By the time a child walks through the door of a kindergarten classroom, the gap may have already started.

The National Literacy Institute presents that 37% of children arrive at kindergarten without the foundational skills they need to begin learning. For kids growing up in lower-income households, that gap can be even wider — some children arrive knowing one or two letters of the alphabet, while their classmates already know all 26.

That's not a commentary on a child's potential. It's a reflection of access: to books, to language-rich environments, to the kind of early exposure that builds a reading foundation before formal school even begins.

Here's why this matters: school systems are largely designed to teach children who arrive ready. When a child arrives without those early skills, they're often playing catch-up from day one. And the longer that gap stays open, the harder it is to close.

This is exactly why MMC Literacy Collective focuses on early support. Before a child falls further behind, and before a parent is told to "just wait and see." We've heard that phrase too many times. Early support isn't jumping the over-eagerness, t's the loving move.

If your child is in preschool or kindergarten and you're noticing they seem to be working harder than their peers at letters, sounds, or words, trust that instinct.

Early is better.

And we're here for exactly this moment.

Rooting for your Dear Reader,

Megan