Distribution of the Little Leaders learning kits to more than 2,500 early childhood institutions commenced Wednesday.

The kits, designed and packaged with contents to engage children between the ages of three and six in a fun and creative way, will also provide quality learning experiences to achieve the overall goal of the Little Leaders initiative.

Included in the kits are crayons, scissors, and puppets which were packaged by representatives of National Baking Company, the Ministry of Education, and the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) earlier this week.

Education Minister Ruel Reid, who attended one of the packaging sessions, stated that the ministry was extremely grateful to National Baking Company Foundation for its continued investment in early childhood education.

“Our children will benefit greatly from the learning resources they will receive and we are proud that a Jamaican company is putting action behind their talk,” Minister Reid said.

The ECC, which plays an integral role in the co-ordination of activities and programmes for the institutions that will benefit, praised the foundation not only for the development of the programme, but also for the provision of opportunities to children at such a crucial learning age and stage.

“We welcome this initiative and these learning kits which will help to provide equal opportunities to these students and that is why we found it important to be involved in the packaging process to observe and to also lend a helping hand,” said ECC chair Trisha Williams Singh.

Also on board to help in the process was Floyd Green, the minister of state in the education ministry. He noted that an investment in youth from the early childhood years is of paramount importance to the improvement of the education system in Jamaica.

“We are happy that National has decided to support in a real big way by providing so many schools with the resources they need to level the playing field,” Green said.

Last month, National Baking Company Foundation, under the patronage of Gary “Butch” Hendrickson, launched Little Leaders, which aims to improve the overall literacy rate of children between the ages of three and six, while also placing special focus in the areas of maths and the sciences. In addition to the learning kits, the programme will also provide activity pages in the Jamaica Observer, as well as an islandwide tour to facilitate teacher-training workshops through their Training Wheels mobile classroom.