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Early Childhood Development

Caregivers held spelling while calling spade a spade

The Early Childhood Development (ECD) project of Rays of Hope presented its third and final workshop for 2016 to Alexandra caregivers and crèche owners at Ikhaya Lomusa on Saturday 12th November. The proceedings were opened by Christy Bennett, EDC’s project leader, who welcomed the 28 participants. She handed out several “goody bags” to deserving caregivers, including one to Christina Goniwe who has attended all four workshops offered by EDC so far. EDC had again invited three presenters, all highly qualified in their specific areas, to share their knowledge and expertise with the interested and attentive listeners. The three areas that were addressed were physiotherapy for young children; a topic chosen from the ECD curriculum; and how to manage a teaching position as a business. Michelle Stowell, a paedriatic physiotherapist, personally demonstrated a range of yoga-like poses designed to strengthen various sets of muscles in young children, while also showing incorrect stances and how these should be corrected. One example was how to stimulate a child’s sense of balance: the caregiver lays a straight line of masking tape on the floor, and the children are told to walk along this line by placing one foot in front of the other, ideally without wobbling too much– or falling over. Standing alternatively on one leg and then the other was another “balancing act” that Michelle showed. Gillian Leathers, a qualified remedial and maths teacher who works extensively with young children in her own area during the week, continued her series on various aspects of the curriculum as followed by the ECD project. She gave a lively talk on the art of successful storytelling, and captivated her spellbound audience with ease from start to finish. She showed the importance of using stories to support and supplement language and numeracy teaching. Holding up a small plastic spade, Gillian spelled out the five essential elements that a good storyteller should remember and work with: S is for Setting the Scene (by focusing on the “where” and “when” of the story); P is for the People or Person (or animal/s) that feature in the story (the “who”); A is for Actions (the “what”); D is for the Development of the story (continuing the “what”); and E is for the Emotional side (including the “why”). She showed various teaching objects, such as a large white cardboard dice and a small orange ball that could be incorporated into the storytelling. Lindi Nkiti, Operations Assistant at Rays of Hope, addressed a wide range of topics relevant to teachers, including business and ethical aspects, being accountable for one’s teaching and how to interact successfully with one’s peers, superiors, parents and pupils. The participants were treated to lunch afterwards. Commenting on the day’s activities, Trish Lockwood, Operations Manager of Rays of Hope, said: “Many more caregivers and crèche owners came to attend the workshop than we had expected, but we were gratified by the interest shown. We were encouraged by so many participants who were willing to give up a Saturday morning to come here to listen and learn in order to improve their caregiving skills and knowledge. This indicates that there is a real need and support for the ECD project, and for all the work we are doing.” Rays of Hope was once again the focus of international attention when six doctoral students and their supervisor from the United States visited Ikhaya Lomusa, the Rays of Hope facility in Marlboro from which the Child-Headed Households, Homework Club and Girls Support Group projects of Rays of Hope are run.

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