Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Books galore for Mitchells Plain ECD children
FIVE early childhood development (ECD) centres in Mitchells Plain received a massive book donation from Book Dash, a non-profit organisation, in celebration of International Literacy Day, commemorated on September 8.
For the first time, the ECDs split the donation and each let their pupils take copies home to read in their spare time, while the remainder of the storybooks were kept for normal teaching and learning at the centres.
Book Dash director Dorette Louw said: “International Literacy Day celebrates the power of books and literacy to help all communities overcome inequality.
“The ECDs use the donated books to support their literacy programmes. We send them enough books so that they can keep copies in the centre, but very importantly, they can also send copies of each book home to the children they work with to own: our vision is that every child should own 100 books by the age of 5.
“Once they go to school, children who have been exposed to books and reading from a young age have a measurable academic advantage over their peers who do not have the same exposure.”
Amanda Sickle, the founder of The Reading Room, said the war against illiteracy had its highs and lows.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic played a huge role in already disadvantaged learners being even further disadvantaged. There wasn’t sufficient learning taking place at home and our ECDs are doing the best with what they have. There is always room for improvement, but the home environment also has a collaborative role to play.
“Parents are their children’s first teachers. What is taught at ECD must be replicated at home for that child to have a better chance at learning and succeeding. Pre-reading and pre-writing activities at ECD level are pivotal in preparing a young learner for formal academic learning,” Sickle explained.
Charminey Dickson, principal of Charmy’s Lily Pond Daycare, said books are expensive, making it difficult for ECDs to make them accessible to children after hours, but “the donation made a huge difference” as she managed to give all 30 children a copy to take home.