HESSEQUA NEWS - The Nelson Mandela Institute and the Department of Basic Education have called on South Africans to use Mandela Day, 18 July, to make a difference by putting into practice any one of six simple ways to enhance a child's learning experience.
The campaign was launched in Johannesburg at the Nelson Mandela Foundation earlier in the month.
The ideas are
- Create safe and cheery schools: Many creches and schools are not happy, safe and warm. Taking some time to help clean the classrooms or work in the garden will create an exciting and inspirational space for pupils.
- Make and donate educational toys: Many creches and classrooms don't have basic educational toys like puzzles and blocks, but these tools allow children to have fun while they learn.
- Give a fun book: Give a favourite book or write a story that a child is sure to enjoy. Many children don't have access to books written in their mother tongue, but often it is in this way that they form a lasting connection with books.
- Read together: Reading to children, and with them, will allow them to experience the joy of books.
- Tell a story: Story-telling is a way of passing on history and teaching children about life, especially when the story is told by a person who has experienced the events they are relating.
- Support children at play: Children learn through both independent and organised play, but many don't get the chance because they don't have suitable supervision and guidance at break times or after school.
- The call has gone out for South Africans to take inspiration from the six core ideas and do their bit to ensure that all local school children benefit from having easy access to books. The focus of the 2010 event is libraries, and supporters are encouraged to participate in the stocking of such school facilities all over the country.
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