Canadian authoress, Margaret Atwood, was absolutely right when she wrote:” A word after a word after a word is power.” If you have ever watched a Grade 1 child triumphantly calling out the first full sentence they have deciphered, you would have seen the light of victory in their eyes.
The Domino Foundation’s Early Childhood programme has been overwhelmed by generous donations of books from the Durban North community. “The excellent quality and wide range of relevant reading books received has been amazing. We sincerely thank all our donors.” said Nicky Walton, Education Co-ordinator. The books have gone mainly to the NPO’s 51 partnering ECD centres. “We want to help the centres establish the foundations of a strong reading culture in their classrooms.” said Thembelihle Mkhwanazi, ECD Team Leader. “The alarmingly high number of South African learners who are unable to read for understanding is the result of poor literacy teaching, and 43% of homes do not have a single book in them.” She added that the ECD centres can play their part in remedying the situation by setting up book corners with a good supply of age-appropriate story and picture books to stimulate pre-schoolers’ imaginations and curiosity to learn more through the medium of the printed word.
“Each centre needs a book corner where the children can go with their teacher for story-time or to find books for themselves and where they feel happy and unthreatened. Reading corners have been shown to help build confidence, develop reading skills and promote a community of positive learning.”
Thembelihle appealed for small and sturdy bookshelves, clean mats on which the little bibliophiles can make themselves comfortable and, of course, even more books, particularly of the hard-cover variety as they must be able to withstand the none-too-gentle handling of the eager readers. She can be contacted on 031 110 7030 or at ecd@domino.org.za.
