Parents and children are all often excited when they go to school for the first time, but this new adventure can be daunting for the child if they don’t know how to read or make sums.
The child will not only have to cope with new friends or a new environment but if they don’t have the two important skills – reading and making sums in Grade 1, they are at a lifelong disadvantage.
Parents can assist their children with improving their reading, a vital role in their child’s literacy development.
According to Dagny Baleson, general manager of Learning Through Living, literacy is the foundation of all learning and parents can assist their children with improving their reading, a vital role in their child’s literacy development.
On Monday 2 June, she opened her first literacy room at West End Primary in Mitchells Plain and the dream is to be in every township school in the province.
“Without the ability to read with understanding and write with clarity, learners are at a lifelong disadvantage. At Living Through Learning, we believe that early intervention in the foundation phase is the most effective way to close the education gap in under-resourced communities. Our programme equips learners with the skills they need to succeed academically and socially – creating confident readers and future leaders,” she says.
Aziza Ebrahim, principal of Jumpstart Pre-School and Educare Centre in Lansdowne, also emphasises the importance of literacy.
“Reading opens new worlds to all. It is important for parents to commit themselves to their children going to school for the first time by promising to read to the child, as well as help with the sums. Great people like Michael Jackson, Bill Gates, Alfred Einstein and Taylor Swift credit their claim to fame to reading a lot,” she says.
Baleson says the team at Living Through Learning brings decades of combined experience in Early Childhood Development (ECD) and foundation phase education.
“The NGO was founded in 2012 by Sonja Botha, who has over 35 years of experience in the education sector. Our literacy intervention programme is specifically designed for foundation phase learners (Grades R – 3) and is informed by best practices in child development and learning. We work closely with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and schools to address learning gaps in literacy and ensure that learners are supported early in their education journey, before falling behind.
“West End Primary was chosen as the first school for the literacy room because the school showed remarkable commitment from both leadership and staff to partner with us in implementing a sustainable, high-impact literacy programme. The school also demonstrated a clear need for targeted support in literacy for foundation phase learners. It was the perfect environment for us to launch our first Mitchells Plain site, and we’re proud to call it our flagship school in the area,” she says.
Baleson also says their dream is to ensure that no learner is left behind because of limited access to quality reading resources, however, the number ultimately depends on funding. As an NGO, they rely on the generous support of donors, partners, and the public to bring literacy opportunities to more schools.
“We encourage parents to read aloud with their children daily, create a quiet space for reading at home, ask questions about the stories they read together, and visit local libraries. Most importantly, showing enthusiasm about reading helps children view it as something enjoyable and valuable,” Baleson says.
