We are so thrilled! Our partners, Reach! South Africa, have provided a container for Khamisa Day Care Centre in Jingqi, a beautiful rural area in the Eastern Cape. This is the third container that Reach! SA has funded for this community, and they plan to deliver a container a year until each of the ECD Centres we work with in Jingqi have one. Thank you!  Your commitment makes such a difference to the children.  (Click on the pictures to scroll through)

If you would like to know more about the work Reach! SA has been doing in South Africa, please read their blog about it here.

The map below shows Jingqi on the east coast of South Africa.

Being read to by a loved adult builds happy memories and reading confidence.

Start with short, fun reading sessions, and gradually make them longer as your child grows older – but always keep reading pleasant and interesting!

As they listen to you reading, children learn new words, deepen their understanding, build comprehension and general knowledge, and discover new ways of expressing their own thoughts. Reading aloud offers children opportunities to imagine things far beyond their own experiences.

As you read, take a moment to chat together about what the characters are doing, thinking, and feeling – your child’s critical thinking skills will soon strengthen!  Point out examples of kindness, determination, and optimism, or discuss challenges and choices the characters are making.

As your child grows older, continue reading together, and build a warm reading relationship over time.  You can continue to read aloud together long after your child reads fluently, and well into the teenage years.  Reading with teens will give you opportunities to discuss some of the challenging issues they face as they grow towards adulthood.

When you read aloud, you are together exploring increasingly sophisticated connections between adventures, intrigues and emotions, both child and adult are bonded participants – and that is exceptional.