Storybooks making a Difference in Early Childhood Development Centres
Thu, 12 November 2009
“The 5-6 year group enjoy telling stories to the class. They enjoy being at the book corner more than before. One enjoys listening to their fantasy/imagination while they are looking at the pictures and making up stories” Likolohang Day Care Centre
REPORT 2: Biblionef SA Story Books for Early Childhood Development Centres
Biblionef provides children in disadvantaged communities with new books, many of them African-centred and in the children’s mother tongue, to strengthen their self-esteem and stimulate learning. Through this project, Biblionef set out to provide 10 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in the Free State with a steel trunk, each containing 65 story books (in both English and mother tongue) and 10 toys. These centres were already affiliated to the Ntsoanatsatsi EduCare Trust, an established training organisation working with preschool teachers in the province. One practitioner from each of the centres had completed one year of ECD training with the Trust. Ntsoanatsatsi facilitated the process of distributing the books to the preschool centres and will provide ongoing support over the year. A Biblionef staff member will train the teachers to use the books effectively and keep them in good condition. The children speak mainly Afrikaans and Sesotho as their mother tongue and the books will reflect these languages as well as English. The project will run over a six-month period, and impact will be monitored over twelve months.
Outputs and Impact
10 ECD centres, with a total of 1262 children between the ages of one and six, benefited from the receipt of a total of 800 books and 200 educational toys. Many of the books are African-centred and in the children’s own mother tongue. Research shows that mother tongue education at this age confirms the significance of one’s own culture and builds children’s pride, while forming an effective basis for later literacy in other languages.
Biblionef obtained a complete list of beneficiary ECD centres from Ntsoanatsatsi EduCare Trust, including the number practitioners and children at the site, as well as the ages and home languages of the children. This information was used for selection of the appropriate story books and educational toys. The books were brought to a central venue, where a small ceremony was held for the handover of the books and toys. A Biblionef staff member also did a mini training session that lasted about two hours. This included a story telling session, information on how to care for books, how to tell stories, how to talk to parents about reading and also included some background on the donor.
Biblionef donated additional books and toys to the project beyond what was budgeted for. In the end, ECD centres each received an average of 80 books and 20 educational toys each. The educational toys included items such as peg puzzles, building blocks and posters.
Ntsoanatsatsi EduCare Trust delivered a basic report on the use of the books in the ECD centres. The practitioners have indicated that they now have books that they can read to their children and that they can associate with some of the stories in the book.
Ntsoanatsatsi Educare Trust has reported the following results:
- Children have learned how to use the books properly and know how to page through the books and relate content to the illustrations.
- Practitioners use the books to tell the children stories.
- They are able measure children’s height with the measuring growing chart provided with the books.
- The books provide useful tools for introducing various themes for learning to the children.
- Classroom have been set up with the additional toys and resources, which has made the classrooms more conducive to learning.
Expenditure
The cost of the project is R52,780 and is fully paid.
| Description | Budget | Actual Expenditure |
| Books | 32 500 | 32 500 |
| Toys & resource materials | 5 000 | 5 000 |
| Steel trunks | 4 000 | 4 000 |
| Keys & locks | 300 | 300 |
| Funders acknowledgement: printing and laminating A3 and A3 poster or applying sticker in each book | 300 | 300 |
| Distribution costs | 3 000 | 2 949 |
| Selecting ordering and packing of books | 480 | 480 |
| Project Co-ordinator costs - Liaison with the ECDs, selection and handover of books | 1 200 | 1 200 |
| Travel | 5 000 | 4 887 |
| Accommodation | 800 | 650 |
| Staff subsistence allowance | 200 | 200 |
| TOTAL | 52 780 | 52 466 |
The project is completed. There was a small under spend due to savings in distribution costs, travel and accommodation.
Monitoring and evaluation
The first step of monitoring took place with the handover of the books. The final phase included a report on the use of the books, as requested from Ntsoanatsatsi EduCare Trust. Ntsoanatsatsi EduCare Trust, who also trained a practitioner from each beneficiary ECD centre, will provide ongoing support to the centres to ensure proper use of the books.
Conclusion
The importance of stimulating an interest in books at an early age cannot be underestimated. Early Childhood Development centres play a critical role in preparing children for school, and it is at this level that books should be introduced to children.
This project has successfully made stimulating books and toys available to children at a crtucial stage of their educational development. Having access to storybooks in their own language allows the children to discover worlds of imagination and fantasy and helps them to develop coping strategies, while reinforcing pride in their own language, which is important for their self esteem.
