Johannesburg - Children as young as four are being taught to read and write at a crèche in Diepsloot, north of Joburg.
Preschool teacher Mmapula Letswalo believes it is important to teach children these skills as early as possible.
“Once a child is born, they are ready to learn. If you don’t teach them as soon as possible, it might be harder for them to learn as they grow up. Our preschool ensures that when children go to Grade R and Grade 1 they are ready for school,” Letswalo added.
About 20 children aged between four and eight attend extra classes as part of the Radical Readers project at the La-Mmatau Early Childhood and Development Centre in Diepsloot. The centreis one of 10 in the Soweto, Cosmo City and Muldersdrift areas.
The only eight-year-old in the class is in primary school and is struggling with his reading.
Letswalo, who is passionate about teaching children, said she wanted to ensure they were ready for school.
“I didn’t want them to be taught like at other crèches, where they just sing and dance. Of course that is also important, but I wanted my children to go to school ready. I want them to be able to recognise letters, write their names and have basic reading skills.”
Early this year, Letswalo went for training so she could be better equipped to teach young children to read.
“Teaching children in a group can be hard. I try to give each child individual attention to make sure they understand,” she said.
The lessons are conducted through music and play. “When they are playing they are not aware that they are learning.It is the easiest way to teach children,” Letswalo added.
Bruce de Haas, one of the owners of Advance 360 Education, which started the Radical Readers tutor centres, said: “Pupils at our centres have achieved excellent results, with an average of 81 percent being achieved across the current centres for letter shape and sound recognition, representing a 65 percent increase from the baseline assessment taken at the start of the programme.”
Letswalo said the most important element needed to ensure the children’s success was parental involvement.
“I encourage all the parents to read to their children. Sometimes it can be problematic because some parents are illiterate, but they would like to help their children. What I do in that situation is I send the parents audio lessons on WhatsApp and they go through them with the children.”
Once a month, she calls a parents’ meeting where she discusses the children’s progress with their moms and dads.
The Star