Educarers given a maths boost
The first numeracy workshop programme for early childhood developments centres (ECDs), held at the Chris Hani hall in Mfuleni last Saturday, was a huge success.
Twenty-seven educares from across the city took part in a workshop which was organised by the non-governmental organisation, Starting Chance. The workshop helped for educarers to improve their skills in teaching children about numeracy at an early age.
Speaking to Vukani after the workshop, Starting Chance team leader Joyce Mantyi said she was excited to see more than a 100 educarers attend, despite the stormy weather. She said the workshop’s aim was to boost the education of young children.
“The government is now telling us to start the numeracy programme at an early age, from 0 upwards but we are not using numbers to teach them. We use tools like bottle tops, sticks and even sounds so they can easily grasp what we teach. We do it using fun activities,” she said.
Ms Mantyi was delighted with the feedback from participants.
“They had the time of their lives just learning new things and from each other. This was a rare opportunity for many of them. We promise to continue with the programme. We are working with 27 ECDs in Mfuleni and we will always check up on them,” said Ms Mantyi.
The main speaker of the day Nomvuyo Mgoqi, founder of Khulisani Child Development Academy, said maths needs to start at an early age. She said if a child misses learning steps at that critical stage, it would be difficult to address that when they were older.
“The assumption is that maths is done from one year upwards but it should be from babies from zero upwards. It is important to do that because we are building the foundation. We need to have critical thinkers and problem solvers. This is what numeracy is about. I am excited by the attendance to see the teachers that are eager to come and learn. I also identified a lot of misconceptions which we needed to address quickly. My message to all the ECDS would be, numeracy is very important for the development of a child,” she concluded.
Principal of Mzamomhle Educare, Jama Gade, also was happy with how well organised the workshop was.
“This is very important for our children’s growth and ours. Remember ECDs are the foundation of everything so it is important that we learn these skills and impart them to our children, to show that we are committed to the course. Look at the attendance on this rainy day. This means we are passionate about we are doing and we love our country even though we are undermined. We should be getting better salaries than anyone but it is not so,” she said.
She concluded by thanking Start Chance and urged the organisation to bring more initiatives to Mfuleni. Attendees went home with charts, rulers and other goodies from the organisers.
