This year’s Educational Toys competition brought together 50 practitioners and 425 learners from Day Care Centre’s in our community. Held on the 30^th & 31^st of October 2018 at the Osizweni Toy Library, this event is where the years activities are round up.

Day Care Centres with their learners have been visiting the Toy Library throughout the year on a weekly rotational basis. At the end of each year, they come together to compete against each other for a chance to win one of three trophies. Ten learners from each Centre are selected, each learner will take part in one of the ten set out activities. Winners are determined by compiling each centre’s aggregate score.

The purpose of this event is to:

·  Give learners the opportunity to express themselves by displaying the knowledge and skills they have acquired at the Toy Library throughout the year.

·  Introduce learners to healthy competition from a young age.

·  Lay a good foundation that enables better progression in their young lives.

·  Encourage and enhance the love of numeracy and literacy.

·  Encourage and motivate practitioners through the performance of their learners.

·  Allow practitioners to evaluate the effectiveness of their own work and approaches with learners.

·  Build good working relationships between the different Centres that make use of the Toy Library services.

SNC Lavalin partnered with Osizweni at this year’s competition. Their employees assisted with the judging of the activities and they also donated a lunch box and juice bottle to each learner.

SNC-Lavalin’s approach to Corporate Social Responsibility aims to support ideas and initiatives with the potential to stimulate progress and build the future.  Our Goal is to have a positive impact on communities, learning and innovation.

We primarily contribute to educational causes, particularly initiatives that support the next generation of talent and we also encourage local charities and stakeholders that help build and develop sustainable communities.

“Somatic Growth and development of the brain of a human being occur very early in life.  Programmes that enhance early childhood development therefore should be part of every Early Childhood Development Centre’s programme. Osizweni provides the structure to support care givers and children with the necessary support, play material, utensils and knowledge to help build the future. 

Well done to the Osizweni team! Looking forward to next year’s competition” said Elna Rossouw, Socio-Economic Development Lead at SNC Lavalin.

The competition is held over a two day period, each day representing a specific age group. The winners of the competition are as follows:

Category: Four years old

1^st Place: Isiqalo Semfundo Day Care Centre

2^nd Place: Lutheran Day Care Centre

3^rd Place: Slimvinkies Day Care Centre

Category: Five years old

1^st Place: Day by Day Day Care Centre

2^nd Place: Illuminate Day Care Centre

3^rd Place: Lutheran Day Care Centre

“I am grateful and honoured to be part of Early Childhood Development. It is such an awesome feeling when I see these young learners perform so well. Learners have acquired skills & knowledge because of Osizweni's Toy Library initiative.

It makes me happy to see principals & practitioners value our Centre even though they have transport challenges in getting the learners to the Centre. I hope one day the Toy Library will secure a sponsor that will provide us a bus to transport the learners.

Our main aim is to lay a good foundation that enables better progression, encourages and enhances the love of numeracy and literary for learners while upskilling and motivating their teachers at the same time. We look forward to sustaining the relationships we have built with the Day care Centres.

I would like to thank SNC Lavalin for their donation and support to the event” said Maker Masemola, Early Childhood Facilitator at the Osizweni Science Centre.

The Toy Library has two quotes that expresses their appreciation for children. “Education begins the moment we see children as innately wise and capable beings, only then can we play along in their world” by Vince Gowman and “To take children seriously is to value them for who they are right now rather than as an adult - in-the making” Alfie Kohn