SoundStart: Audio Learning for ECD in South Africa

We love this initiative. It is so rewarding to have seen for ourselves how quickly and enthusiastically these young children memorise and learn songs.

Just a couple of weeks ago we visited a new class of three and four-year old pupils at a preschool in an industrial area of Cape Town run by our partner GROW with Educare. These are children of immigrants largely who don’t share a common language. Their parents are mainly day laborers, domestic workers, gardeners and petty traders. The children are droped off before 0700 and are picked up by 5:00 p.m., and they pay roughly $30 per month, including meals.

In January, at the start of the school year in South Africa, the children were introduced to the Wriggle and Rhyme locally produced preschool songs on the Lifeplayer.

It was incredibly rewarding watching the children sing and motion the songs in English. Kirsty Savides, who produced the Wriggle and Rhyme songs, is a musicologist who understands how songs help develop memorization and listening skills, while dancing helps to build fine and gross motor skills. Music is a catalyst for learning.

A recent five-year study undertaken by the University of Southern California confirmed that music instruction appears to accelerate brain development in young children. In particular, those areas responsible for processing sound, speech perception and language development are positively impacted. Further, it helps to develop reading skills which aids them later when they enter primary school.

We're creating a video to show how much the children enjoy this type of learning which will be ready in our next update. 

Thank you for your support!