Wordworks, in Cape Town, was established in 2005 to help parents to support early learning in preschool children.
Today, Wordworks trains volunteer tutors to work with children on a weekly basis at schools and at local libraries, to help them to read and write; facilitators to work with parents and caregivers, usually at a preschool or primary school, to demonstrate how they can support informal learning that happens at home; Grade R teachers to help them build knowledge and skills so that they teach early language and literacy effectively; and Home Visitors who provide knowledge and tools to parents to support early learning at home.
Wordworks describes their approach as a holistic community intervention. The overlapping of home and school activities, they argue, has led to the development of a self-sustaining methodology whereby teachers, parents, tutors and home visitors are all supported to participate in improving early language and literacy learning amongst children that they are in contact with.
The Wordworks team has spent many hours developing resources that parents, volunteers and teachers can use to support young children’s learning. Recently, Wordworks launched a ‘free resource’ page on their new website to make games, handouts and booklets that support early language and literacy learning, accessible to caregivers and practitioners.
This is an exciting addition to the resources already available for practitioners and importantly, includes video clips which demonstrate how to play the games and use the resources. Access it here.
