Tag Archives: early literacy

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Souns in “luv” with Colorado Springs!

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What an energetic and committed group of literacy minded folks are to be found in Colorado Springs. We trained teachers and volunteers and presented Souns for three days. I had little time to catch my breath, and that was not a result of the altitude. The beauty of the natural environment is only matched by the drive for every child to read in that bustling community. I applaud my new friends and the birthing possibilities for literacy through such a powerhouse of community support.

A fellow Rotarian determined to pave a road for literacy in Colorado Springs says:

What a delight it was to host Brenda Erickson on her great first visit to Colorado Springs, CO! She came to train and inform about thirty volunteers of the “GET SET!” program at First Pres Church. “GET SET!” provides one year of school to thirty-four youngsters from economically-challenged families of our inner-city area, preparing them for the following year of kindergarten. The teachers see SOUNS as an excellent opportunity to enhance the reading readiness of the two “Get Set” classes.

Brenda also presented SOUNS to our Rotary club, to the Director of our Public Library’s program for infants, toddlers, and young children, and was invited to present SOUNS to a meeting of a large ‘Alliance for Literacy’ group. Great groundwork was laid, and a solid foundation awaits Brenda’s future returns to our city/county area of about 650,000 people, scheduled for sometime in August or September.

I must say that we had great fun in these three days of connecting with other folks who are passionate about literacy! —Robbydale and Minor, June 6, 2012

Thank you all for making this trip so worthwhile. Every – YES, EVERY – child will read!

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“Souns like…..” A Peace Corps Reflection

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SOUNS Like… “Sesi Nyeleti! Sesi Nyeleti!” All of the Grade R learners shout my name, and jump up and down in unison as I walk from the staff room across the school yard to the Grade R classroom. They are all very excited, because they know that when I come to Grade R it is time for SOUNS. As we walk (or they sprint) over to the spot where we practice our SOUNS, they animatedly yell the most recent sound we have mastered. SOUNS, a literacy program that was introduced during my PST, has become a major part of my day at both primary schools where I teach. On my days at both primary schools, in between my other classes and helping the teachers at the school, I wedge in time to take three groups of about eight Grade R learners per group to work with them on SOUNS.

I had trouble implementing the program. I wanted to make it fun for the kids I was working with, but at the same time effective and educational. After all, learning is the major goal. Literacy is what this program is after. I found myself a tad frustrated, using the same activities day after day and making it far too tedious for the learners. Luckily, at a meeting with my fellow PCVs we had the chance to swap stories and ideas on how to better implement the program. Since returning to site after the meeting, SOUNS has been going wonderfully. Activities like drawing the letter (woops, sound!) on the learners’ hands, having the learners run to the sound, and having the learners sing in unison what sound you have just pulled out of the blue SOUNS bag all make this program very enjoyable for the kids.

What’s more is that they are actually learning. They are connecting the shape/visual of the letter to its sound. A few weeks back, as I was walking with one of the women I am friends with in my village and her son (Grade R), my friend asked her son what he was learning in school. Her son stopped right there, leaned down, and drew the shape of the sound “t” in the ground, voicing the “t” sound. I felt successful, even if it meant I had only reached one learner.

Since starting SOUNS, more PCVs have jumped on the SOUNS bandwagon. From hearing the positive effects it has had on the learners we work with, other PCVs hope to obtain a SOUNS set for their school. In the future and in an effort to make this a sustainable resource, I plan to work with the Foundation Phase Educators on how to implement this program into everyday teaching or as a remediation tool. For now, however, I am quite content as the learners skip back to class after our SOUNS session, happily chanting “mmmmm” and “ssssss.”



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Global Grant Option for Rotary Clubs

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A Global Grant to help 12000 children read in South Africa!

The past and the present! Global Grant #25244 has been extraordinarily successful in building fundamental literacy skills for almost 8000 children of Mamelodi in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Such success has led to a new Global Grant proposal to provide Souns literacy materials to 250 classrooms in Gauteng and surrounding Provinces via the University of Pretoria, University of Venda, and the Peace Corps. This new grant will provide materials initially impacting almost 12,000 children through primary schools and creches, as well as equipping Peace Corps volunteers with Souns materials to better serve them as a resource for their communities.

Since Souns materials are not expendable, the overall impact as the years go by will be exponential. The grant provides funds for classroom materials only and is matched almost dollar-for-dollar by experienced Rotarian volunteers training local teachers to implement the program. Teaching teachers ensures long term sustainability.

The almost completed Global Grant 25244 ($34,200) was initiated by D9400, Host Club Pretoria East, and D6900, International Partner Club Peachtree City, along with Rotary Clubs Carrollton Dawnbreakers, East Cobb, and North Fulton. This international literacy project is changing lives for children. Clearly, this is a demonstration of the power of Rotary.

The new, proposed Global Grant ($50,000) is being initiated, once again, by the Rotary Club of Pretoria East. This project builds on the collaboration between D6900 (International Partner) and D9400 (Host) and promises an even larger impact by Rotary on the fundamental literacy skills for young children in South Africa.

If you are in District 6900(USA) or District 9400(ZA) and are interested in your club participating in this international literacy Global Grant, please email everychildwillread@gmail.com. If you are in another Rotary District and want to get involved in this effort, contact me and we will find a way to make that happen. The world is filled with children who want to read, and we need as many hands joined as possible. The ability to read and write is the peacemaker, and we must ensure that every child – YES, EVERY – child will read!

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Peace Corps, “Souns has been the calm in my sea!”

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Greater words to share hath no person than these: I have helped a child! Working with the Peace Corps on this Rotary District 9400/APC pilot for future literacy work has inspired me beyond expectations. What beautiful people demonstrating the very best of humanity. Thank you PCV’s! You are our promise of calm in the world’s turbulent sea! One PCV’s words on his work with Souns:

Souns has been the calm in my sea of first year turbulence. It has been a solid start to everyday, and seeing youth progress in something tangible has been rewarding to push forward in the times when content doesn’t not come so fluidly. Even teachers are picking up the concept of putting learning into the child’s hands.

I have seen the most success in my two days at the cretche. The learners have almost no formal exposure and are taking to it like fish to water. I still have a slower moving group, but even the parents of these children are coming up to me saying their child plays in the sand making their souns.

As mentioned above, teachers are picking it up. The principal of my own school slid in a challenge to his teachers to use more visual aids and study aids in order to improve learner’s retention. He proceeded to make a connection with souns and the vocabulary notebooks he was starting with his Grade 5 learners.

Moving forward, I need to improve my communication with the Grade R teacher in order for them to more congruent follow up during non-souns days. I also need to figure what to do with my grade 1s who have mastered their souns and are progressing quickly with building words.

I see souns not only having a lasting impact on literacy, but also parental and communal involvement. Being visible and informally teaching is broken down barriers to school. In my own house, the parents are talking more with their child about what they are learning and challenging them with new knowledge.

I think we could use a little more shop talk with each other, but I obviously haven’t been able to prioritize it.

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Len Breen Award – Souns Project RD 6900/9350

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KNYSNA’S SOUNS PROJECT                                                                                                        By Lesley Satchel,             Past President, Knysna

Knysna has been busy with literacy projects this past year, and most of our Matching Grants also have a literacy component. SOUNS LITERACY PROGRAMME Knysna RC, in conjunction with the Knysna Education Trust, has continued to expand the SOUNS Literacy Programme at 48 pre- schools in the greater Knysna area townships, and rural communities. This programme was developed by Brenda Erikson, a Rotarian from the Peachtree Club in Georgia USA, who be- lieves that literacy should be introduced from a very young age (less than a year old) and be mastered by means of the kinaesthetic sense (the dominant sense at that age) rather than the usual visual and auditory senses. Of course, all senses come into it later. Brenda managed to have all 48 sets of SOUNS letters sponsored by Rotary Clubs in her District, so it is truly a Rotary project. Brenda and her husband visit South Africa twice every year to monitor the progress of the programme, which is being used very successfully in Afrikaans and Xhosa in our area. Through KET, SOUNS programmes are being used in the Mossel Bay area, sponsored by Mossel Bay RC, and also Pretoria, through a local RC there.

 

 

Best community service project (The Len Breen Trophy)

1 A viable project that meets the community’s needs

2 Ongoing sustainability

3 Implemented in partnership and in collaboration with the community/authority structure and organization

4 Degree of participation of Rotary club members

5 Degree of participation by the community

6 Enhances Rotary’s visibility and public image in the community

7 Project should have been running for six months prior to conference

8 Project registered on the District database

9 Donation of money is not a criterion

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SounsZambia – new steps for literacy

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Souns is so happy to introduce you to the new friend we have in our global efforts toward literacy. Steven Putter of IRDI  (Waters Edge, an Imagine Rural Development Initiative) is a new advocate for Souns and together we have a goal for families and education in Zambia: every – yes every – child will read! Text below is from IRDI Blog.

“IRDI [Imagine Rural Development Initiative] are proud to announce our partnership with Souns, the greatest educational system we could find globally to fit in our educational system for Zambia. It is the only system we could find that actually satisfied all the criteria of working and designing systems derived from nature and incorporated into early childhood education.

Their playful and personal contact model in their learning environment is such a positive model that it just can’t be ignored as a great added benefit to an already brilliant model of early childhood education.

IRDI would like to take this opportunity to officially welcome [Souns] to Zambia and the IRDI project on Water’s Edge in Luangwa.. welcome and thank you for choosing a partnership that will see the quality training of locals who wish to give their children a head-start in life.”

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Peace Corps Reflections (from the field)

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Volunteers in the Peace Corps have the option to use Souns in their communities in South Africa. This opportunity is the result of a collaboration between Rotary Districts 6900, 9400, and Africa Peace Corps. The work is promising, even compelling when one considers the difference for children that is being made. It is a wonderful thing to see organizations join forces for building a literate world, which is the only route to a peaceful one.  Please enjoy the collection of quotes from the field. Keep in mind, Souns works in any language using the Latin alphabet symbols. You associate the sound of the symbol for the child’s language. What a bridge between differences.

“I really like the simple, realistic ideals of the souns program. The individualized program meets the learners where they are and provides small group interaction that is often missing in the regular classroom setting.” 

“It was nice to see despite the different language barriers how fast the children pick up on the idea of the program and the different activities you can do with it.”  

“One simple technique that I had not thought of was asking the kids to exchange souns with another learner.”  

“I am going to start grouping the students more as they progress, since I don’t want the students who are progressing to get bored.”

“Things are going well!
I’m learning that
writing must be done in smaller groups!
I recently had a little guy [who wasn’t feeling well] – but he
still participated… only afterwards did I realize [how badly he felt]. Poor guy! But he still was working hard.

I’m trying to get to every kid at least once a week. I’m seeing
progress. Using local words has been especially effective.

Souns is a great way for me to get to work with the younger grades,
otherwise I wouldn’t have the opportunity to interact with them.”

“Souns is doing well in my area! Before our training I had thought we needed to perfect each cluster of 4 sounds before moving on so I wasn’t as far into the sounds as the other volunteers. But now that I am on track things are looking really well! Just the other week we started our first combination of sounds to form short words. It was amazing to see the lightbulb go off in the kids head when the put together sounds to make simple words.” 

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SounsAfrica – Go Rotary Club of Knysna!

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Just back from Rotary District 9350 Conference.  Our SOUNS presentation went well, with Rotarian Annette Nelson (RC Knysna) and Rotarian Gavin Schachat (RC Sea Point).  The audience gave Annette a special applause when she was announced as the Western Cape Province winner in her category of the National Teacher of the Year, specifically for her work championing SOUNS.

Then, the next piece of good luck is that Rotary Club of Knysna won the Len Breen Trophy for the best community project in the District, also SOUNS!  So that is a feather in our caps!

Two separate recognitions from two different sources, and all because it is a method that works! And an organization that is serious about education, and literacy – Rotary!

Thank you to Rotarian Lesley Satchel, RC Knysna, Distict 9350, Knysna, South Africa


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Meet @tommmeeee!

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@tommmeeee is a tomato frog who tweets…an imaginary creature with a dream of teaching the children of the world to read. One small frog with one large imagination. Our blog SounsTalk is joining @tommmeeee in his effort to build global literacy. Souns is the way Tomee Frog teaches, so we are going to link with @tommmeeee to reach as many little people as possible to help them learn letter-sound associations, the most direct link to reading and writing.

Whatever their language, families, teachers, caregivers in the world who use the symbols of the Latin alphabet for reading and writing can learn from @tommeeee. SounsTalk is our blog to build literacy in a world plagued with children who cannot read. Please join us by following @tommmeeee on Twitter and advocating for early literacy naturally through the Souns program.

Reading leads to informed choices, informed choices lead to freedom, and feedom leads to peace. It is a journey of promise for the children of the world. Learning is fun, and learning to read should be no exception. Thank you @tommmeeee for all we can do together…Ready, set, go!