Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-south-african-community-initiated-opportunity-for-quality-early-learning-through-play/5024762/
We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
—George Bernard Shaw
Another Saturday morning. Outside the local temple, life goes on as people scurry along the sidewalk getting on with their day. Members of the local community are using the temple as a venue to create exciting opportunities for play. Our vehicle stops at the temple gates. Young children, their mothers and grandmothers rush to help us unload our numerous boxes and baskets containing paper, books, toys and knick-knacks. While some may consider these items waste, this gathering will use it to facilitate play. The excitement is evident in shining eyes, smiling mouths and bright faces. Ready, set, go! The lives of these young children, their mothers and Gogos (grandmothers) are transforming.
This is a typical scene on the first Saturday of the month at a local temple hall in Chatsworth near Durban, South Africa. Across the road from the temple is an informal African settlement alongside an established Indian township. The location of the temple makes it an inclusive place for young children from diverse racial, cultural and linguistic backgrounds to gather for play. (Yes, unfortunately we still use this ...