By Ray Schone | Project Leader
Dear Friend of YOUPSA,
We hope you will enjoy this update about the opportunities that we expose the children to. Thank you for your interest and kind support.
Here is a very interesting quote from James Baldwin: "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." It resonates with our experience with the children. They mostly copy the behaviour that they see in others. It is difficult to make a lasting impact on a child by teaching them something with words alone. Children learn naturally and effortlessly from what they see and experience.
In the YOUPSA programmes we therefore emphasize giving the children a wide range of opportunities so they can be inspired by the examples that they see.
However, none of this would be possible without all of you! Thank you, and please enjoy reading this newsletter.
Mountain Adventure
The first time ever for these De Rust children to visit the Swartberg Pass! Winding roads, steep cliffs, high mountains, breathtaking vistas and pristine nature - it was a day of true adventure. The children found all of this absolutely exhilarating and could hardly believe they were there. The Swartberg Mountain Range is the longest in South Africa, and the tallest in our province.
Exploring New Forms of Art
Children in YOUPSA's programmes are very artistic and keen to learn more. We visited the Klein Karoo town of Prince Albert. In the Prince Albert Gallery, the children loved looking at all of the beautiful paintings, photographs and sculpture. We also visited Karoo Looms. The children saw how Mohair from Angora goat and sheep's wool is prepared and spun into yarn, then put onto a loom and woven into various attractive products, like colourful rugs.
Learning Maths with Friends
Every child naturally enjoys Maths - it is in their nature to wonder about the patterns and regularities they observe in the world. At YOUPSA we make this style of wondering, curiousity and thinking part of our programme. We offer playful, hands-on and social Maths learning experiences to children. Recently the children have been improving their Maths skills by using an abacus, and by playing a Maths dominoes game.
English and Reading with Wendy
YOUPSA volunteer Wendy Erasmus runs a weekly reading club with one group of our Afterschool Programme children. The children are improving their English skills with Wendy, since she barely speaks a word of Afrikaans. They love this opportunity to read interesting and beautiful books with Wendy. "Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you." - Louis L'Amour
Learning about Plastic Pollution
YOUPSA's children learned more about plastic pollution - where waste comes from, where it can end up, what harm it does to the environment, and what they can do to help. They absolutely loved using the Hero In My Hood 'Let's go to the seaside' activity booklet. What a beautifully illustrated story with so much to learn!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Inspired by "The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle, the children learned how to draw their own Very Hungry Caterpillar. Just look at the beautiful results! It is a perfect book for new English language learners. Children absolutely love the story and artistry.
The Power and Beauty of Dance
For YOUPSA children it was a dream come true to see a live professional dance performance, and to practice dance together every afternoon. 50 children took part in this 3-day festival of dance. YOUPSA invited Jazzart Dance Company from Cape Town to work with the children. The dancers shared contemporary dance techniques as well as Amapiano (a South African township dance technique).
The children received dance workshops, practiced in small groups and improved their coordination and team work. On the last afternoon the children showcased what they had learned to friends and supporters. This will surely leave a huge impact for their whole life.
We Need Your Support
Each child needs multiple champions in their life to develop their full potential. Would you like to be such a champion? Please consider making a donation towards YOUPSA's work. Thank you!
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