The Nhaka Foundation is a Zimbabwe-based non-governmental organization which has developed and implemented a series of interventions designed to bridge the gap between the government’s capabilities and policies mandating the requirement for early childhood development (ECD) programming in primary schools and its ability to fully realize the implementation of such programs.
Nhaka
Foundation has created among its programs one which seeks to promote children’s
play. As a part of the classroom and outdoor
playground
renovations program Nhaka works with the families and members of the community
to plan and build, expand or repair the playgrounds and equipment using readily
available and safe materials. Once restored to a like-new condition, the
Centers are officially incorporated into the primary school system and
sustained by the community through elected Pre-School Management Committees.
This contract requirement thus ensures that the children will continue to have
clean and safe spaces in which to work and play.
Learning
through play
Nhaka Foundation
holds community appreciative inquiry meetings that help shape its programming.
When parents and guardians are asked, “What are the things that kids want to
do?” the team almost always gets the same answer, irrespective of the community
they are visiting. Children want to “laugh, dance and play.” Play is the means through which children
learn and develop socially, physically, cognitively and emotionally. During
play, be it solitary play or in a group, children learn a variety of skills
including the development of positive attitudes and the ability to draw
relationships between objects and concepts. When children play, they learn to
form ideas about their environment and expand language abilities through social
interactions with their own age groups. In turn, they develop values and
qualities that help them to establish relationships with family members and
people outside their family.
Mrs Madzinga, head
teacher of one of the schools that fall under the Nhaka program areas
recognises that many parents have different beliefs about the relationship
between play activities and learning. While parents view learning from the lens
of structured play activities, as a teacher she encourages the parents to
identify non structured activities as having equal- if not more value -because
when children are allowed to be themselves they get in touch with their inner
beings. All types of play contribute to healthy physical growth and the overall
development of a child.
While the
Zimbabwean ECD syllabus is based on sound, proven early childhood pedagogy and
practice principles, its proper implementation is subject to a number of things
such as availability of resources including ECD trained teachers, classroom
blocks, and outdoor and indoor play equipment. Despite the shortage of these
resources, a challenge faced most rural
schools in Zimbabwe, teachers such as Mrs Madzinga have learned to improvise in
her class. For example she encourages her pupils to engage in play activities
such as the local entertainment called “mahumbwe” (role playing), a game where kids can
pretend to be anyone. When her pupils are role playing about what happens in a
hospital one child can be a nurse, another a doctor and yet another, a patient.
This type of play promotes creative imagination in children. Social dramatic play
can develop the child’s creativeness and language skills simultaneously.
Role of parents in
play
Through its parenting program the Nhaka
Foundation promotes the involvement of guardians and caregivers in the lives of
young children, something not too common in these areas. Parental involvement
is not just limited to the role the caregivers have at home, but also relates
to activities that happen at the early childhood development centres. Parents
are encouraged to supply empty food cartons for play activities, as well as any
old equipment that can be used by the kids in various play activities. A child-centred approach to early childhood
development recognises that children’s rights and needs are the primary focus
for development and parents have to be involved every step of the way.
Conclusion
Play is in an integral part of learning for young children.
Albert Einstein once said ‘play is the highest form of research. Early
childhood development programs should provide as much growing space as possible for children; a
space that allows them to just be themselves as they laugh, dance and play!.
