Educational toys and tools being marketed by various providers
The Association for the Education and Care of Young Children (AECYC) /Vereniging Vir Voorskoolse Opvoeding en Sorg (VVOS) celebrates its 70th birthday this year (2013). The AECYC started in 1943 as an organisation for the Afrikaans SAVF schools, over the years it developed into a bilingual, multi-cultural organisation for all interested parties involved in Early Childhood Development and pre-primary education. The main aim of the AECYC is to improve the education and care of young children and to promote developmentally appropriate practices. Practitioners are informed on legislation, research and practice in ECD. This is achieved through in-service training by way of seminars and workshops and, on occasion, the executive members also visit schools to give advice and help with the training of pre-school staff.Twice a year the association arranges a seminar, the most recent one was held on 13 April 2012. After the welcome by Me Nicolene du Preez (VVOS Management) and Ms Connie Wehrmann from the Faceless 4 Jesus Voluntary Team, the Dean of the College of Education, Prof KP Dzvimbo addressed the crowd.
Prof M de Witt and Prof KP Dzvimbo laughing during the laughter is the best medicine presentation
He was glad to see that 600 – 700 people had come to attend the ECD event on their Saturday morning and thanking them for their work as ECD teachers and practitioners who stimulate and prepare young children for their futures. Scientific research has proved that the care given in the first 1000 days is crucial in the development of a child. He was thrilled to see all the displays of toys and tools which are available for ECD teachers to help them in teaching the little ones. Prof Dzvimbo pleaded with all the qualified ECD teachers to please take hands with those people who are working with children in the townships and in rural areas. Our country’s children need them to share their knowledge and skills with those less fortunate teachers in order to address the disparities that still exist. South Africa can only get ahead if we all work together to get ahead and create a better world for our children’s sake.
Prof KP Dzvimbo inspires those attending the event to reach out and help those teachers working in townships and rural areas to pass on skills and techniques to stimulate young children
The AECYC invites all their members as well as non-members to come and attend their events: these are school owners, principals and practitioners in the public and private sector, as well as other role players concerned with the education and care of the young child. They also invite product and service providers to exhibit their goods on the day. In this way they can give the members some exposure to the latest developments in educational services and toys which are for sale at the present time.
The next seminar is their 70th birthday anniversary seminar which will be held on 24 August 2013, again in the ZK Matthews Hall at UNISA. The Association for Education and Care of Young Children (AECYC), is a non-profit organisation. Their mission is:
- To be actively involved in promoting and improving the education and care of young children from birth to Grade R .
- To promote the importance of early childhood education, and to provide guidance, information and training.
- To support all parties involved in the founding, management and development of pre-school centres.
- To guide and support members in the process of registration with the Gauteng Department of Health as well as the Department of Social Welfare, that by law needs to be in place by 2014. The Association linked hands with these departments regarding registration.
Twice a year all affiliated members receive the Association’s magazine, Kleuterklanke / Learning Years. It has been published for the past 37 years. This magazine is produced entirely by volunteers and aims to keep members up to date with new developments in Early Childhood Education. Articles encourage teachers to implement and maintain high quality programmes and inspire them with stimulating new ideas for their classrooms. The AECYC has presented its seminars in collaboration with UNISA for the past couple of years and is most grateful for the support and cooperation of Dr Soezin Krog and the Department of Early Childhood Education.
Senate Hall filled to capacity with eagar ECD teachers and practitioners
The AECYC is also able to support practitioners with in-service training through World Wide Education Providers (Pty) Ltd that is an Accredited Distance Learning FET College, specializing in ECD. Moreover, they are in the process of providing learning materials for the birth to four-year-old curriculum which is being developed by the Early Childhood Development Institute of the Dept of Education Gauteng. These should be available soon. The organisation also holds a membership with the National Association for the Education of Young Children in the US, the world’s largest organisation working on behalf of young children.
