Wild Heart Foundation

PHUMLANI DANCING PENCILS WRITING CLUB

KZN’S Premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize, supports Dancing Pencils Writing Clubs as being a wonderful way to were improve reading and writing in this province.

On Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th of May, teachers and learners of Phumlani Primary School in Hluhluwe had a full right brain creative writing training with Felicity Keats from Durban. Teachers trained on Monday, children learnt how to write stories and illustrate them on Tuesday. Now children can write their own stories.

The photo top left is of Phumla Mthembu, in Grade 3, reading from the book she wrote and illustrated which is called “A fish I saw in Shaka Marine”. Many other children wrote and illustrated stories. Some of these will be published, towards the end of June, in a Phumlani Primary School Dancing Pencils Writing Club anthology.

All those present at the training may be part of the new Phumlani Dancing Pencils Writing Club which will meet weekly. By the end of June, they will send in a selection of stories by the children for an anthology to be published at the annual Dancing Pencils Book Launch in September. It was an emotional experience to listen to the children’s stories as they read them out.

The newly trained staff Mentors delighted with this assistance in reading and writing skills for their school and are enthusiastic about the new writing club!

The training was sponsored by Arch Ventures Ltd from the UK (under the Planet Foundation brand). The books and publishing is being sponsored by umSinsi Press. Wildebees Ecolodge is also included with the latter’s sponsorship.

Felicity can be reached at: 031 464 1556 / www.umsinsi.com

The staff and Principal were hugely excited and the children loved it!

(Source: Spoor May, 2012)