The toolbox project, which was always the main thrust of our long-term activities, has taken wing. All the content has all been created for the Red Reading Project. The Books and Stories Handbook has been printed, with some distributed locally to sister projects in Soweto, Prince Albert and Calitzdorp, and the second edition has been printed. The other two handbooks at this level are in final production.
We are aiming at 1 June 2025 for the whole Red Reading Toolbox Project to be printed and available. 60 Copies of the first handbook (Books and Stories) have been distributed (free) already and have been received with warm enthusiasm and good reports.
The Blue Toolbox continues (and includes two specially created Young Adult novels.) We hope to launch this part of the project in September, in Heritage Month. Drafts of all the Blue Toolbox handbooks will be available in July. This toolbox has five tool-bags themed under Time and Landscape and can be used up to the age of fifteen, or even more. The themes are:
- Imagine the World
- Africa, continent of Life and Light
- Ancestors
- Tankwa archaeology
- The San Peoples
Our ultimate aim (and business plan) is for the Reading Toolboxes – which are essentially mini-libraries – to become a project provincially or even nationally and reach as many children as possible. Each toolbox contains a number of themed books to go with the specially created reading handbook (around 120 pages of brand-new reading). The number of books varies according to price (books for the older children are often more costly) but we do the best with the budget available. There is plenty of reading, lots to think about, write about – and imagine.
For more information, please go to the Toolbox tab on our website:
