With all of the hype and misinformation around the Corona virus, it is important to put our children’s minds at ease about the pandemic. It is also vitally important to properly inform them about COVID-19 – what the virus is, how it spreads and what we can do to stay safe. We came across this […]
Talking to our children about the Corona Virus Read More »
With heavy hearts, we decided at a meeting this morning to postpone the planned workshops for the next quarter, or until the emergency has diminished. There really is no choice. This comes at an otherwise very positive time for Children’s Book Network. We have a dream team on the management and creative side and great
Cancellation of workshops until it is safe for our children to come Read More »
CBN is proud to welcome Inga as a serious part of our team – and a wonderful inspiration to our children. As an Ambassador for CBN, we hope that she will raise our profile locally and she already has fifteen Teen Team members from Hermanus High School interested in helping out at workshops. As a
A CBN Ambassador of note – Inga Mfundisi Read More »
This has to rate as one of our best! We had 36 children in attendance – only three of them in the ‘Little CBN’ category. These were most competently absorbed in stories by Lisa Witherden, and some teddy bears, while the rest settled in for some serious work with books and reading. The theme was
Workshop on 7 March 2020: Underground Read More »
Children’s Book Network (CBN) has been operating since 2012, and while we’ve changed and adapted over time, the core of our programme remains the same – to instil a love of reading in our children, and to give them access to books. Basically, to bring books to children and children to books. Learn all about
How does our programme work? Read More »
The reviews of children’s books by Jay Heale over the years will be maintained as a precious resource. His careful choices based on years of experience remain invaluable. There are hundreds of them, meticulously curated as ‘Six of the Best’ under headings such as Home and Family, animal stories or South African favourites. We will
UNDERGROUND! Theme: Looking at non-fiction – and looking at the fun in photographic ‘big books’. The story of going underground – and what might be found there. LITTLE CBN Going underwater and what might be found there! 10.00 Whole group for the story of the boy whose dog disappeared. Landscape – looking from the sky
Workshop Programme 7 March 2020 Read More »
High School children are keen to help – but very pressurised by work and sport. We have enthusiastic support from children at Hermanus High School who come when they can. Surprisingly, this often includes more boys than girls. During 2018-2019 the Teen Team was led by Nyasha Makwarimba, who subsequently worked as an intern between
We at last had the resources and staff to develop a proper M&E system. Our Administrator, Wilien van Zyl, recorded all children attending our workshops and noted demographic details that enable us to make decisions for 2020 on a more factual basis. Each workshop is fully recorded and documented, with piecharts to make things visually
Monitoring and Evaluation: how are our children doing? Read More »
During 2019 we held 21 Workshops in total, and worked with just over 1 191 children in Stanford, De Kop, Zwelihle (Hermanus) and in Mitchell’s Plain. Our first two workshops for 2020 brought us a further 69 children. We realized early in 2019 that we needed a way of assessing the children’s progress. A ‘Book
Whopping workshop stats! Read More »
Springfontein Wine Estate is working closely with the non-profit organisation Children’s Book Network, ‘to bring books and children onto the same page’. Children’s Book Network (CBN) began early in 2012, the dream of founders Gcina Mhlope, Lesley Beake and Sindiwe Magona. It was in 2018 that Hildegard Witbooi (board member of CBN and Springfontein management)
Springfontein and Children Reading! Read More »
Still in the same venue at Norfolk Place, CBN is welcoming even more children than ever this year, with additional help from volunteers and part time staff as well as the old trusted team. We thank them all. There is also a new squadron of the Teen Team – volunteers from Hermanus High School waiting
Children’s Book Network News Read More »
We are delighted to have the help and enthusiasm of Lisa Witherden, who turned up at exactly the right moment to assist with some of the critical issues facing an expanding CBN. It is not often that the person with just the right credentials turns up on the doorstep – and there is no such
Welcome to a new member of the CBN Team Read More »
Children’s Book Network (CBN) has officially kicked off our Saturday workshops for the year. These workshops take place twice a month and give our children a chance to read, space to let their imaginations fly, and access to knowledge outside of their everyday experience. Our first workshop was a lovely introduction to the year’s programme
Workshops working their wonder Read More »
It has been a very longstanding dream to pass on our ideas to other people and organizations working with children and reading. Six years, to be precise. That’s how long it took to assemble the books, the ideas, the methods, the inspiration and – hardest of all – the funding to make this dream come
Toolboxes Forever! Read More »
Photographs of children doing things tend to be more alluring, and maybe reflect more of the activities around the theme of the workshop than the actual business of reading. But they read! A lot. It wouldn’t be much use handing out a pack of books, however interesting and expecting our children to become immediately engrossed.
How do they read? Let us count the ways. Read More »
We are finishing the year off in style with two parties, two workshops in Stanford and two workshops in Tafelsig (Mitchells Plain). This will bring a successful year to an outstanding finale before we close down for a well-earned break. Workshops will begin in January before the children go back to school. 09 November Cancelled
Workshop programme for November and December 2019 Read More »
Our Children’s Book Network choir has been invited to join a group of singers from the Netherlands in joyful song next week, Friday 22nd November, at Madre’s Restaurant in Stanford. 16.00 until 18.00. The Dutch singers are led by Joke van der Weide. The event will be preceded by a workshop led by our prize
CBN Fundraiser 22nd November 2019 Read More »
Some projects turn out to be a lot bigger – and a lot more work – than expected, and the CBN Toolbox Project definitely falls into that category. Our aim was to produce a method of spreading the work that we do as widely as possible so that more and more children could benefit from
Toolbox Celebration! Read More »
Supporters of CBN will have noticed that our website has not been as regularly updated as they have come to expect. This year has been hugely successful in the work that we are here to do – creating a love of reading among children who otherwise do not have much exposure to books. It has
Regrets about lack of website input Read More »
