Lynedoch Youth and

Children Rooted in nature, growing towards the future…

MARCH 2015

NEW!!! Our Lynedoch Youth will include news from the crèche and baby centre as well.

The importance of tummy time Baby centre

Creche The child’s rights

Junior Aftercare Senior Aftercare

Healthy Food systems Young Farmers Academy

Children and youth coming from the wine lands grow up in incredibly beautiful surroundings… we cannot however say that their lives are beautiful. They are exposed to violence, alcohol and drug abuse. Many of our children suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – and all that that means developmentally and socially. Living in poverty also means that their nutritional needs are not met on a daily basis. When we therefore begin to look at the programmes we offer we take all this into account. One of our primary aims is to ensure that we provide a beautiful safe space for our children to be children. To play, to explore, to pretend, to be themselves.

Section 28: Children's rights A child is anyone who is under the age of 18. Every child has the right:

· to a name and a nationality from the day they are born; · to proper care by parents or a family member, or by someone else if the child has to be taken away from the family; · to enough food, shelter, basic health care and social services; · to be protected from being mistreated, neglected or abused; · not to be forced to work or given work which is not suitable for a child; · to have a lawyer paid for by the government, if the child has to appear in court; · not to be used in wars; · to be protected during times of war. Whenever a decision is made about a child, the most important thing that must be thought about is what would be in the best interests of the child. A child may only be detained if it is absolutely necessary, and it must be for the shortest possible time. A child has the right to be kept separately from other detained people who are over 18. The child must be treated and kept in conditions that take into account the child's age. A detained child also has all the rights of any other detained person.

YOUTH WORK HIGHLIGHTS

63 children are registered with the

aftercare

A further 25 children come twice a week

for soccer

20 youth stopping into the youth office to

sort out CV’s in their efforts to gain

employment or the opportunity to study

further

The next round of our Young Farmers

Academy is set to kick off in the middle of

April. Applications are now open.

CRECHE and BABY CENTRE HIGHLIGHTS

We welcomed new teacher Julia Jansen

(ECD NQF level 4) and currently

completing level 5

Lisa Plaatjies and Jo Anne Jansen are doing

their 0-3 Introductio to Assistants to

Infancy course,, in association with AMI

Our first parent/teacher meeting was on

24 February.

We will be having our very first Debutante

Ball in September and all of our children

are taking part in this beautiful event.

Summer has meant that we can let the children walk barefoot on grass. It provides not only a massaging effect, but also gets the energy of the earth in its purest form. It has a positive affect not only their health, but also their mood. Foot and leg massage is an incomparable pleasure, which not only relieves fatigue, it leaves the leg muscles and body calm and relaxed. After the walking they wash each other’s feet, wipe the feet then put the aqueous cream on. The massages helped them a lot during exam time, releasing all the stress and helping them to be ready for their exams. Today’s children and families often have limited opportunities to connect with the natural environment. They are eating more processed, high-calorie foods due to busy schedules. A family sitting down to a meal together is rare. These changes have led to an epidemic of childhood obesity, which presents serious health threats for children including heart disease, diabetes, social and psychological problems. We are making sure that each day we do things differently. The children all sit together at a set table and share a meal together. They get an opportunity to tell someone about their day – the good and the bad. They get a chance to play freely in a safe and nurturing space. The children experience the grounds around the Sustainability Institute with its diverse natural settings, become more physically active, more aware of nutrition, and more civil to one another and more creative. They become smarter, better able to get along with others, healthier and happier.

A word from Thembi…

JUNIOR CLUBHOUSE

We have 35 littlies aged 5 – 10 in the junior clubhouse. 11 of which are brand new grade R’s (5 coming from the

Lynedoch crèche). When I started at the SI just over 4 years ago now, they were some of the first children to start

in our very own baby centre. Now they are ‘big’ confident 5 year olds with loads of energy and joy to bring.

The art of cooking and baking remains a fundamental skill and is thoroughly enjoyed by the children:

spinach with spring onion and tomato pizzas, (the spinach and spring onion was from their garden).

carrot cake for the senior after-care teacher who celebrated his birthday in November.

knife skills are one of the most important parts of the culinary arts. We let them cut their vegetables: like baby marrow, carrots, green beans, also cauliflower and broccoli.

The laptops that we were given are a huge hit with the children. They have improved their mouse skills and computer vocabulary… all whilst playing educational games. These computers are all able to go onto the internet – which means that they can research topics as well. They have even used the webcams to ‘film’ themselves doing drama, dance and pretend play. Having access to computers and the internet means that a whole world of possibilities literally begins to open up for our children.

We started the year with an outing to the beach in

Strand. The children were excited and looked

forward to tackling the new challenges. With a pass

rate of 99% in the clubhouse, this was a well-

deserved outing on a hot summer’s day during the

holiday programme.

With school re-opening everything was back to

normal. For the Sustainability Institute this meant

community work and the children were more than

happy to join in and help with weeding in the

gardens during the afternoons after they finished

their lunch.

At the end of each month we get together and celebrate all the birthdays happening in that month… awesome cake baked by the village’s Christine Claassen, eaten under the shade of the ficus tree. The soccer boys have also slowly started getting back into a rhythm and have already played a friendly match against Renish primary school. We have added an under 7 and 9 team to our squad and both teams debut with victories over their opponents.

A word from Anton…

SENIOR CLUBHOUSE

Here we have 27 youth aged 10 – 18. Five of our

Lynedoch primary school learners started high school

this year! Daniel and Athalia are in their final year of

school this year too, with all the hard work that that

brings with it, as well as matric balls, and planning for

what to do next year. Truly exciting stuff.

The primary focus is to create a more disciplined class, so that the children still have fun while applying themselves as best they

could to the karate which they were learning.

The most important discipline is to be at each and every class if possible, followed by; attentive listening, fast reaction, good

technique, focused interaction and partner work. As the learners improve in how they apply themselves in karate, so will the way

in which they function in their daily lives.

The way in which the students know that they are improving in their karate is by achieving the next level on their belt. The

gradings are done at the Honbu Dojo in Cape Town, the children get to train at the Head Dojo and have a fun-filled day out with

their friends.

A word from Sensei Tony Edwards

Lee-Anne Althea Meyer graduated from the Royal Academy of Dancing. She will be taking the grade R – 5 girls for dance

on Friday afternoons.

Know your farmer, know your food

Is local food the same as sustainable food?

Not necessarily. Many people now equate the terms "local food” and “sustainable food,” using local as a synonym for characteristics such as fresh, healthful, and produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. Technically though, “local” means only that a food was produced relatively close to where it’s sold – the term doesn’t provide any indication of food qualities such as freshness, nutritional value, or production practices, and can’t be used as a reliable indicator of sustainability. For instance, while meat from a factory farm could be accurately marketed to a nearby community as “local,” the meat would certainly not be considered sustainable. Furthermore, as noted above, the maximum acceptable distance from a “local” food’s point of production to its point of sale isn’t actually defined or regulated – it’s left up to the interpretation of whoever is using the term.

Unfortunately, in order to capitalize on increased consumer demand for local food, less scrupulous producers have begun to use the term to “greenwash” (or “localwash”) their products. By taking advantage of the ambiguity regarding the term’s definition, these producers can mislead consumers by using the local label to imply that their foods are grown closer and/or more sustainably than they actually are.

Of course, it’s important to note that food marketed as “local” isn’t always industrial food in disguise; indeed, plenty of local food is produced according to the highest sustainability standards. Nonetheless, since local is not defined or regulated, consumers should always be prepared to find more information about production practices in order to determine whether a local food is sustainable.

www.sustainabletable.org

As an institution we are committed to changing the way we approach food. This means looking at how it is grown/produced, where it is coming from, and of course how it is prepared. As part of this journey we are doing a “Simunye Meal” on a Friday… where we all eat exactly the same meal, whether we are from the crèche, the aftercare or are part of the SI’s Post Graduate Diplomas. The children have been fully immersed in this process, helping harvest vegetables from our gardens, as well as helping to prepare the meal.

There are 2 big changes that this new year brings that we all excited about: 1. Our intrepid 1st years in 2013 are now 2 years into the programme and about to head in to the unchartered

country of NQF4 in their third year. This is big step for the learners as most of the quit school at the start of grade 10 and did not imagine that they would be standing at the doorway of an agricultural Grade 12 in 2015. We wish them all the best in this endeavour and are sure that if they apply themselves and show the same discipline that they have developed over the last two years they will succeed.

2. We have managed to secure funding for most of the learners to be weekly residents at the SI. The learners

will now check in over breakfast on Monday morning and check out for the weekend after Friday lunch. This ensures that the learners are well fed and ready to learn for the week ahead. The other aspect is that we have more control over the attendance of the learners; last year we lost 5 days because the trains did not run. Not counting the days when the trains were over an hour late.

For most of the learners it will be a new experience staying out of home and living with so many people so they will need time to settle down and learn to do their allotted chores. There will be approximately four NQF4 learners and sixteen NQF 1 learners on campus. The NQF4 qualification is largely project based and so will continue their work under the gracious eye of Eric Swarts on his farm. The NQF 1 qualification is about the introduction to farming and experiencing as many facets of farming as possible so the learners will be split between Eric’s farm, the SI gardens and surrounding farms depending on the module being covered.

AGRO-ECOLOGY ACADEMY

We are delighted to announce that the young farmers training will kick off again on the 13 April. Applications are now open.

A new year has started bringing new faces to the baby centre, a few of our littlies started a new journey… moving onto the 3-6 environment. They will progress in their quest to become fully actualized human beings. Setting a calm and nurturing environment is key to the work

that we do. The environment is setup beautifully and the

available activities are colourful, attracting the child’s

attention.

Children are presented with new activities by the teacher in a

step by step manner, in collaboration with the child. As the

child becomes more secure in the activity the teacher gets

‘less and less’, until the child can do it independently.

We do a lot of language activities; starting with the concrete

and work all the way up to the abstract. So the child uses his

senses to experience the real object first before moving onto

the less concrete. We give children real experiences like

walking in nature; feeling, tasting and hearing different things.

When you are doing a course and sit in a classroom it is hard

to imagine that what you learn in a lecture relates to what

happens in reality with the children but I can honestly say it is

fascinating to see how children respond and actually is able to

do “work” when they are just shown how to work with an

activity.

As we have children from a very early age it is amazing to see

how they progress daily whether it is from crawling to walking

or starting to talk.

I feel proud to be involved with a project that cares for and

help guide our little ones to learn and live to their full

potential.

LYNEDOCH EARLY LEARNING 0 - 3

We have 12 children in the baby centre ranging from 5 months

to 2.5 years, depending on their development and reaching

milestones they move on to the 3-6 environment.

A word from Colleen

The children work in different areas

namely Practical Life, Sensorial,

Maths, Art, Language, Cultural and

outdoors.

We provide a prepared environment

so the children are free to move and

choose their own work.

The children are adjusting well and

we do daily observation so that we

know exactly where the children are

developmentally.

This year 25 of our children will be

moving onto Grade R.

We are excited that the dancing

practice for the Debutante Ball will

be starting on 10 March 2015

We are proud to have Julia Jansen in

the crèche and she is working very

well with the children and Staff.

Every Friday we have a “Simunye

Meal” which the children help

prepare. They love the presentations

and can’t wait for the next week to

see what they will be preparing.

LYNEDOCH EARLY LEARNING 3 - 6

In the Creche we have 50 children of which 11 are from the Meerlust Wine Estate and the rest

from farms in the Vlaeberg and Lynedoch valleys.

A word from the crèche staff

Movement and tummy time

For the young child, maximum time on the floor on the tummy is one of the best gifts a loving adult can give. Glenn Doman, from the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, researched childcare practices around the world and discovered an amazing correlation. The more babies were held and carried, the lower the IQ. The more babies were given time on their tummies to explore their environment, the higher the IQ. Why time on the tummy is so important To function properly, the brain’s two hemispheres need to be well connected.

Cross-pattern movement, as in creeping and crawling, effectively helps the hemispheres form these crucial connections.

Every time the child moves an arm or leg, a signal goes to the motor cortex of the brain. The more such

signals are sent to the brain, the stronger the connections and the more fluid the movement. A safe, comfortable and attractive environment with objects that stimulate interest will enhance

development. General rule of thumb: the more free movement a baby has on his tummy, the greater the brain

development. Movement and Montessori Dr. Maria Montessori developed an entire method of education for infants and toddlers as well as older children, based on movement. In her observations of children, she saw that they were always moving, always exploring with hands, mouth, eyes and ears. Her conclusion was that movement is the law of the child’s being and the way to his brain is through his hands. In Montessori classrooms and homes established on the principles of learning through movement, children can learn to coordinate movement, develop clear sensory impressions, read, write and do math operations through simple hands-on activities. Movement and the law of maximum effort By age two-and-one-half, children demonstrate what Maria Montessori calls the “law of maximum effort,” which means they can easily and joyfully take long walks. It is a great time for walks to explore the environment. During this time, children develop the ability to walk and carry things at the same time. They display a need to flex the muscles of their new development. TSL.ORG

Thank you to all who make the youth programmes in the Lynedoch Community possible:

Flom Community Theatre

The Lexi and her wandering baby brother The Nomad

Lynedoch Primary School

Meerlust Wine Estate

Sustainability Institute

CONTACT: www.sustainabilityinstitute.net tracyw@sustainabilityinstitute.net 021 881 3196 ext 208