ADHD Exercise and Learning

Image: Guardian

A few articles I’ve read over the past week interested me, as ADHD is also a topic I’ve always been interested in. Having a SEN-qualification and now going to persue a Masters, I try and read even more -when there is time! I once had a Gr3 boy in my class and immediately recognised the symptoms of ADHD. -This was in my school in South Africa. – My class was near the main entrance of the school where there was a mini-roundabout with a huge tree. Twice per day, I sent Paul [not his real name] to run a few rounds around the roundabout. He usually ran about 5 times around it. Afterwards he wet his face, had some water and could sit for about 5 min in the shade of the tree, before he joined the class again. Through my class window, I could have my eye on him and he really enjoyed this little bit of ‘exercise’. From the start I made it clear to him – and the rest of the class of course, why I would like him to do this. He didn’t see it as a joke and took it very seriously and we could see a big difference in his concentration, quality of his school work and progress. I still treasure his letter he gave me by the end of the year thanking me helping him to do better and to understand his ‘problem’. His parents gave me a mini-grandfather’s clock as a symbol of time, the time I spent to support Paul – and them. Here are three articles I would like to share. The third article is more about outdoor play and nearsightness, but thought to link it here too. I hope you find it interesting and useful to read. All the links, of the original sources, are in the entry too and will open in a new window.

Also on my blog, I have done an entry on Hyperactivity and Dyslexia in 2008 where you will find some more to read and links to follow up, if you wish to do so.

What can athletes with ADHD teach us about the condition?
Michael Phelps, hailed as the greatest Olympian ever, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Can his, and others’, success be used help inspire younger people?

The Guardian, Wed 1 Aug 2012 20.00 BST
One has acquired more Olympic medals than any other athlete in history. The other was knocked out of the Games after just 250 seconds. But Michael Phelps and Ashley McKenzie, the 23-year-old British No 1 judoka, have one thing in common: both have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as does another high-profile Olympian, British gymnast Louis Smith, who this week helped win the first British men’s gymnastics team medal for a century. Suddenly, a condition that is hugely stigmatised and still controversial, is unexpectedly in the spotlight. It raises several interesting questions. Does ADHD hinder or help sporting success? And can the Olympics offer a positive legacy for people suffering from it? Phelps, the American swimmer with a record-breaking 19 Olympic medals to his name, is probably the most famous person in the world with ADHD, the top behavioural disorder in Britain, which is estimated to affect 2-5% of children and young people. For Phelps, a gangly, hyperactive child who was diagnosed with the condition aged nine, the swimming pool was a sanctuary, a place to burn off excess energy. His mother, Debbie, once recalled being told by a teacher: “Your son will never be able to focus on anything.” It’s interesting that the boy who was unable to concentrate at school would sit for four hours at swimming meets waiting to compete in five minutes of races. Louis Smith has spoken of how gymnastics was an outlet for his tremendous energy, and taught him discipline and manners. But Ashley McKenzie’s story is perhaps most dramatic of all. Expelled from three schools and placed in a psychiatric unit aged 11 because his mother was unable to cope, McKenzie also served time in a young offenders’ institute. He credits judo with saving him from prison, and in a recent BBC documentary called it a “mad booster” to his life, giving him “a pavement instead of walking on the road”.
“I don’t want to be looked at as, ‘He’s got ADHD and he’s the bad person.’ I’ve changed now,” he said. But it is not as simple as sport rescuing him. McKenzie served three bans from judo for drinking and fighting, and on the last night of the Team GB training camp before the Olympics, he went out to celebrate his 23rd birthday and told a stranger at a bar: “I’m gonna smash your face in.” His ADHD may bequeath him energy but his sporting career is actually a hindrance to tackling his condition: he cannot take the medication he needs to treat his ADHD because it contains substances banned by the sporting authorities – hence his struggle to control his behaviour. More athletes will almost certainly be undiagnosed or keeping it quiet, such as Adam Kreek, a Canadian rower who won gold in Beijing, and two years later began talking openly about his condition. “I found that the disorder isn’t a negative infliction, but it gives positive energy as well,” Kreek, who is now a motivational speaker, said in 2010. Diagnosed aged six, he believes anyone with ADHD can train their mind to channel their “incredible” energy. As well as a good diet and family support, he found “rowing to be an outlet to control my ADHD”.

ADHD can be a confusing condition because people may be fidgety and unable to focus and yet – as Phelps so spectacularly proved – are capable of concentrating intently on an activity they find rewarding. Children with the disorder, says Andrea Bilbow, founder and chief executive of ADDISS, a charity and support service for ADHD, are often brilliant at computer games. Psychiatrists say that this “hyperfocusing” is a relatively common feature in individuals with ADHD. Athletes like Phelps and McKenzie do not, however, have special powers via their condition. Bilbow believes it is actually significantly harder for people with ADHD to become elite athletes. “Having ADHD doesn’t mean you’re going to be a great sportsperson,” she says. “Your ADHD isn’t going to get you there, it’s hard work that will. ADHD is not a contributor towards success but equally it is not a barrier to success.”

People with ADHD, which is a developmental disorder, may find they have poor problem-solving skills, and struggle with timekeeping, and organising and motivating themselves, explains Bilbow. This may suggest that adapting to the discipline demanded by athletic training is tough for those with ADHD and yet Bilbow believes many with the condition find sport gives them the kind of immediate rewards and sense of achievement they need to build confidence and resilience.

After his early exit in the judo, McKenzie has vowed to come back stronger in Rio in 2016. Bilbow hopes McKenzie can get the extra help he will need in the coming years. She works with parents with children with ADHD and believes more could find sport a constructive way of managing the condition, rather than being preoccupied with academic success. Her two sons, Max and Joe, both have ADHD: Max, who is 29, finds an outlet for his energy in elite kayaking while Joe, who is 25, is currently an Olympic volunteer. Her advice to parents? “Find your child’s island of competence and invest in it heavily.”

Bilbow has noticed that children with ADHD may have their sporting opportunities curtailed as punishment for their behaviour, as McKenzie found. Bilbow knows of a brilliant young footballer with ADHD who was barred from representing his school because of his conduct in lessons.
Many teachers and schools, she believes, still scoff at the disorder, believing there are only naughty children – and bad parents. The concept of role models can seem an overused cliche but the Olympians with ADHD may really inspire a generation of athletes who once would have been written off. “Parents can be saying to kids who are having a miserable time in school, ‘Look, Michael Phelps had ADHD and he worked really hard. Ashley McKenzie has been in a young offenders’ institute but he didn’t give up,'” says Bilbo. “That’s the message we’ve got to give kids.”

Click HERE to read the article on the site of the Guardian.

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How Exercise Affects the Brain: Age and Genetics Play a Role

ScienceDaily (May 18, 2012) — Exercise clears the mind. It gets the blood pumping and more oxygen is delivered to the brain. This is familiar territory, but Dartmouth’s David Bucci thinks there is much more going on.

“In the last several years there have been data suggesting that neurobiological changes are happening — [there are] very brain-specific mechanisms at work here,” says Bucci, an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

From his studies, Bucci and his collaborators have revealed important new findings:

• The effects of exercise are different on memory as well as on the brain, depending on whether the exerciser is an adolescent or an adult.
• A gene has been identified which seems to mediate the degree to which exercise has a beneficial effect. This has implications for the potential use of exercise as an intervention for mental illness.

Bucci began his pursuit of the link between exercise and memory with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of the most common childhood psychological disorders. Bucci is concerned that the treatment of choice seems to be medication.

“The notion of pumping children full of psycho-stimulants at an early age is troublesome,” Bucci cautions. “We frankly don’t know the long-term effects of administering drugs at an early age — drugs that affect the brain — so looking for alternative therapies is clearly important.”

Anecdotal evidence from colleagues at the University of Vermont started Bucci down the track of ADHD. Based on observations of ADHD children in Vermont summer camps, athletes or team sports players were found to respond better to behavioral interventions than more sedentary children. While systematic empirical data is lacking, this association of exercise with a reduction of characteristic ADHD behaviors was persuasive enough for Bucci.

Coupled with his interest in learning and memory and their underlying brain functions, Bucci and teams of graduate and undergraduate students embarked upon a project of scientific inquiry, investigating the potential connection between exercise and brain function. They published papers documenting their results, with the most recent now available in the online version of the journal Neuroscience.

Bucci is quick to point out that “the teams of both graduate and undergraduates are responsible for all this work, certainly not just me.” Michael Hopkins, a graduate student at the time, is first author on the papers.

Early on, laboratory rats that exhibit ADHD-like behavior demonstrated that exercise was able to reduce the extent of these behaviors. The researchers also found that exercise was more beneficial for female rats than males, similar to how it differentially affects male and female children with ADHD.

Moving forward, they investigated a mechanism through which exercise seems to improve learning and memory. This is “brain derived neurotrophic factor” (BDNF) and it is involved in growth of the developing brain. The degree of BDNF expression in exercising rats correlated positively with improved memory, and exercising as an adolescent had longer lasting effects compared to the same duration of exercise, but done as an adult.

“The implication is that exercising during development, as your brain is growing, is changing the brain in concert with normal developmental changes, resulting in your having more permanent wiring of the brain in support of things like learning and memory,” says Bucci. “It seems important to [exercise] early in life.”

Bucci’s latest paper was a move to take the studies of exercise and memory in rats and apply them to humans. The subjects in this new study were Dartmouth undergraduates and individuals recruited from the Hanover community.

Bucci says that, “the really interesting finding was that, depending on the person’s genotype for that trophic factor [BDNF], they either did or did not reap the benefits of exercise on learning and memory. This could mean that you may be able to predict which ADHD child, if we genotype them and look at their DNA, would respond to exercise as a treatment and which ones wouldn’t.”

Bucci concludes that the notion that exercise is good for health including mental health is not a huge surprise. “The interesting question in terms of mental health and cognitive function is how exercise affects mental function and the brain.” This is the question Bucci, his colleagues, and students continue to pursue.

Source: Please click on THIS LINK to read the original article on ScienceDaily.

Outdoor Play May Protect Children’s Eyes From Nearsightedness: Study

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Click on THIS LINK to read the entire article.

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Wolf and Jackal Stories

T O Honiball

Thomas Ochse Honiball was born on 7 December 1905 in Cradock. He attended school in Stellenbosch and did drawings for the school magazine. He studied architecture at the University of Cape Town (until 1926). In 1927 he continued to study commercial art in Chicago, where he was introduced to American cartoons. On his return to Cape Town in 1930 he worked in advertising and later as freelance caricaturist and cartoonist. From 1936 he worked for Nasionale Pers newspapers and in 1941 took over from DC Boonzaier as political caricaturist.

T.O. Honiball married Iona Boesen in 1934. They had four children.
Iona died in 1971. Honiball was married to Essie de Villiers – Dreyer in 1973. (Essie Honiball)
He retired in 1974 and held his first one man exhibition in Pretoria in the same year.
He continued to sketch political caricatures until 1978.

In 1977 he donated his Honiballiana – collections to Stellenbosch University and the National Library Museum (NALN – Nasionale Afrikaanse Letterkundige Museum en Navorsingssentrum) in Bloemfontein. In 1985 he bestowed his collection of political caricatures to the Nasionale Pers.
1986: Foundation of TO Honiball-Promosies
T.O. Honiball died on 22 Februarie 1990 in Montagu.
Source: HERE…and read on WIKIPEDIA more about him.

Image: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/78/247418341_9131adefc8.jpg?v=0

English readers: There’s an English story at the end of this post for you….! Do enjoy!

On this next link you can read about Afrikaans stories and there are some PDF’s to download about Stories/poems – in Afrikaans, mostly for use by teachers or parents doing homeschooling. The link will open in a new window.

https://chessaleeinlondon.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/storietyd-storytime/

Afrikaans Children’s stories are loaded with stories written about Wolf and Jackal. You can say It’s part of our culture…and almost our history. If you’re an Afrikaans speaking child and you don’t know about Wolf and Jackal-stories – written by PW Grobbelaar, you definitely have a H-U-G-E gap in your upbringing…and your culture… I can’t even think that it would happen, only if you’re now living in another country, yes, that’s possible…but then it’s your parents’ fault if you don’t know about these stories! In these stories, Jackal always plays the joke on Wolf….. We have the most wonderful stories about Wolf and Jackal and the most wonderful people to bring these stories alive to us and our children. One such a person was Dana Niehaus. Sadly, he passed away more than ten years ago…and we’re lucky to have his son, Danie! Danie is a singer and he’s got that wonderful personality his dad had too.  I’ve got a cd with some of these Wolf and Jackal stories where his dad tells those stories and would like to upload one favourite here later today. I just LOVE his way of retelling these stories. I used these stories with my grade 3 children in listening skills activities and they used to laugh more than they’d listen, so we all listened the story out first, laughed ourselves to bits and then the second time we sat with straight faces…- even though it was a bit hard – to listen to the story again…I’ve found a couple of stories on the internet…the source is at the bottom of this post…do enjoy them on the audio files too… luckily these stories are also in many other languages available! and they always have the most wonderful illustrated images and TO Honiball was one of the best to illustrate these books……...ok…now in Afrikaans…Ek hoop julle geniet hierdie stories en ek het gewonder, is daar enige Afrikaanssprekendes in die buiteland wat hulle tuis Afrikaans leer…ek sal graag van jou wil hoor as jy hier lees en jy een van hulle is…
Hier is een van Dana Niehaus se vertellings : Jakkals wil mos jok…van ‘n Bollie-plaat. Gepraat van “Bollie”…dis so jammer dat Huisgenoot die Bollie verander het na Bobo!! waar gaan die lewe heen!! ons arme kinders het net lief geword vir Bollie…en nou moet ons hoor dat Bollie nie meer bestaan nie! Bollie was so DEEL van ons “kultuur“…!! Further down in this post you will find more audio stories.

Jakkals en Wolf is honger

Audio file: Jakkals vertrou sy eie vrede nie

Jakkals vertrou sy eie vrede nie…
Die Mooiste Afrikaanse Sprokies
uitgesoek en oorvertel deur
PIETER W. GROBBELAAR

JAKKALS VERTROU SY EIE VREDE NIE
Op ‘n oggend snuffel Jakkals tussen ‘n klompie bome rond, toe hy Hoenderhaan op ‘n hoë tak gewaar.
“Môre, my liewe Haan,” groet hy vriendelik.
“Môre, Jakkals,” groet Haan. “En waar stap jy dié tyd van die oggend nog rond?”
“Ek soek ‘n bietjie ordentlike geselskap,” sê Jakkals vinnig. “Maar dis nie lekker om so kop in die lug te staan en praat nie. Kom sit liewers hier by my.”
“O nee,” antwoord Hoenderhaan. “Ek ken jou streke. As ek naby jou kom, eet jy my op.”
“Nog nooit nie!” roep Jakkals uit. “Het jy dan nie gehoor nie? Daar is vrede in Afrika onder al die nasies.”
“Koe-ke-le-koe!” lag Haan.
“Hoekom lag jy?” vra Jakkals.
“Nee, ek lag sommer vir al jou stories,” antwoord Haan. “En dan lag ek vir my eie storie ook.”
“Wat se storie is dit?” vra Jakkals.
“Gisteraand het Wildehond my bekruip,” vertel Haan. Toe moes ek die bome in vlug. Nou is Boer met sy honde op pad om my te soek. Ek kan hulle al sien aankom.”
“Nou ja, dan groet ek maar eers,” sê Jakkals skielik haastig.
“Hoekom wil jy al loop Jakkals?” vra Haan. “Ons gesels nou eers lekker. Jy is tog seker nie bang vir die honde nie. Daar is mos vrede in Afrika.”
“O ja,”‘ antwoord Jakkals, “maar die vraag is of die onnosele honde daarvan weet.” En hy draf vinnig weg.

Sop

Die Mooiste Afrikaanse Sprokies
uitgesoek en oorvertel deur
PIETER W. GROBBELAAR

Die Boesmans het die dierewêreld fyn deurgekyk. Daarom is Leeu vir hulle die sterke, Wolf soos Hiëna dikwels genoem word ‘n wreedaard, en Jakkals ‘n lafhartige bedelaar.

Wolf het ‘n ver pad geloop om by sy broer te gaan kuier. Nou is hy honger en dors. In die veld kry hy Leeu wat aan ‘n sebra lê en eet. ‘n Entjie weg sit Jakkals vir ‘n bietjie oorskiet en wag.

“Naand, Leeu,” sê Wolf vriendelik.

“Mmm,” sê Leeu, en hy kraak ‘n murgbeen oop.

Wolf gaan op sy hurke sit. “Hoe lyk dit, nooi jy my dan nie om ‘n stukkie saam te eet nie?”

“Ja, ja!” sê Jakkals gretig.

“Bly stil!” sê Wolf, en Jakkals gee ‘n paar tree pad.

“Nee,” sê Leeu, en hy skeur aan die boud se sagte vleis.

“Net so ‘n bietjie soppies om op te lek,” vra Wolf. “Ek is baie dors.”

“Ek lek my eie sop,” sê Leeu.

“Net ‘n ou murgbeentjie om af te eet,” soebat Wolf.

“Dè, vat dan!” sê Leeu, en hy gooi vir Wolf die been wat hy nou net self droog gesuig het.

“En wat van my, Leeu ? ” vra Jakkals met ‘n huilstem.

“Trap!” sê Leeu, en hy mik met sy voorvoet.

Jakkals verskuif nog ‘n entjie verder weg.

Wolf vat die been, en hy kou daaraan asof hy tog te lekker kou, en
hy suig daaraan asof daar baie te suig is. Toe staan hy op. “Baie dankie, Leeu,” sê hy. “Ek sal sulke vriendelikheid nie vergeet nie. Kom eet gerus môreaand ‘n bietjie sop by my.

“Dankie, ja,” sê Leeu, en hy lek al klaar sy lippe af, want hy weet Wolf se maats is dood as dit by sop kook kom.

“Dankie, ja!” sê Jakkals asof Wolf hom ook genooi het, en hy gaan lek die droë been af wat Wolf laat agterbly het.

Agter die bultjie kom Wolf op ‘n volstruis af. Dis net vere en voete, en toe begin Wolf weglê. Die stuk wat oorbly, sleep hy saam huis toe. “Eet julle maar die vleis, ” sê hy vir sy vrou en kinders. “Laat bly net die bene vir my.”

Die volgende dag sit Wolf twee potte op die vuur vir die volstruissop. Die een pot haal hy betyds af om koud te word, maar die ander pot hou hy kookwarm.

Dis ook nie te lank nie, of hier kom Leeu aan met Jakkals op sy spoor. “Hoe lyk dit met daardie sop waarvan jy gepraat het, Wolf?” vra Leeu.

“Ja, hoe lyk dit met die sop?” vra Jakkals.

“Kom sit maar hier in die ry,” sê Wolf, en hy beduie waar sy vrou en kinders al wag.

Vrou Wolf hou haar mond oop, en Wolf gooi in, maar dis van die koue pot s’n. So gaan hy van kind tot kind, en hulle drink tog te lekker. Maar toe hy by Leeu en Jakkals kom, skep hy twee bekers van die vuurwarm sop uit.

“Maak wyd oop!” sê hy, en hulle maak so.

Toe gooi hy.

Leeu wil nog sluk, toe spu hy al dat die sop met so ‘n wye boog staan. “Sjoe, vriend Wolf,” sê hy kortasem, “maar jou sop is vandag darem kwaai.”

“Dis van ‘n volstruis se bene,” sê Wolf. “Dié voël kan mos so kwaai skop. Wil jy nog ‘n bietjie hê?”

“Nee, dankie,” sê Leeu, “ek dink ek loop maar weer.”

En Jakkals? Hy kan nie insluk nie, want dis te warm. En hy kan nie uitspu nie, want hy is te bang vir Wolf. Daarom sit hy so met die trane wat oor sy wange loop. Maar toe Leeu wegdraf, draf hy saam, en hy maak sy mond agter ‘n bossie leeg. En nou nog as Jakkals so in die maanskyn wag dat Leeu klaar moet eet, en hy dink aan daardie sop, dan begin hy sommer van nuuts af huil.

Luister maar mooi.

“Kwaai sop!” tjank Jakkals. “Volstruissop! Volstruissop met ‘n skop!”

Vat hom Jakkals!

Die Mooiste Afrikaanse Sprokies
uitgesoek en oorvertel deur
PIETER W. GROBBELAAR

VAT HOM, JAKKALS!
Deur hul aanraking met mekaar, het die sprokies van die verskillende rasse so vermeng dat ‘n mens soms nie weet waar die Boesman storie ophou en die Hottentot invloed begin nie om van die invloed van wit en swart mense nie eens te praat nie. Maar die belangrikste bly die verhaal self.
i. Ryperd
Jakkals is kwaad vir Hasie, want hy het stories by vrou Jakkals gaan aandra, en nou het sy haar man die huis belet. Maar Hasie het baie planne. Op ‘n dag hoor hy Jakkals suutjies in die paadjie draf. Toe gaan lê hy in die bossies en kreun.
“Ha! nou het ek jou, Haas,” sê Jakkals, en hy wil net spring, maar Hasie antwoord met ‘n swak stem: “Vat my maar, Jakkals. Ek is te siek om te vlug. Tel my op jou rug, dan dra jy my huis toe.”
En Jakkals dink dis glad nie so ‘n slegte plan nie. Nou sal sy vrou sommer weer vir hom goed word as hy met ‘n lekker stuk haasvleis daar aankom. Jakkals laat loop in die paadjie af, en Hasie moet net klou.
Jakkals, Jakkals!” roep hy later, “Die vlieë pla baie. Pluk tog vir my ‘n taaibostakkie dat ek hulle kan wegjaag.”
“Ai, jy is lastig,” sê Jakkals, en hy gaan pluk maar.
Toe hulle nog van ver af na Jakkals se huis toe aankom, staan sy vrou al op die stoep om te kyk wat haar man hier kom soek. “Vrou, vrou!” roep Jakkals. “Ek het vir jou ‘n lekker vet haas gebring.”
Maar kyk, nou sit Hasie regop, en die pyne is skielik uit sy lyf, en die taaibostak is ‘n lat. “Vrou, vrou!” koggel hy Jakkals. “Ek het vir jou ‘n lekker vet jakkals gebring!” En die lat gesels oor Jakkals se blaaie, en Jakkals bokspring en galop. Toe wip Hasie van sy rug af en verdwyn lag lag in die bossies.
“Nee, so ‘n treurige man wil ek nie hê nie,” sê vrou Jakkals. “Waar het jy al van ‘n jakkals gehoor wat hom deur ‘n haas laat ry? Maak dat jy wegkom hier voor my oë!”

ii. Die Byekerk
Hasie hardloop na die berg se kant toe, en daar sien hy ’n bynes diep in ‘n klipskeur. “Ai!” sê Hasie:
“Lekker is lekker,
en goed is goed –
en die beste lekker
is heuningsoet!”
En Hasie druk sy kop diep in die skeur om die nes by te kom, maar hy het nie geweet dat Jakkals al weer spoorsny nie. Hy sit nog so, toe Jakkals hom aan die hakskeen gryp. “Ha! nou het ek jou, Haas,” sê Jakkals, en hy wil hom sommer sy tande laat proe.
Maar Hasie het klaar geskrik en ver gedink. “Sjuut, Jakkals,” sê hy. “Kan jy nie hoor my vriende hou kerk nie?”
“Waar?” vra Jakkals nuuskierig.
“Hier in die klipskeur,” sê Hasie. “Ai, hulle sing tog te pragtig!”
“Laat ek hoor, sê Jakkals, en hy druk sommer in. Dan trek hy sy kop weer uit en sê: “Nee wat, hulle kan nie sing nie. Dis net brom brom brom, al op dieselfde wysie.”
“Hulle is seker moeg,” sê Hasie. “Steek ‘n bietjie ‘n stok daar by die voordeur in dat hulle weet ons is hier. Dan moet jy hoor.”
En Jakkals gryp ‘n stok, en hy werskaf in die klipskeur rond, en toe druk hy sy kop in om goed te luister.
Nee kyk, dit was ‘n sonde. Die bye mors met Jakkals; hulle verniel hom; hulle steek hom byna dood. Hy spring om en hardloop, maar die bye het nie tyd nie. Dis net zoem tjiek! “Eina!” Zoem tjiek! Zoem tjiek! Zoem tjiek! “Eina! Eina! Eina!”
Hasie lê soos hy lag. Hy rol soos hy lag. Hy maak hom eintlik seer. Nee, Jakkals sal hom nie gou weer pla nie.

iii. Vat Hom, Jakkals!
Maar Hasie is glad te gerus. Sing sing in die paadjie. Wirts warts om die bossies. Kyk nie waar hy loop nie; trap nie waar hy kyk nie. Woep! daar sit hy. Jakkals het voëlent aan ‘n stomp gesmeer en dit in die paadjie neergesit. Hasie spook, maar hy sit al hoe vaster. Hy ruk en pluk en skree.
Jakkals kom tussen die bossies uit. “Ha! nou het ek jou, Haas!” sê hy. Sy lippe is nog altyd skeef geswel van die bysteke sodat dit lyk asof hy nie kan ophou lag nie.
Hasie word stil. Ja, jy het my, Jakkals,” sê hy. “Nou kan jy my maar opeet. Dis net jammer om so dorstig te sterwe. Ek was juis op pad rivier toe.”
“Nee, ons kan ‘n bietjie gaan drink,” sê Jakkals, wat hom heeltemal droëtong gehardloop het om die strik vir Hasie reg te kry. Hy pluk Hasie los van die voëllym af, gooi hom oor sy skouer en stap af na die drinkplek toe.
Ai, hoe stil en blink is die water nie. Jakkals laat sy kop sak om te drink. Maar kyk die ongeskik! Hierdie ander jakkals druk sommer sy snoet tussenin. “Gee pad!” brom Jakkals.
“Wat is dit nou, Jakkals?” vra Hasie agter sy skouer.
“Kyk self,” sê Jakkals, en hy sit hom neer. En: “Staan soontoe!” sê hy vir die ander jakkals wat hom al weer beskou.
Hasie sien dadelik dat Jakkals met sy eie weerkaatsing baklei, maar hy sê niks nie.
“Loop weg hier!” sê Jakkals vir die derde maal, en hy wys tande, maar die waterjakkals wys terug.
“Moenie so met jou laat speel nie!” roep Hasie. “Kyk hoe staan daardie ander dier se mond soos hy jou uitlag. Vat hom, Jakkals!”
Toe Jakkals gryp, gryp die ander jakkals ook. Toe Jakkals duik, is hulle doems! al twee binne in die water. Toe Jakkals verdwyn, is alles weg.
“Ha ha ha!” lag Hasie:
“Kwaai is kwaai,
en kwaai se voet:
ou Jakkals soek
sy eie bloed!”
En toe Jakkals hangstert uit die water klim, sing Hasie al ver in die paadjie af.

Audio file: Vat hom Jakkals!

Antjie Somers

Die Mooiste Afrikaanse Sprokies
uitgesoek en oorvertel deur
PIETER W. GROBBELAAR

ANTJIE SOMERS
As paaiboelie het Antjie Somers geen gelyke in Afrikaans nie. “Oppas vir Antjie Somers. Hy sal jou in sy groot sak stop!” is ‘n dreigement wat baie geslagte kinders soet gehou het. “Hy“, ja, want Antjie Somers was natuurlik eintlik ‘n man. Hier volg een van die talle maniere waarop die verhaal vertel word.
Andries Somers was ‘n voorman onder die Strand se vissers. Wie kon soos hy ‘n treknet vasvat? Wie ‘n spaan met hom laat sak? Nee, niemand nie. En dapper! Waar iemand in gevaar gekom het, was Andries Somers eerste by. Nes ’n see-eend kon hy swem, en talle drenkelinge het hy land toe gebring as die ander al lankal moedverlore was.
Maar afguns is daar altyd, en skoorsoek is g’n kuns nie. Eendag op die strand pak ‘n klomp vissers hom. Andries laat nie met hom speel nie. Hulle kantel voor sy vuiste. Maar een bly te stil lê waar sy kop ‘n klip gevang het. Andries moet vlug, anders hang die mense hom dalk op. Hy kry ‘n sisrok van sy suster. Hy bind ‘n kopdoek om. Hy haak ‘n mandjie oor sy arm. Toe kies hy koers, diep na die binneland.
Op ‘n plaas agter die berge gaan verhuur hy hom. En hy werk weer soos net hy kan. Van die voordag staan hy bak tot dit laat word in die aand. Wingerd spit of pars of mis ry maak nie saak wat hulle doen nie. Andries Somers word die voorman op die plaas.
Maar die afguns het ore en ‘n storie baie tonge, en voor lank skinder die mense kliphard onder mekaar.
“Vertel ons,Andries, van die sisrok wat jy in jou huis wegbêre,” por die ene.
“En die kopdoek, Andries Somers ? Of is jou naam dalk eintlik Antjie?” pla ‘n ander.
“Antjie Somers! Antjie Somers!” koggel hulle.
Andries Somers laat sy kop sak, en hy maak of hy nie hoor nie, want naderhand kom daar weer nuwe rusie. Maar die derde dag toe kan hy hul geterg nie meer verduur nie. Daardie aand pak hy sy bondel, en hy maak dat hy daar wegkom.
Nooit weer keer Andries terug nie. Nêrens slaan sy spoor weer uit nie. Hy het soos ‘n gees verdwyn.
Maar al meer vertel die kinders wat saans teen die berg gaan hout soek van ‘n ou vrou wat hulle verjaag.
“Sy het ‘n rooi kopdoek,” sê een kind.
“Sy het ‘n sisrok met groot strepe.”
“Sy het ‘n lang mes.”
“En ‘n mandjie.”
“En ‘n streepsak oor haar skouer.”
“Sy wil ons vang en in haar sak prop!” kerm hulle.
En die grootmense skud kop. “Dit is daardie Antjie Somers,” sê hulle onder mekaar.
Andries Somers raak vergete: dapper Andries, flukse Andries, Andries wat altyd kon voorvat. Maar een storie word al luider en geslagte lank herhaal: “Antjie Somers! Antjie Somers, Antjie Somers gaan jou vang!”

Audio file: Antjie Somers

Source: http://www.logoslibrary.eu/pls/wordtc/new_wordtheque.w6_start.doc?code=196&lang=af
This next story….comes from this site…:
http://students.ou.edu/F/Christine.R.Frederiksen-1/Mythology%20Story%20Two.html

Once upon a time there was a Wolf and a Jackal walking down the road that led to town. As they were walking, they found a wagon on the side of the road. The Jackal and the Wolf decided to see what was in the barrels that were on the wagon. They couldn’t believe their eyes! It was butter.
So the Wolf and the Jackal sat there for a moment just looking at their discovery. They couldn’t figure out how to get those big barrels off the wagon and take them home. They talked about it and decided that the Wolf would go to the front of the wagon and play dead. Then when the farmer loaded his body in the wagon and drove off, he would quickly roll one of the barrels off the wagon. The Jackal would go hide in the tall grass and wait.
The farmer came back and saw the Wolf lying on the ground in front of the wagon. He took his donkey whip and whipped the Wolf a couple times to make sure that he was “dead”. He then picked up the Wolf and put him in the wagon.
(Their plan was really working. I bet that whip really hurt the wolf. Sometimes when people are naughty they get spankings. I one time got spanked with some bamboo. I will never be naughty again).
When the farmer started driving away, the Wolf pushed the barrel off the wagon and up ran the Jackal. He took the barrel to the side of the road. A few minutes later, the Wolf jumped off the wagon and made his way back to the barrel and the Jackal. The wolf couldn’t wait to dig into the butter. He was so hungry, but the Jackal insisted that they wait. He told that Wolf that fresh butter will make you die if you eat it. He told him that they would have to let it get ripe. The Wolf was so disappointed. They then made their way back home, excited about what they had found.
Well a few days later the wolf couldn’t keep his mind off the barrel of butter, so he ran to the Jackals house and asked, “is the butter was ripe yet?” The Jackal replied, “Umm, to tell you the truth, Wolf, my wife just had a baby. We named him Good Start. I am more worried about getting him baptized than I am about the butter. Why don’t you come back by in a couple of days and then we will check on the butter.” The wolf agreed and went on his way.
(Did you know that the Jackal was really in his house eating all the butter? His wife really didn’t have a baby).
A few days later the Wolf ran to the Jackal’s house. He was pounding on the door. The Jackal came running to see who it was. “Oh, Wolf, you scared me to death. I thought I was being robbed,” said the Jackal.
The Wolf replied, “I want to go check on the butter and I want you to come!” The Jackal snarled back, “Well, I have some bad news. My wife just gave birth to two more sons, so I am off to get them baptized. We named then First Hoop and Bottom of the Barrel.” The Wolf was even more mad and he was more hungry for the butter. The Jackal promised that tomorrow they could go get the butter.
That night the Wolf couldn’t sleep because he was so excited. The Jackal had been waiting for him when he got there. They ran to the barrel only to find that the butter was gone. The Jackal blamed the Wolf and the Wolf blamed the Jackal for eating all the butter and not sharing. They began to fight. The Wolf was much bigger than the Jackal and could win the fight easily. The Jackal screamed to stop the fight. He made a suggestion about how they could find out who ate the butter. He said, “We will both go lie on those rocks and take a nap. The sun will make us warm and we will sweat out the butter. When we awake from the nap we will see who has butter on him.” The Wolf that this was a great plan because he knew he hadn’t eaten any of the butter.
(Did you know that you really can’t sweat out butter?).
Well, the Jackal really didn’t sleep. He just lay there waiting for the Wolf to go to bed. He then ran over to put the rest of the butter on the Wolf’s body. A few minutes later the Wolf woke up and looked at the Jackal. They looked at each other and the Wolf had butter everywhere. The Wolf knew that he really hadn’t eaten any butter, but the Jackal insisted that he had. The melting butter around his mouth proved it. The Jackal was so mad they didn’t speak for days….The End.

Tyl Uilspieël Storie

Uilspieёl neem die dorp op horings

Op ‘n dag sê Tyl vir sy ma: “Ek gaan op ‘n tou loop soos hulle in die sirkus doen.”Wat makeer jou?” vra sy ma, verskrik .“Jy sal afval en jou nek breek.”

“Nee Ma, ek oefen lank reeds in die geheim op ons solder om op ‘n tou te loop. As ek dan ook boonop soos ‘n hanswors aantrek, en grappies maak, sal ek twee keer soveel geld maak.”

“En as jy afval?” vra sy ma benoud.

“Toemaar Ma, ek sal nie val nie, vir die veiligheid sal ons ‘n matras onder sit. Ek het reeds vir my maats belowe om môre vir hulle ‘n vertoning te lewer. Ek gaan ‘n tou bokant ons venster vasmaak, en dan weer oorkant die straat aan die bure se huis.”

“Ag Tyl, waarom is jy tog so stout?” sug sy ma, Maar hy steur hom nie aan haar nie. Hy het die tou gespan en daarop geklim.

As hy maar geweet het van die plan wat die bure in die mou gevoer het, het Tyl dit sekerlik nooit gewaag nie. Omdat hulle vir hom kwaad was oor die poets wat hy hulle vroeër gebak het, het hulle ‘n plan beraam om hom in eie munt terug te betaal.

Net toe Tyl op die tou op sy een been gaan staan en sy arms uitsteek om sy balans te behou, sny die bure se kinders skielik die tou af en daar tuimel hy neer. Gelukkig het hy op die matras geval, maar vir dae lank kon hy skaars sit of loop. Terwyl hy daar op die matras op sy rug lê, het hulle hom lekker uitgelag en gespot. Uilspieël het gemaak of hy hulle nie hoor nie, maar in die stilligheid het hy gedink: “Toemaar, ek sal julle terugkry.”

‘n Paar dae later kondig hy aan dat hy op die mark ‘n tweede vertoning gaan gee. Die dorp se mense is almal daar om die pret te aanskou. Uilspieël se vriende kom almal hand gee en sê met ‘n spotlaggie: “Ons hoop dat dit hierdie keer beter met jou sal gaan.”

“O, julle gaan verstom staan oor al die wonderlike toertjies wat ek vandag gaan uithaal,” belowe die voornemende koorddanser. “Maar voor ek begin, moet julle my help. As die toeskouers elkeen hul linkerskoene uittrek en vir my aangee, sal ek vandag sorg vir heerlike pret.”

Ewe onnosel voldoen die mense aan sy versoek en kort voor lank het Tyl ‘n hele klomp skoene bymekaar. Hy ryg hulle almal met ‘n tou aanmekaar en klim bo-op een van die hoë pale waaraan die tou vasgemaak is. Hy gaan sit op die paal en waai vrolik vir die mense.

“Toe nou,” skree die toeskouers ongeduldig. “Begin nou met jou grappies. Hoekom het ons dan ons skoene vir jou gegee?”

“O, ek wil hulle eers sit en bekyk,” skreeu Uilspieël bo van die paal af. “Hier is ou Ryk Soul se flentertoiings wat al seker honderd maal versool en gelap is. Dit is ‘n skande vir so ‘n ryk man. Hierdie blinkleer stewel behoort seker aan Fanie Fyntrap. Ek wonder of hy al ooit daarvoor betaal het.”

Een vir een bekyk hy die skoene soos ‘n bobbejaan. Die toeskouers word al kwater vir hom. Elkeen is doodbenoud dat sy skoen aan die beurt sal kom. “Ons was gekke om ons skoene vir die mannetjie te gee”, dink hulle.

Maar Tyl geniet homself gate uit. “Aan wie sou hierdie skeefgetrapte, slordige ou stewel behoort?” skreeu hy. “Tog nie aan Meester nie? Wat moet die skoolkinders van hom dink? En hierdie skoentjie met die fyn spitsneusie? Hoe sou Ellie Platvoet ooit haar breë platannas daarin kry?”

“Gee terug ons skoene!” skreeu die toeskouers woedend.

“Dê, vat julle toiings!” sê Uilspieël meteens, en hy laat die skoene soos reën op die mense val.

Almal koes en elkeen probeer weer om sy eie skoen in die hande te kry. Dit tel op en pas aan vir ‘n vale. Een ruk ‘n skoen uit die ander se hande. Hulle skel en raas en slaan onder mekaar dat die stof so staan. Die hele markplein is in rep en roer.

Maar wat doen Uilspieël? Hy sit daar bo-op die paal en hou sy maag vas soos hy lag. “’n Mooier konsert sou ek nooit kon gee nie!” skreeu hy. “Julle behoort my te betaal. Ek het lanklaas soveel pret gehad.”

Eers nadat almal terug is na hul huise, het Uilspieël vinnig van die paal afgeklim en die hasepad gekies na sy eie huis voordat die ander seuns hom in die hande kon kry.

Deur iets van die skoen te sê, het Uilspieël eintlik iets van die persoon gesê aan wie die skoen behoort. Stem julle saam dat ons haarstyle en kleredrag dinge van onsself verklap? [Source: cnx.org]

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Le Jeu des échecs moralisé

Images: http://roseandchess.lib.uchicago.edu/chess.html

“When you see a good move, look for a better one”
(Emanuel Lasker)
In real life…when you want to do something good…try something better instead!

 

Chess can be used, at least indirectly, as a component of character education. Michael Potts, “Chess and Aristotle’s Ethics,” in Chess and Education: Selected Essays from the Koltanowski Conference

If you could be a piece on the chess board, which piece would you like to be? …if it was a real life situation and you could chose a “position” according to this book that was written in the 13th Century? I have said before in my own chess games-posts that I find the Knight very useful on a chess board whilst other people value a Bishop more…I think if I have to chose a “position”, I will stick to the Knight…they are there for “protection” and I think in real life situations, this is what I would like to do…to “protect”.
Roer has tagged me to blog about what’s important in my life. She’s blogged about God and Love and I agree with her as I put God/Jesus first in my life and secondly…or with God, comes love…almost automatically…….because I believe if you have Jesus in your heart, you have love the same time…you can’t separate the two…..but to follow-up my homework I want to add to her post education/discipline. These two can definitely not be separated and if you do separate it, you get chaos. My opinion about education in schools? If there’s no discipline, you can not teach, thus…no education/learning can take place. If you think it’s possible, you fool yourself….If you want to disagree, feel welcome, make your head stand and sing your tunes, but I will stick to my view. Do you want to see an unmanageable class where learning doesn’t take place? Go into a school/class where there is NO discipline.  To come back to “protection”… I would like to be a  protector of Children and I would like to keep a “watchful eye” over any educational issue…as I think education is very important and with education goes discipline and I would really like to see  any government taking on parents for not taking responsiblities when it comes to disciplining their children. Chess is really a game for “royals” played by “royals”……and by that I mean…people who can respect others and can take up a role in society to make it a better place for all….and you still can’t play chess? Hey, all you have to do in real life/society, to make it work for everybody…play your “part” and play it well! And if you have to make a “move”, make a proper move! A move that is there to the benefit to everybody around you!

 

Le Jeu des échecs moralisé (The Moralized Game of Chess) was written in Latin in the 13th century by Jacobus de Cessolis, an Italian Dominican friar. Cessolis took advantage of the opportunity to use a relatively new game, chess, to describe an ideal society through the medium of the chessboard. Written at a time of political instability, his work was read centuries later as a guide to proper behavior, both because of the readily understood nature of the metaphor and the references to biblical and classical literature that buttress the argument.

Each piece and its attributes is thoroughly described; for example, if the Knight can move in front of a Pawn it is because the role and responsibility of the Knight is to protect the commoner – who in turn serves the Knight. Morality is prescribed: the King who leaves his wife for another acts against nature; the Queen must be chaste, docile, and concerned with the raising of her sons; the peasant should respect the laws and serve the lord. Each of the eight Pawns stands for a group of people, such as innkeepers or doctors and apothecaries. An intertwined society of mutual obligation is neatly laid out, as Cessolis says, “talents are distributed so that no one suffices by himself, but only has value in his relationships with others.”

With the focus on societal behavior rather than on the rules of the game, it would be nearly impossible to learn to play the game of chess from this text, but it is clear that the rules of medieval chess are quite different from those in place today. The King, for example, was restricted in his movement to the first three rows of the board, as it is his duty to stay close to home and defend the country.
Source:
http://roseandchess.lib.uchicago.edu/chess.html

 

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Memories

 

image: artfiles.art.com

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~From the television show The Wonder Years

Memories

What kind of memories flash through your mind if I  ask you about your childhood?… I think we all have some wonderful memories which we cherish in our minds or even some in our hearts. Sometimes we like to keep a diary of memories, that diary can either be a concrete book or a diary in our memory. If you were asked what was the best of your childhood years, what would that be?  Well, for me, it would be a very difficult question as I have such sweet memories of my childhood-years on the farm where I grew up. Apart from family gatherings, which I want to exclude in this post, I want to mention a couple which I really cherish since the day I left the farm and these are cemented in my memory. I’ve done a post about memories almost six or more months ago, but I know I haven’t mentioned this in particular. On the farm, we used to take the cattle…about every other month to a neighbouring farm where two other farmers also gathered with their cattle. The reason for this was to dip the cattle to  eradicate  external parasites and ticks. If you don’t know what I’m talking about..have a look at this image. You can see a ramp where the cow walks and then  slowly enters the water when reaching the end of the ramp…most of the time the center of gravity changes and they “fall” into the water –  which has got some chemicals in – and once in the water, they submerge and keep “swimming” or “splashing” to the other end. This was always great fun for us kids to watch… and best of all to watch…was the little calves… once they submerged and emerged again…the minute they “fall” in the water…we moved as close as possible to see them emerging again…we thought it was cute to see them in the water, swimming. The animals were used to it and they sort of “jump” themselves as if they knew what to do. Dipping-day was great fun…how I miss that! Secondly… I do miss walking in the veld where I used to collect all sorts of dry little twigs – not just any…the beautiful and special twigs …. and wild grass. At home I would then arrange these dry grass and dry twigs in a beautiful arrangement. I used to collect different dry grass and tried to find their scientific names…which was hard when I was a child as there wasn’t any Internet!  I wonder if farmers still dip their cattle today and if there are newer and more modern ways to do it with large herds of cattle.
Read HERE MORE about memory…short term memory….long term memory….
The movie from youtube is about memories…see if you can follow the line of this story…

Image:flickr

Image: tobyhazel.co.uk

Enjoy this video by Elvis….one of my favourites! …and thanks to Dan for the link!

and…another…

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Show you care

I think enough has been said about our planet and what we should do…I think it’s just a case of everybody should do their bit and make sure you do it well. On the links in this post you can find different activities and I’m posting one activity only… this one is taking place in the Cape Town region in South Africa.

One fruit and one indigenous tree will be distributed to 550 Worcester residents. 10 Community Based Educators residing in Worcester, will be present on Earthday to assist Food and Trees for Africa in handing over the 1100 trees to Worcester residents.

For more information on this event contact Joanne Rolt on 01 803 9750 or joanne @ trees. org. za

Source : HERE ..

History of Earth Day…HERE …

Please click on THIS LINK — Earthday-tv —to view different movies…if you look at the bottom of this link..you will find different movie-categories…even movies for the class room..where the bottom image comes from! Really worth visiting.

On THIS LINK which is the site of Audubon.org – and Audubon’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity –  you can read everything about Global Warming too!

 

This week, Earth Day attempts to inspire the world’s inhabitants to think greener.
With the price of fuel rocketing and an increased awareness of our effect on the environment, car buyers are focusing on models that use less fuel and produce lower emissions. Consequently, the car makers are clamouring to produce the most efficient cars in their class. Here we pick five popular market segments and the car in each that is the most efficient when compared against its contemporaries. That doesn’t always mean going just by the numbers though.

Read HERE about five of the most efficient cars in their class.

 

Enjoy this movie!

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Bad for children?

This is quite interesting… I do sometimes watch the Simpsons…but overall I’ve always thought it’s not a good program for children. People have different views and values in life. What do you think?

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela has forced U.S. cartoon “The Simpsons” off its airwaves, calling the show a potentially bad influence on children, and filled its morning slot with reruns of the beach-and-bikini show “Baywatch.”
“The Simpsons” satirical take on a dysfunctional American family had been shown, dubbed into Spanish, on the Televen network at an 11 am slot.

“Today I believe they started broadcasting something else,” said a spokesman at Venezuela’s broadcasting regulator Conatel. “They were infringing many things in the television and radio social responsibility law.”

Conatel said it started proceedings against the morning airing of the show after complaints from viewers.

Televen has replaced the long-running and popular cartoon with “Baywatch Hawaii,” late seasons of the “Baywatch” series that made actress Pamela Anderson a household name.

20th Century Fox Television, which owns “The Simpsons” and is part of News Corp, said it was not immediately able to comment on the decision to pull “The Simpsons.” The long-running show was once criticized by former U.S. President George H. W. Bush but is now a major U.S. cultural reference.

Many Venezuelan television stations fill their schedules with reruns of old U.S. series and Latin American soap-operas
Source: HERE ..

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Nothing better?

Man in the News: David Beckham

I don’t have anything against football… I will watch it, only if it’s the world cup, only then and I won’t watch all the countries and if I miss a game, it’s not the end of the world…but,  I love rugby, won’t miss one single world cup game and when I’m in SA, the Blue Bulls are my favourite… when I was a student…it was WP!!! (think it might still be…hmmm…wonder..) WP stands for Western Province…or just…”PRO….VINCE!”… anyway… this football thingy is just one too much (in London.. I’m not in SA)…. ask any boy from the age of 8 what he wants to be one day…and the answer comes… “I wanna be a footballer”… ok, nothing “wrong” with it… but, hey…there is more in life than to mess up your education and think…hey, I’m gonna be a footballer and will pocket zillions of pounds… many boys in secondary schools…don’t really take education seriously as they think..”football” is waiting…they don’t care about their own education because all that matters…is football. At some stage somebody should wake them up! There’s more in life than that…stop dreaming, you’re not all good enough, you should realise at a certain age that you are not good enough to be the “golden boy” and should focus on your education instead…but no, they still believe in that “football dream” even though they are 16 and not even in the school’s football team! Read in this next article about David Beckham…if you read the  sentence… then you know why so many boys have a “don’t care” attitude..because David Beckham wasn’t good at school (if you read the article, that’s what they say), so why would they care to be “good”… if you take rugby players…well, when I say this, I can only say it by thinking about the Springbok-team… they are all qualified and settled in a career of their own, they are people you can look up to, they are not just “rugby players”, fullstop..they are more than just that…some of them are doctors! teachers…attorneys…Bryan Habana studied at the Rand Afrikaans University…Percy Montgomery studied at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology…Victor Mattfield…Pretoria University…etc etc.. this is only three of our players…for more CLICK HERE …and I’m quite sure this is the case about rugby players from other countries too.

One biographer laments: “He hasn’t said an interesting sentence in his life.” Beckham, a banal genius, became a vehicle for debating Britain’s dumbing-down.
Read entire article HERE …..

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Two frogs

“Two Frogs” is a fantastic book. I want to share this book today and by doing this, do my “good deed” for today! I love books, even more, children’s books! I’m slowly busy building up a library! I used this book with great success during Philosophy lessons… Firstly, the pictures in this book…just look how stunning! Doesn’t it convey a lot, only by looking at it! That’s why children’s books fascinate me, you get outstanding illustrations and lifelong messages. This book is definitely one of those which you would buy and have different uses for, when teaching. I’m going to copy a few lines from the book…and the images support the text just brilliantly!

—Once there were two frogs sitting on a lily pad in the middle of a large pond. One of the frogs was holding a stick. “What’s that for?” asked the other frog. “For protection,” said the frog with the stick. “This stick is to beat off the dog.”
“What dog?” said the other frog, quickly looking over his shoulder. “I can’t see a dog. There is no dog!” “Not now there isn’t, not at this moment,” replied the frog with the stick. “But what if a dog should come swimming across the pond and try to eat us up? Better be safe than sorry.” The other frog was puzzled. “But no dogs ever come swimming in the pond,” he protested. “At least I’ve never seen one. In fact I can’t even remember seeing one on the edge of the pond. And why would a dog want to come swimming in the pond anyway? They’re not so fond of swimming as us frogs, you know.”

Now, by looking at the pics, you can imagine what happened…I put questions forward to 9 year old children e.g. Should we always be prepared? Should we always think about all the “what ifs”? Is it ridiculous thinking the worst might happen? Why would you want to be prepared for the worst? What do you need to be well prepared? What do you see as “the worst”? How else can we prepare us for the “worst”? This book lends itself to numerous questions and at least an hour’s discussion with children. One of the “what ifs” in this book really happened at the end! That was the dog…but the frogs were already gone and not there to see the dog…

If you want to leave your point of view about these questions, it would be well received!

Image: frogsonice
Please click HERE to read a story about two frogs..do enjoy

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Bosfontein Primary School

This is the school which my grandpa founded. The original school is actually about 2 km down on the road. It was really my first time visiting the school though I always wanted to! On the 2nd picture is the original 2 classes before they extended the school. My granddad was Head at this school. There are about 5 or more new classes – you can’t see them on the picture, but they are at the back. It’s a pity we visited it on a Saturday, because I would have liked to see the inside of the building as I have been told that there are pictures of my Grandpa in the school’s office and foyer. I will have to go back one day to see those pictures!  My grandpa left Holland as a young teacher to teach in South Africa. He started teaching in his own home first. I have a picture of the children he was teaching on a veranda of his house. My mum used to tell us that he was a very caring person and if he could, he would have built schools for the whole nation. His one son, my uncle, became the Education and Culture Minister in the 1960s till the late 1970s. You can google him: J J P Op’t Hof. He lived in Cape Town all his life. My grandma on my dad’s side was also a teacher.

The word: bosfontein — if you break it up, it’s bos..in English=bush/shrub and fontein=fountain

This is an Afrikaans news-article found on the Internet about the school – a very positive article.

‘n Berig raakgelees op die Internet oor die skool: [Link na die einde van die berig]

Goudstad hét warm hart, toon Bosfontein Ná brief sorg Johannesburgers vir feesjaar.
Jacobus Mokoena wys sy sertifikaat en geskenk wat hy by die akademiese afsluiting van die Laerskool Bosfontein naby Lydenburg ontvang het. Personeel van die skool: mev. Sylvia Mokoena, onderwyser; mnr. Obed Modisha, onderwyser wat einde vanjaar uitgetree het; me. Christa Muller, waarnemende skoolhoof; me. Hanlie Bette, onderwyser; en mev. Anna en mnr. Johannes Mokoena, faktotum en administratiewe werkers.
‘n Besondere band het vanjaar ontstaan tussen ‘n klein plaasskool tussen die groen Hoëveldse heuwels naby Lydenburg in Mpumalanga en ‘n gemeenskap in Johannesburg. Deon Sonnekus berig.

`Ek is ‘n junior primêre on derwyser, ek hou vir 30 agtergeblewenes skool. Terug hok toe is vir my soos ‘n berg.

“Ek wil graag onderrig van gehalte bied, maar hoe gemaak as die ouer so arm is dat skoolgeld van R15 per maand te veel gevra is?

“Ek het die afgelope twee jaar my eie benodigdhede net die nodigste gekoop. Nou is die strop te styf met al die pryse wat styg. Is daar nie iemand of ‘n instansie wat begrip sal hê vir die behoefte van ‘n arm kind wat nie gevra het om hier te wees nie?

“Ek sal graag die nodige inligting gee aan iemand wat begrip het vir my situasie.

“Help tog, asseblief.”

Dít was die pleidooi van me. Hanlie Bette, onderwyser aan die Laerskool Bosfontein, in Beeld se briewekolom vroeg vanjaar. Sy en me. Christa Muller, waarnemende skoolhoof, het vanjaar saam met mnr. Obed Modisha en mev. Sylvia Mokoena vir die 89 kinders in die skool, die meeste uit plaaswerkergesinne, skoolgehou.

Die brief het die aandag getrek van die ouers van leerders in die Leicester Road School in Kensington, Johannesburg. Die pleidooi is ook onder die aandag van die Johannesburg-Noord/Andrew Murray-gemeente van die NG Kerk gebring. Dit het gelei tot ‘n insameling van onder meer gebruikte skooltasse, penneblikkies, inkleurpotlode en ander skryfgoed en skoolklere.

Kort daarna is mnr. Ivan en mev. Michelle Basson, ouers van kinders in Leicester Road School, met ‘n kombi vol skooltasse, klere en ander benodigdhede na Mpumalanga om die Laerskool Bosfontein te help toerus vir ‘n skooljaar waarin hy met ‘n kwart van die vorige jaar se begroting van die provinsiale onderwysdepartement moes klaarkom.

“Bring vir ons jul weggooigoed,” was die versoek. “Die ou penne as jy vir jou kind nuwes koop, die ou tas, kryte, penneblik dit wat in die stad weggooigoed is, is seldsame hulpbronne by ‘n skool soos Bosfontein en honderde ander soortgelyke skole in die land waar dit selfs moeiliker gaan.

“Ons wou juis nie geld vra nie ons almal weet hoe ons sukkel met al die eise van buitemuurse bedrywighede die meeste van hierdie buurt se mense kom net-net deur,” sê Muller.

Die ouers het saamgespeel en een kleinerige skool in ‘n laer- tot middelklaswoonbuurt en een kerk het genoeg bymekaargemaak om die Bosfonteiners elk met hul eie penneblik met kryte, penne en potlode toe te rus.

Ná die tweede bymekaarmaaksessie het elke Bosfonteiner ‘n paar skoene gehad en nie net een nie, maar ‘n hele paar truie. Die winterinsameling het minstens 500 truie en 200 langbroeke opgelewer. Outjies wat winter en somer kaalvoet moes skool toe die bytende Hoëveldse koue ten spyt loop nou soontoe met ‘n nuwe wip in hul stap. Die bywoningsyfer het sommer ook die hoogte ingeskiet.

Maar dit was nie bloot net ‘n uitdelery nie. Die kinders moes ‘n skooltas byvoorbeeld “verdien” deur sekere take te verrig, onder meer in die skool se groentetuin. Kort voor lank het elkeen in die skool ‘n behoorlike sak vir sy of haar boeke gehad. Voorheen het hulle inkopiesakkies van plastiek gebruik.

Baie van die ouers kan nie die skoolgeld, wat R15 per maand beloop, bekostig nie. Een van die maniere waarop skenkers gehelp het, was deur bloot een kind se skoolgeld vir die jaar te betaal. Ouers wat in Johannesburg R450 skoolgeld per maand betaal, het besef hoe relatief min dit kos om ‘n Bosfontein-kind vir ‘n jaar op die skoolbanke te hou.

Muller sê in 2000 het sy nog ‘n begroting van net meer as R11 000 gehad. Vir verlede jaar het dit gekrimp tot net meer as R3 000.

Water en elektrisiteit vir die skool kos reeds sowat R800 per maand, en die telefoonrekening is hier by die R300. Daarby moet fotostaatpapier en ander uitgawes nog betaal word.

“Ons is geseën met skenkings wat ons ontvang het,” sê Muller op die vraag hoe die tekort verhaal word. Die ander oplossing was om hulp te vra, soos in die brief.

Maar hulp en betrokkenheid by Bosfontein het nie net by die insameling van skoolboeke, tasse en hulpmiddels gebly nie. Op die jaar se afskeidsgeselligheid het die kinders gekyk na ‘n video van een van hul hoogtepunte van die jaar ‘n besoek in Augustus aan Johannesburg, en spesifiek die Leicester Road School. Hulle is ook dieretuin toe en het ‘n gratis rolprentvertoning in ‘n Ster-Kinekor-teater bygewoon. Die SAUK was by om die geleentheid vir ‘n nuusinsetsel te verfilm vandaar die video wat vir die skool saamgestel is.

“Die Johannesburg-besoek het ‘n geweldige invloed op die kinders gehad. Dit het hul oë oopgemaak vir die wêreld daarbuite. Nou weet hulle waarna ‘n mens verwys, of wat hulle in boeke sien of daarin lees,” sê Muller.

“Dit help ook om hulle te laat besef hoekom hulle skoolgaan en ‘n opvoeding kry. Nie baie van hulle gaan soos hul ouers op die plase bly werk nie.”

Volgens Modisha, wat einde vanjaar ná ‘n onderwysloopbaan van 28 jaar afgetree het, maak dit hul onderwystaak ook makliker omdat die kinders se verwysingsraamwerk skielik soveel groter is.

Dit was Modisha wat by die afsluiting van die jaar aan elke kind ‘n sertifikaat oorhandig het. In elkeen is gesoek na ‘n karaktereienskap wat uitstaan. Só het party leerders vir vrygewigheid ‘n sertifikaat gekry, ander vir toegewydheid, verantwoordelikheid, vasberadenheid of oplettendheid, en sommige bloot omdat hulle “altyd beskikbaar” was.

Die akademiese uitblinkers is ook vereer met wisseltrofeë, en verskeie het pryse vir gereelde skoolbywoning gekry. Daarna is geskenke uitgedeel wat gebring is van die gemeenskap in Johannesburg wat dié skool aangeneem het, en die partytjie het begin.

Met die terugry stad toe tussen die groen bulte en heuwels deur het die kinders ná hul laaste skooldag huis toe getou met hul geskenke en pryse in die hand, en plek-plek het ‘n string seepborrels die lug ingesweef deel van ‘n geskenkpakkie wat wys daar ís mense wat omgee en wil help

Die Leicester Road-ouers was verwonderd oor hoeveel verskil hul klein poging gemaak het. “In die stad het ons nie ‘n idee van hoe arm die kinders regtig is nie,” sê Basson. “Ons dink armoede is ‘n ou tas en stukkende skoene . . . ons besef nie daar is gemeenskappe waar dít nie eens beskikbaar is nie. Maar nóg belangriker was die idee vir hierdie arm kinders dat iemand genoeg omgee om te wil help: hul horisonne is wyd, wyd gemaak.”

http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2001/12/22/8/1.html

This is from a Facebook group: Laerskool Bosfontein. These children were in Grade 3 and Grade 4 in 1980.

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Children’s art in the style of Paul Klee

Paul Klee said..”A line is a dot that went for a walk”…and this was just me being silly!

Paul Klee Art
Enjoy the art of Y5/6 children in the style of Paul Klee. We looked at different pieces of Art completed by Paul Klee and discussed it,  then tried our own ideas in the style of Klee.

See moreHERE of Paul Klee’s work.

PAUL KLEE

• Occupation: Artist
• Born: December 18, 1879
• Place of birth: Münchenbuchsee (near Bern), Switzerland
• Date of death: June 29, 1940
• Place of death: Muralto, Switzerland
• Paul Klee is ranked as one of the most original masters of contemporary art. He was born in Bern, Switzerland and lived for many years in Germany. He was one of the instructors at the Bauhaus. In 1931 he began teaching at Dusseldorf Academy, but he was dismissed by the Nazis, who termed his work “degenerate.”In 1933, Klee went back to his native Switzerland. He died on June 29, 1940.

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

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An African Tale

The Lion and the Snake

The lion and the snake were fighting. The snake escaped the lion’s claws before the lion could kill it, and fled to the man’s house. The snake begged the man to hide it because the lion was pursuing it. The man hid the snake in his cupboard and the lion never found it, although he searched the house.When the lion had gone, the snake took his leave from the man, saying, “How are good deeds rewarded?” The man said, “Normally good deeds are rewarded with money, but since you have no money, you may give me an animal as soon as you have been successful at hunting.” The snake said, “But do you not know that snakes reward good with evil? I am going to devour you, man!” The man said, “No, no, that isn’t fair. We men always reward good with gratitude and useful goods. Let’s ask the bee first.” The bee said, “I never get any gratitude. Man just takes my honey after having smoked me out of my own house.” The man said, “Let’s ask the mango tree.” The mango tree said, “I never receive thanks. Man takes my fruits, and when I bear no more, he cuts me down and throws me into his fire.” The man said, “Let’s ask the coconut palm.” The coconut palm said, “It is true, good is rewarded with evil. Man takes my nuts, taps my sap, and to cap it all off, he cuts off my leaves for his roof.”The snake said to the man, “You see, now I will eat you.” The man said, “Wait until I have said goodbye to my wife.” The snake agreed and they went to the man’s house. The man said, “Dear wife, the snake is going to eat me, goodbye!” The wife said, “Surely, Mr. Snake, you would like some eggs as a hors d’ouevre?” She took a bag of eggs and held it open for the snake. The snake put in his head to take an egg. The woman pulled the string tight and so caught the snake with its head in the bag. Then she took a knife and cut its throat, saving her husband’s life. But the husband divorced her, for men reward the good women do them with evil.

Image: robartgallery.com

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

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