About Us
Our Mission
To enhance and enrich the lives of children in Early Childhood Development and After School Care centres by providing their teachers with interactive programmes and training. Also to provide programmes for parents to stimulate their children at home.
Who We Are
Leef & Leef is a non-profit organisation equipping teachers with the skills, knowledge and values they need to ensure that children of South Africa receive quality care and education.
The organisation was established by qualified teachers, Magdél Botha and Mariet Lambrechts, in 2010. It is founded on their belief that early childhood is the most crucial stage in human development, not only for physical health, but also for cognitive and social-emotional development.
Leer & Leef work with a wide range of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and After School Care (ASC) centres, the majority of which are in disadvantaged communities. Child care centres often lack a structured programme to fully stimulate each child and promote all the development phases they go through. Leer & Leef assist by training teachers to ensure that they have the skills, knowledge and resources needed to give a child a good foundation in their early years.
In conjunction with their training courses, Leer & Leef offer a wide range of interactive programmes that are easy to implement in ECD and ASC centres. Programmes are designed for:
- Babies (0-18 months)
- Toddlers (18 months – 3 years)
- Preschoolars (3 – 5 years)
- After School Care (Grade R – Grade 7)
- Recipe book for chefs
All programmes have been written with the expertise of an occupational therapist and are registered at the Department of Social Development.
All of these programmes are also perfect for parents and nannies to stimulate their children at home.
Who benefits from the work we do?
The work we do impacts the community on different levels. We have a direct impact on the children and teachers we work with, but also an indirect impact on their families and wider community.
Preschool children who follow our ECD programme are better prepared for school as they have been stimulated and developed holistically as a result. They are more accustomed to routine and discipline and tend to be more confident.
An Occupational Therapist, Chantel Griesel, has lately done studies on school going children that used Leer & Leef programmes in their early years, against other children that didn’t. This was one of her remarks: “It is evident within practice that the Leer & Leef programmes are making significant and sustainable differences in the growth and development of our children, building a sound foundation for learning.”
School going children benefit from our ASC programme which promotes a fun, safe learning environment in which they can develop. Our programme is recreation based, incorporates homework activities and teacher’s children values and life skills. It aims to give children extra support and learning material to maximise their learning potential. Furthermore, the programme gives children room for creativity and the opportunity to explore their hobbies and interests.
In our training we give teachers clear guidance and set out activities for each day, making it easier for the teacher to implement. Leer & Leef also strive to uplift teachers and so that they too can unlock their potential and arrive at their school each morning with enthusiasm, knowledge, commitment and a positive attitude.
Our programmes are also designed to take some pressures off the family and encourage children to bring positive behavior to the household. Furthermore we encourage parents to become more involved in the lives and stimulation aspect of their children.
In the bigger picture, children achieving better at school will have a better future, bring more skills to the South African workforce and ultimately this has a positive impact on the economy and South Africa as a whole.