by Gabriel Mashabela -Senior Librarian Noordgesig Library
City of Johannesburg libraries, during school holidays, organize and implement holiday programs for children to partake in and keep them busy by engaging them in fun-filled, creative, and educational library-activities. These holiday programs are provided in line with the strategic objective of city libraries; “To provide access and exposure so that a culture of reading and learning is promoted”.
During the 2023 Easter school holidays (30 March 2023- 10 April 2023), Noordgesig Library organized and implemented fun-filled, jam-packed, and educational activities for children to engage and participate in. The programs ranged from digital reading, scavenger hunts, coding, and the ultimate Easter egg treasure hunt and Easter activities. World book online activities and games were part of this year’s holiday programs.
World book online activities and games are the newcomers in the Noordgesig library holiday programs activities. World Book is a world-renowned publisher of reference materials and digital learning platforms as well as children’s series books. It is a reliable source of information in terms of reference resources and materials; for example, the World book encyclopedia. Noordgesig library senior librarian; (after attending a training conducted by the World Book South Africa, identified an enormous opportunity to familiarize children with this gigantic source of information and reference materials by identifying, adopting, and implementing several activities to keep children of all ages more engaged and indulged in authoritative educational activities provided by world book.
These activities consisted of online crossword puzzles, matching and sorting activities, treasure hunts, and online puzzles. Some activities included cross-referencing and directed the participants to conduct research and read more on the World book online about certain activities and certain historical sites or buildings such as the John F Kennedy Library, East Building National Gallery of Art, etc. Gamification was a key element at Noordgesig Library during the world book online educational activities which familiarized children with the website and how to retrieve information from the world book database.
The highlight of 2023 Noordgesig Library school holidays programs was the Easter Egg Treasure Hunt which is held annually. The Easter Egg Treasure Hunt as a “closing with a kick” event exceeded expectations!! The program appealed to children of all ages, and the increase in a number of children and the demand for the activity led to the event lasting the whole day to include children lining up outside the library excited and optimistic about their turn to participate in the event. The Easter treasure hunt activitiy attracted more than three-hundred (300) beneficiaries. A record breaker, in terms of attendance of a single program in one day in the history books of the “newly revamped Noordgesig library, since 2021”
This record-breaking attendance serves as a testimony that CoJ libraries holiday programs indeed keep children busy and engaged during school holidays in a safe and secure environment. Therefore, learning continues even during school holidays @ your CoJ libraries!! Holiday programs provide a perfect opportunity to introduce new fun-filled activities in libraries. Until then, cheers!!
#Holiday programs @ your CoJ library, #Noordgesig library holiday programs, #Fun-filled learning @ your library.