Kids Activities

South Africa has a long winter school holiday over July, when the harshest, cold weather is usually at its peak.  With SA’s third wave of the pandemic on the rise and more lockdown restrictions, families are mostly planning to batten down the hatches at home.  That’s going to be a …

Practical life activities that are taken seriously and are introduced as impactful and approachable challenges, can be inherently meaningful and educational. It is not simply learning how to get dressed or peeling some fruit. The child learns how to follow a multifaceted motor sequence, independently, for him to fulfil his …

Though the most recent Holiday season is now a thing of the past, there is no stopping you from already looking forward to – and getting excited about – next year’s holidays. After all, there are few times like the holidays, when families come together and get to celebrate their …

Children tend to be full; of energy and often struggle with direction. While it’s true that some kids discover their passion young in life, many don’t. This leads to parents needing and wanting to find the activities that will be beneficial and create potential opportunities for them in the future.  …

The past year has challenged parents in many ways including finding endless at-home activities to keep kids entertained while ensuring they continue to learn and develop outside of a traditional classroom environment. Fostering creativity, being able to think out of the box, brainstorming, generating new ideas and improving on existing …

It doesn’t take long for a toy to become super popular and get adults interested. It happened with skateboards in the 60s and 70s. Everyone watched Tony Hawk on TV breaking records and doing amazing things, even though he was just a teenager.   After that, more and more adults started …

Lawyer turned author Karen Theunissen will grace the screen on Books Beyond Words this weekend reading from her first book, ‘I Have Brown Skin and Curly Hair’. The rhyming picture book is about the identity crises many children face when they look different from their family members. The book takes …

It has been over four months since we entered a lockdown during which, schools reopened and closed again due to the outbreak of coronavirus. It is during this time as well, that children have had to adjust to a new normal of online learning, social distancing and movement limited by …

Reading Matters, a leading distributor and supplier of educational books and resources in South Africa, is pleased to announce the addition of a wonderful collection of YouTube video stories for young learners, on their website! Established in 1997, Reading Matters has worked tirelessly at promoting language and literacy in South …

It’s been over 100 days since the coronavirus outbreak forced South Africans into a lockdown. A truly global event, it sent a third of the world’s population indoors, many working from home and nowhere to go. It is the arts and the stories that they turned to for comfort, entertainment …

Books Beyond Words, the weekly event hosted by South Africa’s annual reading awareness week, National Book Week (NBW), dedicated to encouraging leisure reading and promoting the importance of books, clocks 300 minutes of story magic, mischief and memories this weekend. NBW has been inviting storytellers every weekend since the lockdown …

The ancient art of storytelling, muted in the preceding years of the pandemic is seeing a revival in living rooms as families take shelter to escape the scourge of the coronavirus. Notwithstanding the provincial borders which remain sealed to contain the virus, every weekend at 11:00am they are dissolved as …

Creative “all-rounders” Craig Urbani and Thembile Tshuma are bringing their voices and virtuosity to online storytelling this weekend. Retelling stories about hope, South Africa’s celebrated artists have been doing their bit on National Book Week’s Books Beyond Words platform to uplift the moods of both children and parents amidst the global …

With an intense cold front expected to hit many parts of the country this weekend and lockdown rules still preventing children from visiting grandparents for hearty hugs, National Book Week’s Books Beyond Words is excited to once again present Margaret Auerbach of Spellbound Puppets who returns this weekend with another …

The coronavirus has irrevocably changed how we live our lives. From baby showers to get togethers, the global pandemic has reduced our social life to streaming events revealing the unique nature of this crisis which has forced people indoors and feeling lonely. To beat the stress of keeping children entertained …

Who doesn’t love puppets? It definitely seems that the cherubic Books Beyond Words community clearly did not have enough. Back by popular demand, Shmeezle, will once again grace Books Beyond Words online storytelling event this weekend to help parents and children welcome the easing of some restrictions. Last week, the adorable …

 All the world’s a stage, said the famous bard William Shakespeare. But what do you do when the lockdown shrinks it to the size of your living room? After introducing South Africans to Khoisan history, heritage and folklore with a Nama story last weekend, National Book Week’s Books Beyond Words …

If you want to explore the health benefits for children that only cycling can bring, you’ve certainly come to the right place. To make things nice and easy for you to get started, we’re going to talk you through a fast, effective and simple way to get your child cycling. …

Summer holidays have arrived. For many, that means that it’s time to choose some summer activities or summer clubs for their children. While extra summer activities can be excellent opportunities for children to improve themselves, learn new skills, and find their passions, these extra activities can also be expensive. It’s …