CareUp

CareUp has been developed to assist parents, teachers and other primary caregivers in laying quality early literacy foundations. While competent reading generally begins at the age of 7 or 8 it is important to help provide them literacy building blocks between the ages of 3 and 5. The content has been developed specifically to help with this process, providing easy examples of fun activities. The app makes use of images and sound clips in order to explain certain concepts and ensure that even parents who struggle to read are able to engage with the content. CareUp reminds us that learning happens best through play, and includes tips for inexpensive games to make. There are creative ideas to support early learning through everyday activities including tips on how to encourage drawing and their first writing attempts. There are even fun ideas for introducing early maths! The app is available in English, isiXhosa, isiZulu and Afrikaans. On a Mondays you'll receive an Inspirational message to motivate you. We all learn best when we feel supported! From Tuesday to Friday you will receive a notification which will take you to an activity. We also include information about why these activities are important for learning and language development. Some activities include short instructional videos and you will also have the option to read Nal’ibali and Bookdash stories, rhymes and songs. You will be able to track your progress and see how many messages you have read. The app was developed by The Reach Trust, with content from The Learning Initiative and Wordworks’ Every Word Counts programme and stories from Nal’ibali and Bookdash. The development of the app was funded by Innovation Edge and the Western Cape Department of Social Development.