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Preschool education has many benefits for the child.
It is conducive to his/her self-development from the physical,
expressive, emotional and motor point of view. It also allows
the child caretaker to supervise its development in all areas
and to meet his/her health and nutritional needs. Just as it allows
to prepare the child to enter primary education with the best
chances for success.
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In order to reach these objectives, preschool education
should be under lied by the use of games and toys. Indeed, games
and toys considerably facilitate child's learning They are indispensable
to the education of any child if it should be quality education
adapted to his/her its harmonious development.
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We are obliged to note that in many African countries,
the reception structures for the young child lack educational
materials. This in turn affects the quality of learning given
in these structures.
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It is to make up for this lack of educational materials
that within the framework of its activities for the 2002-2003
bienum, BREDA organized in cooperation with UNICEF, the Ministry
of state in charge of Preschool and the "Case des Tout-Petits"
reporting to the Ministry of Education, this sub regional workshop.
It was to train preschool education specialists in the production
of educational materials based on local materials and salvaged
objects.
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The objectives of the workshop which brought together
23 early childhood education specialists from Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau,
Guinea-Conakry and Senegal were:
- to strengthen participants' capacities in educational game
design and production techniques;
- to allow the development of puppet design production and manipulation
for child targeted entertainment.
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For two weeks, participants were requested to design,
produce educational games and puppets as well as organize shows
for children. They succeed in developing original games which
were exhibited at the closing ceremony. They also created puppet
figures which were used for demonstration in sensitisation sketches
on various themes.
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The workshop enabled participants to develop skills
that will allow them to have the educational materials they need
at lower costs. Back in their respective countries and areas of
operation, they will share their skills with their peers. This
is the beginning of solution to the material related problems
our countries are facing.
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The main achievements of the workshop as well as
adopted approaches are contained in a technical report that will
be soon available.
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