The Siyaphakama team participated in a painted games initiative to increase opportunities for physical activity at the participating Siyaphakama schools. The KaziBantu team and Siyaphakama coaches worked together to paint activity circuits and other games like four-square and hopscotch. Seeing a child’s imaginative play come to life on the playground, makes the games even more exciting and reminds them that the playground is a safe place where they can be themselves, have fun, and enjoy their time freely.
We recently visited one of the schools where we had painted the playground games, one of the learners ran up to us and asked if we had painted the games for them when we said yes, the learner hugged us and responded by saying ‘Thank You’ with a big beaming smile on her face and she skipped away to continue her playing. The playground is seen as an extension of the classroom since it may be used to enhance the child’s learning and development. This is largely due to the imaginative usage of games painted on the playground. Painted games and activity circuits on the playground are also excellent ways to make break time more active and fun, allowing children opportunities to play and participate in physical activities with little to no equipment needed. These painted games are also an effective way to improve skills such as hand-eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills and spacial awareness while creating opportunities for social learning.
New activity circuit at Emsengeni Primary School (Photo: KaziBantu 2023).
