August 31 st to September 4 th 2013 was a busy busy busy time at Crayons Count with packing and distribution. The National Baking Company not only donated $50 million dollars towards the purchase of the tools but also packed and distributed 3000 kits to basic schools island wide; that is approximately 2700 basic schools and 130,000 children. Can you say Wow? Thank you National!

At the Crayons Count Packing Station at the National Baking Company. Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson right in the thick of packing.

Want to know more about Packing and Distribution 2013? See our blog post here and our Facebook album here.

Check us out!

September has seen the start of a brand new type of event. Crayons Count has been taking it island wide. What is it? The Crayons Count Teacher Training School tour rolled out Tuesday, September, 17 at St. Boniface ECDC and Thursday, September, 19 at Joy Town Learning Academy. Titled ‘Teachers, Tots and Tools, the tour will be all island and has started in Kingston and St Andrew. The tour involves the Learning Lorry travelling to various basics schools where teachers are given the opportunity to be a part of a teaching session using the Crayons Count tools and gain valuable insight into how to plan and carry out lessons.

Want to know even more about the learning lorry and teacher training? Read all about it in our blog post- Taking It Island-Wide: Crayons Count Teacher Training Tour

 

2014  burst unto to the scene and Crayons Count welcomed another year rallying for the early childhood cause.  January saw Crayons Count receiving a very special surprise: a ‘Thank You’ banner done by all the students at Bethel Baptist Basic. The teachers were so thankful for the learning tools AND the teacher training inside the Learning Lorry, that they wished to thank us in a BIG way. We just had to visit them and collect our gorgeous banner.

We scarcely had time to breathe before we were off on another adventure. To celebrate March as Literacy Month, Crayon Count in partnership with the Rotary Club of Kingston organized and had five amazing reading sessions with basic schools in the parishes of Kingston & St Andrew. The Rotarians were out in the number as every reading session brought out a new set of Rotarians who were just as excited as the students to read and listen.

Chosen by random selection,the basic schools had children who were bright, attentive and eager. In one session, students were shouting out, “Uncle Steve, Uncle Steve. read another book”. In another, one Rotarian received a shy kiss on the cheek as ‘thanks’ for the great story. See the highlights of each session below and check out each album on Facebook.

One more book please…

Rotary Club of Kingston & Crayons Count Celebrate Literacy Month- Session 1

Reading Session 2! The Rotary Club of Kingston & Crayons Count

Reading Session 3! The Rotary Club of Kingston & Crayons Count

Reading Session 4! The Rotary Club of Kingston & Crayons Count

Reading Session 5! The Rotary Club of Kingston & Crayons Count

Sunrise Early Childhood Development Centre was the place to be on May 6 as even more Rotarians volunteered to read in celebrating of ‘Read Across Jamaica Day’. See photos here

However, we had another great big surprise for the children. A new song! Do Good Jamaica created a brand new song on manners titled, “Jamaican Mannaz”. A catchy and helpful little tune ,”Jamaican Mannaz” feat. Giomar Mitchell, Jana Bent and Selah Channell helps everyone; both young and old to be mindful of their manners and courteous to others everyday and in every way.

Listen to the song here on SoundCloud, ” Jamaican Mannaz”  feat. Giomar Mitchell, Jana Bent and Selah Channell

Crayons Count Read Across Jamaica Day 2014 was the perfect setting to play our song for the very first time. The children loved it! if you don’t believe us, check out a special video below to see how happy everyone was.

Jamaican Mannaz at Read Across Jamaica Day 2014

We continued to celebrate the month with a lively Children’s Day event in the learning lorry at Port Maria Infant. It was slightly overcast outside but inside the lorry, only smiles were seen. Everyone got into the fun, even the principal! Each child received crayons, a snack and a Saturday Gleaner page to take home.

For more photos, check out Children’s Day 2014 – Crayons Count & Port Maria

Child’s Month was not over just yet. Crayons Count was invited to wonderful Boys’ & Girls’ Day at Naggo Head Infant. With the help of great volunteers from Loving Arms Jamaica, we had the best day. We stacked blocks to create houses and built towers made out of pegs that touched the roof.  Each child received crayons, a snack and a Saturday Gleaner page to take home.  Can you say #BestDayEver?

Here’s our album with all the photos from that magical day – Naggo Head Welcomes Crayons Count

Crayons Count Summer School 2014 was in full effect as the team travelled to two basic schools in Kingston to spread the fun from July 7- July 24, 2014. The program focused on using the donated learning tools from our learning kits to emphasize concepts in the curriculum that addressed building social skills, such as manners and cooperation. Central Academy and Central Branch Infant was home base for the Learning Lorry every morning as a team of volunteers worked closely with children on developing hands-on skills and reinforcing concepts by way of fun, creative activities.

Find out even more on our blog and our blog post- Summer Time Fun Crayons Count Summer School 2014

What a great way to end another year. We were sad to see one year good but we had so much in store to come.