Children’s author brings reading and yoga to Carlswald House Preparatory School
With reading culture slowly dying, Carlswald author Carla De Gouveia is doing her bit to bring about change, especially when it comes to the youth.
Following the publication of her four-book series, author and yoga instructor Carla De Gouveia visited Carlswald House Preparatory School.
The visit, on March 20 in honour of World Storytelling Day, was to captivate the young learners’ minds with a reading and yoga session.
Reading plays a fundamental role in a child’s development and when children are exposed to stories early in life it strengthens their language skills. It also expands vocabulary and improves comprehension.
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De Gouveia explains why she thinks it is important for children to develop a love for reading and storytelling at a young age.
“Stories stimulate imagination and creativity, and when a child listens to a story, they are actively creating pictures in their mind, which strengthens cognitive development in a way that passive screen consumption does not.
Beyond academic development, storytelling also nurtures emotional intelligence. Children learn about empathy, relationships, and different perspectives through characters and narratives.”
The books are written and published as a series that centres around Puff, a little dandelion who lives in a meadow. He and his different animal friends learn important life lessons by watching, listening, and paying attention.
De Gouveia says the stories of Puff and his friends gently introduce children to emotional awareness and positive ways of relating to others. Through a story, they can explore kindness, forgiveness and courage without feeling like they’re being lectured. She also explained why she includes yoga activities in her books for each story.
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“Yoga was actually the starting point for the books, so including it in the stories felt very natural.
Each book includes a short yoga sequence connected to the story, along with a QR code and YouTube link that takes children to a guided class. Children can follow along with the guided yoga class and, in so doing, experience the theme of the book through movement and breath.”
The author has been doing these readings in different schools around Midrand to help teachers improve learners’ behaviours and development.
“During the readings I’ve done so far, the learners have been very responsive and enthusiastic.
It’s always rewarding to see how quickly children connect with characters and messages when they are presented through storytelling.”
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