“I used to sit quietly and watch. Now I like to play and read with my friends. It makes me feel good when we learn together.”
Eight year old Esterlyn Aba Korsah from Dadwen Spot has been named our Learner of the Month. Her journey shows how a playful, community?run learning space can nurture a child’s mind and heart. When she joined the EduKidz club, she was shy; today, she leads group activities with joy.
Esterlyn’s community does not have many early learning opportunities, so the EduSpots play sessions at Dadwen Spot were her first introduction to playful learning. When Esterlyn first joined the club, she was a shy learner and did not actively participate in club activities. Through EduKidz’s monthly Challenges, local changemakers (Catalyst) are able to support children’s learning by focusing on creating a fun and friendly environment that respects children’s need to explore and discover for themselves.
Over the months, Esterlyn’s curiosity pulled her into the circle. She began to join in phonics games and story?acting, building literacy and social skills at the same time. This opens us to the world, showing that play taps into the whole personality, including the way a child thinks, their emotions, and character, as we saw with Esterlyn.
As she participated in creating friendship trees and cakes using cardboard, read aloud, and participated in Reading Buddy activities in her EduKidz Club, she practised patience, leadership, and empathy. Esterlyn took an active role in helping her peers with colourful semantics during the March challenge, deepening her understanding.
Esterlyn is now one of the strongest readers in the club. She arrives early when they have an EduKidz session, organises materials, and looks out for younger learners. She is “ever ready to help others and ready to learn new things”. Her willingness to lead songs or sound out words has inspired other shy learners to participate. Her parents have noticed her new confidence and often mention how she has become a role model for her siblings and children in the neighborhood.
Monica Turkson, the EduKidz strand lead at the Spot, remarks, “Esterlyn’s transformation has been remarkable. She went from hiding behind others to guiding them through activities. Play has brought out her courage and kindness.”
Esterlyn dreams of becoming a teacher so she can share the joy of learning with more children. She hopes more parents will bring their little ones to the Spot to learn through play. Her story echoes a lesson from early childhood practitioners: when play and learning come together, children gain not only academic skills but resilience and compassion.