Counting Sheep!

Press release

The mural was designed by ECD (early childhood development) expert and international artist, Cassy Healey, ( that's me!) to help the staff teach counting and colour mixing. “With 50% of ECD centres in KZN battling for equipment & 42% needing urgent maintenance, painting educational murals like this one, is really a brilliant solution!” says Mrs Zulu, the president of the South African Congress for early childhood development, who also owns the pre school centre. According to scientists, the first 1000 days are the most important days of your life- if you don't receive the necessary stimulation during this time then your brain will not develop properly, intact the cells will actually waste away and nothing you can do afterwards will ever bring them back!

Cassy, who runs the charity Stimulating Solutions says " Every child should be exposed to the stimulation necessary to form their brains correctly-and every child could be- it's not rocket science! It's easy, daily stimulation of all 7 senses! yes, that's right7. I know, I know I thought there were only 5 too, but the other two- vestibular and proprioception are also needed if a child is to grow to reach their full potential.

Cassy, who is clearly passionate about her work said “ Nothing beats seeing the joy on children’s faces when they see the pictures- and the fact that this will help them develop even more-I just love it!!” Cassy, who paints at least one free mural for every one that she is paid for said “This year I’ve mainly painted hospitals and clinics, but I preschools are my favourite, because the children and staff are always so excited And the impact is potentially enormous!” she explained . “There are over 3167 ECD centres in KZN, my dream is to paint them all!”