Two initiatives targeting young children were announced simultaneously this week.
Bayard Afrique is offering two major innovations in its range of products for young children to coincide with the start of the school year:
– A new format for "Planète J'aime Lire," aimed at children aged 5 to 10 The new "Planète J'aime Lire" is larger—the size of an A5 school notebook—but retains its core features, each month a long story with comprehension questions, games to develop observation and calculation skills, a poem to memorize, and a vocabulary section in an African language.
– And the launch of a new magazine, "Mes Premiers Planète j'aime lire," designed for toddlers aged 1 to 5.
"Mes Premiers Planète j'aime lire" is a quarterly magazine designed for children aged 1 to 5. Built around the parent-child bond, it contains a story accompanied by a "little lesson," games, nursery rhymes, and picture books to develop vocabulary and concentration, as well as other discoveries. Mes Premiers Planète j'aime lire and Planète J'aime Lire are designed, produced, and printed in Ivory Coast, as are the audio versions of the stories, which are available free of charge on the website www.planetemag.com.
For its part, EDITIS has announced the launch, in conjunction with the CANAL+ group, of Nathan TV, the first French-language educational channel in French-speaking Africa.
Nathan TV combines the expertise and know-how of Nathan Publishing, a specialist in educational and extracurricular publishing within the Editis Group, and CANAL+.
Aimed at students in grades 2 through 5—that is, children aged 7 to 10—Nathan TV offers daily French and math lessons lasting 13 or 26 minutes, in line with the school curriculum for each grade level. Exclusively created and produced by Nathan TV, these lessons, presented and explained by a teacher, are an extension of those given at school to help children learn, revise, or consolidate what they have learned.
Programs and animated series focusing on science, discovery, openness to the world, and creative leisure activities complete the channel's programming schedule.
Throughout the year, Nathan TV also adapts to the school calendar with learning periods, revision sessions before end-of-term exams, and preparation for the new school year during July and August.
Starting September 30, Nathan TV will be available to CANAL+ Afrique subscribers, and their children will be able to enjoy this educational channel, which is unique in the African audiovisual landscape.
All French and math lessons and other programs will be available after broadcast on the myCanal platform.