Each year starts with the first year group of Early Childhood Education students attending the popular JVK lectures and every year the assignments get more creative. With a dedicated and inspirational lecturer, Mrs Judy van Heerden, it is not surprising that our first year students never cease to impress. This year the students made and presented masks suitable to an ECE classroom. Students need to choose a theme, such as farm animals, wild animals, insects or people and make a set of masks to be used in the classroom. These masks should be age-appropriate, fit young learners’ faces and durable. This module is one that students remember over their entire pre-graduate degree. The reason for this is that Mrs van Heerden encourages creative thinking and instills her passion for early childhood development over to her students in a practical and applicable manner. The lectures are student-centered, hands-on and extremely well-planned. Students are given various assignments that challenge their individual talents and stimulate the creative juices. To see the individual masks, visit the Faculty of Education library.