AUNTIE...I LOVE THE SMELL OF BOOKS!

I want to be a pilot!

We all have those little ambitious siblings, nephews, nieces; children…name them, who will often bombard you with their dreams. Some aspire to be a neuro-surgeons and pilots, which are high profiled careers, as you acutely listen to them you can only hope that a personal prescription of panadol extra won’t be the end of our future ‘Ben Carson’ or watching gracefully as their dreams slip off their fingers into thin air will not be the farthest they will ascend as pilots. We all want the best for our little ones, don’t we? Unless you are so malicious that your heart glows at the downfall of others, may it bleed twice as much when they succeed. The room only gets brighter when a candle lits another, lets spread the love and cheer the lil’ ones.

A study shows that the most effective period for cognitive skill investment by parents is early on in the life of their children. Cognitive skills are not fixed but can be influenced. Numerous studies have shown that students exposed to reading at an early age tend to do well in all facets of formal education. There is enhanced concentration and discipline, kids may initially squirm and become distracted but eventually learn to stay put for the duration of the book.

Books will benefit kids in a myriad of ways and they need to have the attitude that reading is fun! They need to view books as an indulgence as opposed to the view of many as a chore. Eventually they will be more likely to choose a book over video games, television and other forms of entertainment as they become of age. ’So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can have a lovely bookshelf on the wall. ’Roald Dahl

Acclimation to new experiences is possible via reading. As kids approach major development milestones they need something to keep them focused on their ultimate goals. Books play a major role, for instance, if your little one wants to be a neuro-surgeon you could let them read Think big by Ben Carson, those who aspire to be footballers get a book or some material online of one of the outstanding players and let them read. Reading a story shows them that anxiety is normal and it’s a great way to help ease transition.

A solid foundation in reading is crucial to a child’s success as they progress through primary, secondary and later stages in life. We should be determined to raise the literacy level in our schools by supporting the children to read in their leisure time at every age, by looking at reading through picture or chapter books. ’You may have tangible wealth untold. Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than you and I can never be-I had a mother who read to me. ’Strickland Gillilan.

Let’s go into bookshops and get our kids’ books for gifts, to a point where they will always imagine that paradise will be a kind of library. They are readers on our laps and the more they read the more things they will know. The more they learn the more places they will go. For every kid we teach to read is to light fire and every syllable spelled out is a spark.

A BROKEN LOVE STORY

Bibliophiles have at least one thing in common: the love for books. However, each time I talk to another reader I am reminded that we express our affection for written works in totally dissimilar ways. I’m referring to how we read.

Juggling multiple of books, is it a yay or a nay? Reading multiple books always feels like cheating, actually let’s call a spade a spade, it’s cheating! Stolen meat is always the sweetest but it’s undeniable that at one time we will get caught. Don’t open that second book before finishing the first, or the book police will make you do community service in your local library for the rest of your life, lol!

There is no problem in reading two books at once, sometimes it’s nice to take a break from a particular story and immerse yourself into another (if you can keep track of all plots of course!) While reading multiple books at a time, you can look at what you are reading and select whichever best fits your mood at the moment. Along the same line, some books are more portable than others. Gorgeous collectible editions and personally inscribed books preferably don’t leave their safe perch by our bedside. Yet you would like to read when on the elliptical or out and about on a rainy day. You can leave the one you want in prime condition behind and take the smaller less coveted book with you.

You can keep the same ratio but we differ in our execution. Some may prefer non-fiction book to complement its fiction counterpart .It’s like book gluttony and just can’t help it ,no, let’s say we enjoy the flexibility. It’s nice for people with short attention spans, who can hardly read very long in one sitting. Such culprits are even content to steal snippets of ten to fifteen minutes here and there rather than settle down all day with a book. Circle through them reading one chapter at a time from each.

Never the less, there are those book nerds who will always steer away from reading two books at once. Worst case scenarios is that you will forget what happened in one of them and you will have to re- read a few pages before it comes back to you. More often than not, the reader forgets what happened to the one that ends up by the wayside and, they never go back to it. That’s how you end up celebrating a fifth birthday for a book on your shelf.

It can also prove to be challenging to understand anything because you forget and mix the two stories .The split of focus is for the chosen few but it also requires as much discipline and patience to read a single book at a time.

Whatever works best for you, use it to kill your rat. Just be sure to finish reading and the span of time is not questionable. Recall our last blog? Stop reading and start READING that’s the ultimate goal at the end of the day. ‘We’ll need to work harder, and study more, teach our children to replace the remote controls and video games with books and homework ’Barack Obama: Change we can believe in.

EVOLVING BEYOND KARAGO-INI

So this past weekend was an eventful one. I am still in that "take me back mood" (and by the way if you know that person who rewinds moments like this let me know), just mention your price! The event was organized by EYG which is a mentorship programme that aims to give back to the society through mentoring secondary schools and primary schools. The founder happens to be an employee of PWC ,they have members from DELOITTE,KPMG,GOOGLE and artists...so you can imagine the impact the group have on schools. Are you involved in any activities of giving back to the society? If not,please make a point.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others-Mahatma Gandhi.

 The event was at Karago-ini secondary school in Nyahururu, the environment was breathtaking. From the fresh air to the quiet surrounding, it felt like heaven for us who are used to the hustles and bustles of the city, not saying those noisy  matatus that make me slap my ears and shake my head continuously like a weirdo every time I alight one.

 The beautiful girls and handsome boys of Karago-ini looked so eager to learn, receive advice and tips from the EYG team ,some of whom had no easy past ,but hey! They still made it .We don’t choose where to be born but we choose our destiny, isn’t life fair?

The school is in a remote area, wait ,how comes in Nairobi such areas are named leafy suburbs? Next time anyone tells me I am from shagz  you cease to be my friend henceforth ,tell me I am from leafy suburbs ,lol.Is it the structure of houses? the concrete wall or maybe because the roads are muddy? Whatever the difference ,it is all the same. It is a day school but we insisted to the students that the means doesn’t always justify the end ,so they still had a chance as their counterparts in boarding to perform as well.

As Bellapace Books we played our part , advocated for  reading beyond school books. Be it a constructive magazine or newspaper article ,grab it !This is where I disagree with my president, "gazeti si ya kufunga nyama ". It is through reading that our ambitious brothers and sisters, not just in Karago-ini but also in other remote areas ,pardon me ,interior leafy suburbs get to know what is happening beyond the walls of the village. They broaden their mind and have the exposure through reading .It should be no crime when a teacher finds a student reading a novel once in a while ,but what has our current education system done ?It’s all about schoolbooks and them only .I wasn’t perplexed when the exam irregularities in 2015 hit the climax. There is much more beyond school books. You have a kid, sibling? Encourage them once in a while to read something different and have in mind you lead by example.

The epitome of the day was the Thompson Falls visit. Life is too short not to have fun and so we had our share. On Sunday we had what some of the members referred to as the Nairobi Syndrome , we couldn’t feel our legs! We are used to taking a ride to places that will take us less than 10mins to walk ,we claim time is money but we can’t afford to trade our health for money. Can we?So now I have become a Dr. I should just stop here before I venture into architecture through my opinions on the premium houses next to the Falls.

STOP reading AND START READING

   

Are you reading at a disturbing pace?...and by disturbing I mean where you find yourself holding your chin the moment you look at your bookshelf, smack your head often  for  failing to finish up a book as soon as you wanted to,  not saying the many times you told a white lie to a reading buddy whom you got a  book at the same time and they are done already!

Its fine dearies ,at least you made an effort ,but hey! You cant  live in consolation forever you got to make progress .

I will be sharing tips on how to break the record of the number of books you will read in 2016. Reading was one of the resolutions you made for this year, right? Hahaa don’t you deny…and you are halfway the book you got yourself on 1^st January…better late than never though. ALAS! We said no excuses so let’s stop reading and start READING!

•  READ OFTEN

Reading is a skill and takes time to master, the more you do it the more effective of a reader you become .You should flip at least  two pages on  a busy day that means sparing at least 20mins.With time you will be amazed that you flip four more pages within the 20mins.Can you recall how you learnt to ride a bike while young? That’s the exact way the reading skills get nurtured.

We shall have a super reader at the end of the day, one with experience, broad vocabulary knowledge and background knowledge as well.

•  INTEREST LINK

Connect what you are reading with something you already have an interest in. We all have the surrounding  or reading positions that you achieve utmost powerful reading .In case you don’t have one yet, it's high time you identify with at least  one ,it could be your balcony where the cool breeze entice you to flip more pages of your read, your bedroom with the door locked or music playing in  background. You can as well have a certain seat that you feel more comfortable or a reading position, my best friend enjoys reading at a slanted position, lol , with her legs up .Whatever it is that makes you get carried away connect with it.

• PRE-READING

Don’t just get a book and start reading immediately without a clue of what it's all about ,some even go to an extent of forgetting the title, that’s a crime for book nerds! Read the prime information first which includes the heading, pre heading, table of contents vocabulary terms though not all texts have this ,bold texts and review questions in some books. The fastest reader reads a book in 2mins, and that’s precisely how they do it. See, that’s how you will end up in the Guinness book of records! Thank me later.

• SKIMMING

Pseudo scheming in this case will apply whereby you focus on specific paragraphs and read the first and the last  sentence or glance overs the page  lightly, picking up the occasional observation or idea. What you put into your brain in this process is crucial and improves your reading speed, but don’t claim you have read a book by skimming   alone, you would rather do an audio of the book.

• READ COMPREHENSIVELY

Scott Berkun said comprehension does not equal wisdom, comprehension is for test, wisdom is for your life. Take time to write something you love, take notes and implement. This way, it becomes interesting  and you won't  wake up to the disappointment of dozing off midway or worse the sight of  dog eared pages with drool. 

 Read and take action….stop reading for the sake and start READING with a purpose.