With the UAE adopting 2016 as the Year of Reading, there seems to be a little buzz brewing about getting kids and their families to read together more. The REAL Men Read UAE (RMRUAE) is one such reading initiative
MARYAM ISMAIL | Caravan Daily
[dropcap]U[/dropcap]pstairs from me my neighbor used to play monsters with his little son. Well, at least that is what it sounded like. Many a night I would hear big man roars and little kid ones follow. Then the run. Big huffing steps and little pitters behind. They must have played until about 11pm. I didn’t mind, it was over my living room and if I were in bed, I wouldn’t hear it at all. It was quite cute.
For men who often work like maniacs in UAE, ‘Baba-and-me’ time is a rarity especially during the week. Many fathers came home after little ones are in bed. Yet, like my neighbor who found time to run around with his son, I am sure that finding at least half an hour is possible for even the busiest of dads.
Thirty minutes is all it takes to sit down and read a few pages of a story with your child. Some may think that they may need to go out and buy some special books, but they can read anything — comics from the newspaper, a verse of the Quran related to an activity or event of the day, even a food label. The point is to make a special connection and expand a child’s mind in thinking about the world around him.
With the UAE adopting 2016 as the Year of Reading, there seems to be a little buzz brewing about getting kids and their families to read together more. The REAL Men Read UAE (RMRUAE) is one such reading initiative.
Launched by Kevin Simpson of Abu Dhabi, this program will run from 1-31 March 2016 in response to UAE Vice President and Prime Minister HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s call for ideas to promote #ReadingYear.
‘Real Men Read’ has been in the United States for some time and is designed to deepen literacy and instill a love for reading in students through guys who are willing to share a grade-appropriate book with a group of students. This could be a father reading to his child(ren) at home, educators reading to students at school or citizens volunteering to read to students in the community.
By using social media, participants will upload themselves reading via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and for those who are a little shy, can email Kevin Simpson himself. Getting men to participate in reading with their children after a long day of work can be a challenge, but, with this initiative, it might prove motivating and get kids excited as well to share their experiences with others.
For more details, see: https://kdsl.wordpress.com/real-men-read-uae/
