I laughed at my silly thoughts as I walked towards my son’s room.  

“Wewe…Sindio hizi socks… Ukona mchezo sana Boi!” I said.  

“Tihihihi, thanks, mama!”  

“No worries Boi, actually, would you mind helping me clean up the compound? I was thinking of planting tomatoes today and make us some nice homemade ketchup after harvest!”  

“Sounds great, mama!” Boi replied. Can Keni and Sydo join us too?”  

“Sure!” I replied.  

A little while later, I noticed the kids were having a fantastic time digging holes, getting their hands dirty and having fun at the same time. Sydo was recycling old tins by planting mint in them while Boi was sorting out food waste from the dustbin that we would make compost from. 

Impressed with this, I asked, “Where did you guys learn this cool stuff?”  

“Bob the Builder on Akili Kids!” They both shouted.  

“Sisi ni the dream team” Boi added. 

Funny thing, I have watched some Bob the Builder episodes on Akili Kids! TV. And what Boi is saying is true. There are a couple of lessons on teamwork and collaboration from the show that have resonated with me, such as:  

1.    Don’t Do It Alone:  

Boi was quick to call his siblings to help with gardening. I bet he learnt this from Bob. See, Bob has a crew that’s always there, to help him get the job done. 

2.    Have Fun:  

Just like my little ones were having fun getting their hands dirty as they worked, Bob’s attitude is always positive. He’s such a happy and hard-working boy who spreads the good attitude to his team-mates just like my Boi.  

3.    Be Positive:  

No matter what task is handed to Bob, he takes it on with excitement. On a normal day, Boi would have complained about the chores, but when he had his squad with him, he approached the task with fervence. Can we build it? Yes, we can!  

To be honest, it’s been interesting to see the impact of Akili Kids! TV on my kids. Enyewe, mambo ni digital! Wazazi, for your kids to learn more about this channel, here’s where you can watch from!  

PS: To keep up with Boi and the rest of my family, start here.   

Love,  

Mama Boi.   

The post Keeping up with Boi: Bob the Builder appeared first on Akili TV.

There’s a knock on the door. Mzee wa Boma amewasili. 

Daddy!  

Boi ran towards the door and hugged his dad! 

“Mkurugenzi!  I watched your friend Dora the Explorer on Akili Kids! on my way home. She’s a smart one and can speak Spanish too! Any new word you’ve learned from Dora?” Boi’s dad asked as he tickled him. 

Yes, amigo! Boi laughed. Can I get a monkey too? I’ll name him boots. Just like Dora’s. 

“Uko sure hio Monkey haitatumalizia ugali? “His dad joked.  

“Hahaha! Fine. I’ll settle for a bike.” Boi responded.  

Mama Boi! Na hii Akili Kids! Iko na mambo mazuri! Ni juzi tu niliskia “Aima Reader” ikitangazwa kwa hio channel 602 on Zuku. Simuniambieko hii Aima Reader ni nini?  

All the dads at work seem to know about it! Namnajua sipendi kubaki nyuma!”  Baba Boi exclaimed! 

Boi and I burst into laughter!  

“Daddy! Aima Reader ikona shows like Dora The Explorer and my favorite superhero, Whyatt! He likes reading storybooks just like me!” Boi said with such excitement! His eyes were sparkling! 

“Whyatt? From Super WHY? Ah! I know him. He’s a good chap!” Boi’s dad replied. 

“Eeee…Najua unataka nikununulie hio suit kama ya Whyatt ya green” he added. 

“Kwanza this April holidays. I need to make an impression on my friends, especially Timo.” said Boi. 

Boi had his dad’s humor. 

“Okay, so what time do we get to watch the shows on Aima Reader?” Boi’s dad asked. 

“Every day, from 10am – 11am. The shows are for akina Keni and Sydo! I’m older than them but I still enjoy watching. “Boi added. 

Alright, Mkubwa! The remote is yours, officially! Akili Kids! itakuwa on 24/7.  Baba Boi jokingly said. 

Na hesabu je? He asked. 

“Math Pawa! It has all these cool guys like Max, from Monster Math Squad, Milly & Geo from Team Umizoomi and, Wabi! From Boom! Na Wabi. She’s fun!” Boi shouted.  

Cool name, dude! Baba boi replied. 

“Show me your math powers!” Baba boi yelled. 

Hahaha! I got 88% on my math test. Boi replied.  

Impressive!  

“I learn cool math concepts from these shows, daddy! And I get to help my friends solve math problems.” Boi said. 

“Proud of you, son.” said Baba Boi.  

Boi giggled. 

Dinner was over and it was time for bed. Our bellies were full and the night was beautiful. 

“Eh! Mama Boi, Watoto wamelala. Nipigie kastori hifi hifi ata niwezeko kusikia hio sauti yako nyololo!” Baba boi bantered. 

“Hahaha! You’re so silly!” I laughed. 

I think there’s one learning block on Akili Kids! TV that Boi forgot to say. I remarked. 

“Which one?” Baba Boi asked. 

“Sci Base” I replied. 

“Aha! I really like these “Akili Kids!” guys. They’ve got amazing content! I wonder how it would have been if we had a dedicated children’s TV channel back in the day…” said Baba Boi. 

I’m glad our kids have it.  

“Imagine if you could see my voice…” I interrupted. 

How? Baba boi asked. 

“With shows like Peep and the Big Wide World and The Save-Ums, be prepared to answer all sorts of science questions from Boi. He loves those shows on SciBase!”  I replied. 

We both chuckled at the astonishment on our faces!  

“Well, we should hang out with Boi and his siblings to find out more awesome stuff on Akili Kids! TV. BTW, what time does SciBase shows start?” Baba Boi asked.  

“I think it’s on Weekdays from 11:00am – 12:00pm and Weekends from around noon” I replied.  

“Keni and Sydo are always imitating sounds of Quack and his funny looking bird friends on Peep! The shows on SciBase block are ideal for kids their age, considering they’re still under 6 years old “ I added. 

“Okey! Nimekupata Mama Boi. Situlale sasa…” Baba Boi said yawning. 

Hahaha! Sleep tight, Baba Boi. 

   More on the learning Blocks! 

                                            Teke Teke Haiya! 

   Aima Reader 

Math Pawa

 SciBase

The post Keeping Up With Boi: Aima Reader, Math Pawa and SciBase appeared first on Akili TV.

In this part of the series on How to Raise a Successful Child, I’m going to talk a little bit about a learning moment I had a couple of years ago. I read an amazing book called, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success ” by Carol Dweck, PhD. What caught my attention was that she discovered the concepts outlined in the book while researching behavior patterns in young children.

She was assessing the behaviors of children trying to solve mechanical puzzles. She noticed that some children, if they didn’t immediately succeed in solving a puzzle, would easily give up. They would say things like, “it’s too hard”, “I can’t do it”, “I don’t like puzzles” or “puzzles are stupid”. They would just decide they weren’t capable of doing it and leave it at that.

There was another group of kids however that had a different reaction. Instead of being put off by the difficulty, they found the challenge fun and interesting. When questioned after a few minutes of attempting to solve a puzzle, they said things like, “this one is tough”, “let me figure this out”, or “okay, that didn’t work, maybe if I do this”. The outcome: this group of children actually solved the puzzle, regardless of how long it took, and recognized how accomplished they felt upon completing it. Some of these kids even asked for more puzzles!

She called the behavior where a child felt his capability was limited and gave up easily, the fixed mindset. The behavior the other child exhibited, to try until the puzzle was solved, she called the growth mindset. She also suggested that adults also operate within these mindsets, that a mindset develops as the child grows. Dr. Dweck went on to say that we all operate from both mindsets but can choose which one we want to work from. The book proposed that these behaviors can be shifted from one to the other. I then thought, “how can I help my own kids with this newfound information?”

My Experience 

A few months ago, I bought my son a rather complex Lego-type building set. When he first opened it, he tried it for a little bit, then got quickly frustrated, huffed and puffed and gave up. Of course, I got mad because I spent money on it, and while it may have been difficult, I knew that he was capable of building the set. But he was against it, and every attempt I made to get him to try was met with whining and frustration, then at one point he even stormed off and slammed his bedroom door (he got into a lot of trouble with me for that). I put the building set away and didn’t mention it again.

A Few Weeks Later: 

My son was bored, and I suggested that he try the building set. He immediately resisted, got defensive and then angry with me, that I would even suggest that he would try to build it! “It’s too hard”, It’s poorly made” and “I can’t do it”. Sound familiar? I let the building set rest again. Fast forward to yesterday.

My son exclaimed he was bored again, and I told him to try the building set. This time he grabbed it, brought it to the living room, (I was excited!) but right after opening it, he remembered his frustration and immediately started huffing and puffing again, getting angry. And I didn’t help, because I said, “You are not even TRYING!” and he said, “YES I AM!” and stormed off to his room and slammed the door. I took a couple of deep breaths, regrouped and went upstairs. I went into his room, sat down and said, “Do you know what my job is?”
“To be my Dad”, he said.
“And what’s the main thing I need to teach you?”, I asked.
He said, “I dunno”.
I said, “The thing I need to teach you, the thing I really want you to understand, is that you can do ANYTHING. Anything you put your mind to. You know that building set? Are you really going to let it beat you? Do you think it’s better than you? Smarter than you? Are those little plastic pieces going to get the best of you?”
“No.”, he says begrudgingly.

Then I left his room so he could think about what I said. 10 minutes later, he was back at the building set and started over at the beginning. He shifted his mindset. He was good enough, he was worthy. That set was not going to best him. And I didn’t have to yell or get angry.

What I realized was that it wasn’t so hard to help him switch from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset if I framed it correctly. In this case his view of himself was stronger than his fixed mindset. He made the shift without me exacting a punishment or berating him for him giving up. It would have been really easy to get angry with him, but my anger wasn’t going to shift his mindset, it would have pushed him deeper into his own fear.

How Imagination Supports the Growth Mindset 

I think a growth mindset is driven by a powerful imagination. For example, if a child imagines they can successfully solve a puzzle, it can be a major step to actually solving the puzzle. Real success against a difficult problem, starts with imagining success. Of course, people accidentally succeed all the time, but that most often isn’t enough to reproduce success.

With a growth mindset a human can actually do anything they put their mind to. Why is that? Because the most difficult tasks are the ones that bring us the greatest reward. It’s not easy to be a doctor, or start a business, or even finish school if your home life is difficult. As we get older, our lives do not get easier, they grow more complex and the challenges become greater.

If you can help a child to live in a growth mindset, it’s a gift that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. Your child can do anything he puts his mind to, but in order to actually do it, he needs to imagine and believe that he can succeed. Akili Kids! can help with “imagination” part, but you can help reinforce the most important part: belief that they can do whatever they imagine! TV Schedule

The post How to Raise a Successful Child: Part Three appeared first on Akili TV.

Continuing the series on How To Raise a Successful Child, I thought it important to address the challenge of fear and its impact on learning, that I learned after many years of working alongside Dr. David H. Rose, who has a deep pool of knowledge and experience in the science of the brain, children, and teaching. Something he told me one day, formed the basis of much of my own professional belief system: it is impossible for a human to learn if they are afraid.

Think about this. If a human is afraid, they have one of two absolutely normal reactions: fight or flight. You are afraid and you either become hostile or you want to run away. Perfectly normal and expected. How can you take in and process new information if you are in fight or flight mode? Well the short answer is, you can’t. You’re not going to remember or be able to synthesize anything except how to survive. You can’t learn new things if you’re in survival mode.

Now if this is true for adults, imagine what it feels like to be a child and to be afraid. In fact, there is a lot to be afraid of and it isn’t just about survival. Let me list some examples and let me know if any of these invoke memories:

• Fear that you are going to be bullied
• Fear that someone won’t like you
• Fear that you’re not good enough
• Fear that you will lose the competition
• Fear that you will fail the test
• Fear that you won’t understand a concept and you are supposed to
• Fear that things at home aren’t perfect
• Fear that you’re going to disappoint your parents
• Fear that your teacher will be angry with your performance

This is a short list of opportunities to be afraid. Do you think your child may think about any of these fears? I bet you probably had some of these and many more. Imagine how stacked the deck is against kids, when they are going through any (if not several) of these thoughts, for them to concentrate? For them to take what they’ve learned and be able to apply it while in any mode of fear is incredibly difficult. I won’t even include the challenges that happen when a child hits adolescence (oh it is terrifying when your body and hormones are changing too).

How do I Address My Child’s Fear? 

“Would my child learn more if they were not afraid?” Well actually, yes, they would. Imagine what a very young child is like, how wondrous the world is to them, and how every day is full of learning moments, couched in exploration and play? Well there are quite a few things that help us return to this state of receptivity, even as adults. Play. Entertainment. Fun. Love. Creativity. These are moments that generally aren’t part of the taught school curriculum, but if you think about reducing the barriers to learning, you might introduce some creativity or love. It’s very hard to be afraid when you are having fun or being entertained.

Let me bring all this back to Akili Kids!, what we are hoping to do and why we are doing it. If a child loves Bob the Builder, and is entertained and delighted, they are not afraid at that moment. A message of sharing, task persistence or empathy is much more surely delivered through this medium, than to try to forcefully explain to a child that they must share (and they are afraid of you!). By modeling ideal behaviors and keeping kids in the “fun mode” (a very un-scientific description) you increase the probability that they will retain the message.

In summary, every day we think about messaging and content for children, how to keep them engaged, excited, entertained, and receptive. In order to do this right, we have to bring kids to a place where that fear does not exist, and where their imaginations can run free and unhindered. Only then, in that moment, can we serve them with foundational learning messages that could help them their entire lives. TV Schedule

The post How To Raise a Successful Child: Part Two appeared first on Akili TV.

Are you familiar with the concept of a well-balanced diet? Essentially saying that if you want to be healthy, there are foods you need to eat from all the food groups; meat, fish and beans for protein (building muscle); rice, bread or chapati for carbohydrates (energy); vegetables and fruits for vitamins (to protect from disease); milk, butter and cheese with calcium (for bone density). It is common knowledge that if you follow a nutritional diet, you’ll be healthy and grow stronger.

How About a Well-balanced Child?

There are many people who think that a child with a good future is best measured in their academic success; if a child gets straight A’s on their school reporting card, they will by default be “successful”. However, what if a child’s score in school was only one part of defining a well-balanced child? What types of measures would we look at to tell if our children were healthy, happy, and well-balanced?

It’s important to think about the well-being and development of all parts of a child, especially because these determine the future of our children more surely than top grades in school.

Does your daughter have a strong sense of who she is and what she is capable of? Does she eat well, take exercise and visit her physician regularly? Does she have healthy friendships and relationships with other children and adults? Does she solve problems and think critically about situations, looking for the best strategy for success? Does she understand what feelings are, know that it’s okay for her to feel mad or disappointed if a situation warrants it and stand up for herself? Does she practice empathy and patience with her friends and with herself? Is she freely creative, drawing and building, singing, dancing or writing? Is she encouraged to read for fun, to try out science experiments at home, to use her imagination?

Imagination…

These are all important parts of a whole child, and from my perspective, the word “imagination” is one of the most powerful tools a human being has. For just a moment, I want to explore the value of imagination. What can a powerful imagination do for her? It can be the doorway for an amazing successful future. What if she was the person to imagine electric cars? Imagine how to carry humans to Mars? Maybe she could create ways to harness new forms of energy? What if she wrote and directed the next “Star Wars”? Or what if she became a prominent neurosurgeon and saved hundreds of lives? If we give our children the tools to unlock their futures, and teach them how to use them, we significantly increase their probability of success.

What We Believe

We at Akili Kids! believe that every child has potential, and can grow into a beautiful, valuable, productive and happy human being. The programming we choose and our approach to content is to find wonderfully entertaining content, ensure that it contains learning outcomes, and that it will connect personally with Kenyan children.

The learning outcomes we support are not all academic, and some are immeasurable from a testing perspective. But we want to ensure that children are exposed to all the ideas that they may not be exposed to in an academic school environment, and while we are all about “supplemental” learning (not school) we consider this learning essential to growing well-balanced children. The children of Kenya deserve no less than the best. This is why we exist – to entertain, engage, and offer moments of inspiration and imagination to all the children in Kenya.

The post How To Raise a Successful Child: Part One appeared first on Akili TV.