The goal of Booked Kids is to create dynamic learning environments where parents and community volunteers can also coach children in reading. On our inaugural trip, I am proud to say we did just that! We took 9 children on a planting activity at Union Market, a popular Washington DC food market. Not only did the…
IT HURT. My first rejection letter came from the University of Michigan Business School. I kept refreshing my email to see if I’d get a follow-up response explaining some technical issue. No such response came. It hurt, but I figured I just had to get in to at least one school. The University of Pennsylvania…
Mission By promoting literacy in dynamic learning environments, Booked Kids teaches children to travel anywhere with a book. What We Do We enable children ages 5-11 to discover new possibilities by designing educational trips within their community. The possibilities are magnified when parents are partnered with their children to complete grade-appropriate reading activities at a specified…
“I’ve never seen the White House in real life,” my student said as we read her favorite book, Grace for President. As only children can, she candidly continued without prompt. “We don’t have money, and only rich people can go to the White House.” She turned the page without skipping a beat. Meanwhile, I had…
I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND HER FEAR. Here was this elderly and wealthy woman who was terrified of small children ages 5-10. I run a literacy center for a non-profit that invites community volunteers to work with children who are behind grade-level in reading. Out of my 55 volunteers, this elderly woman far exceeds any other…
Growing up, I had always been ashamed. There were no brilliant revolutions to brag about. There were no exotic pictures to show off to friends. In fact, I would likely never bring it up if it weren’t for the inevitable question that follows after someone butchers my name, “Where are you from?” If the cards…
There’s a crime scene outside my house. It’s not even 9:00pm on a Sunday evening, and there’s a crime scene outside my house. I’m willing my eyes to stay shut, but they are wide open. I’m not dreaming. There’s a crime scene outside my house. He’s the boy who lived across the street. It’s not…
After traveling in China, I needed a place where I could relax, be able to get around using English, and bask in the sun. With cheap flights from Beijing, I found that the Philippines was my best bet. However, choosing an island in the Philippines was the next thing I had to consider. I didn’t…
Quote taken from Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages. Read the full book review here
I THOUGHT I KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS LOVE THING. I would shower my friends and family with good conversation. I would listen to their problems. I would give others my best. Even after my own sister opened up about loneliness and even after a few failed relationships, I still thought I knew what it meant…
Quote taken from Mia Mckenzie’s The Summer We Got Free. Read the full book review here
THIS WAS THE TRIP I LOOKED FORWARD TO THE LEAST. Each time I even uttered the name Beijing, other travelers would gasp and caution me to spend the least time possible in China’s capital city. They warned me about the pollution, the dirt, and the crowds of people. Fortunately, my experience proved them wrong (well..partly…
After traveling through several large Chinese cities, I thought I had seen enough of China. I was overwhelmed (and partly underwhelmed) by the pollution, crowded subways, and huge shopping centers stocked with knock-offs which are characteristic of many Chinese cities. Once I stepped foot in Yangshuo, I completely changed my mind. There is so much…
IT DOESN’T TAKE LONG TO REALIZE THAT SOMETHING IS OFF. The father rambled through dark alleyways believing strangers were his son. The daughter forgot what it felt like to moan. Church members claimed to throw bricks through home windows in the name of The Lord. Yet, rather than dismiss these characters as a group badly…
DESTINATION BOOKED 