When unmet needs meet a restless and creative mind, magic happens.

Nicolina Nicolaou, a special education teacher for the past 15 years, has been jotting down ideas and taking notes, which over time transmuted into a complete book – Reading Comprehension and Psychosocial Skills, available currently in French and Greek.

The book helps teachers and parents alike make learning enjoyable for children and at the same time encourages building social skills, such as inclusion, acceptance and empathy.

“I was inspired by my students. At school we try to inspire children and contribute to their positive development. At the same time, I am happily surprised to see how deeply they can affect us. Our daily challenges push us to overcome ourselves and discover new worlds. So, along with the children, I started to put small ideas on paper, which slowly transformed into a whole book,” she said, speaking to the Cyprus Mail.

Through the book, children are invited to be ‘text detectives’, finding unknown words, understanding the message and expressing themselves in a kind and fun way.

“The main axis of my stories is a positive life stance, self-awareness, empathy and friendship, while at the same time an indirect reference is made to issues concerning disability and interculturalism, but without giving them a prominent position. For example, the message it conveys about Down’s syndrome is just one of the many traits of a person, without determining that person’s personality,” Nicolaou explained.

“Through various activities in the book, students are given the opportunity to free themselves from the desks, to move, to express themselves, to communicate, to create and cooperate together. In this way, they are practicing reading comprehension in a natural and playful manner,” the writer said.

The book is for children ten to 12 years old and can be used by teachers and parents alike as “a tool for reading comprehension” during Greek and French lessons, and to improve “psychosocial and life skills” for physical education lessons.

Nicolaou said her main aim was “to turn the lesson into an enjoyable and creative process, both for the children and their teachers”, while “maximising the participation of all students and cultivating a positive stance towards learning”.

“We understand the need to cultivate psychosocial skills among children, but we often lack ready-to-use organised material. I hope my book will prove to be useful for teachers and parents, who share the same concerns and envision learning as a dynamic and enjoyable journey,” Nicolaou explained.

The illustrations have been digitalised with high quality images and the whole process “has run smoothly like a beautiful stream”.

The book is now being presented at schools.

Nicolaou was born and raised in Nicosia. From a young age, she has channeled her creativity into dancing and later studied dance in Athens, which she said “formed not just my relationship with art and movement, but also the way in which I understand the world around me”.

She then studied teaching in Greece and continued with postgraduate studies in special and inclusive education at the European University of Cyprus.

For the past 15 years, Nicolaou has been a special education teacher in public schools.

The book is available as a hardcopy or pdf here.