Day 170
I sat with my 9 year old granddaughter as she did her homework last night. She had an exercise on the women’s suffrage movement. The article was in The Scholastic News. After her work was complete, we talked more about the history and she said “Grandma, how do you know so many things?”
Sitting with her reminded me of receiving My Weekly Reader when I was in school. I remember looking forward to Friday when we all received our personal copy. I loved reading the short articles. I also remember one summer when we were given the opportunity to receive it at home over the summer. I am sure it was a stretch for my parents’ budget, but I always looked forward to it.
My Weekly Reader was published from 1928 to 20012 according to Wikipedia. It was them merged into Scholastic News but eventually the Weekly Reader name was dropped.
In reading some recent blogs, there is some criticism on the content of the old Weekly Readers. I am sure the news was not written without the prejudice of the writers and editors of the time. Nothing has really changed about the news, regardless of our age. It is still a very fond memory for me.
I did explain to my granddaughter that my knowledge of our history comes from my curiosity and from reading. She looked up and smiled at me and told me she loved to read, too.
We both decided we should write to each other with an agreement we would always write each other back. I am not sure why I did not do this earlier. I always send our grandchildren cards, but a letter seems so much more personal.
Now, I am off to fulfill my end of the bargain. I feel good about encouraging her to read and write more. In this time of upbringing in a digital world, learning to sit calmly and express her thoughts seems like a great skill to have.
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