I live in Seattle and my grandchildren live in San Luis Obispo. I can only visit two or maybe three times a year making it even more important for me to stay involved in their education. To achieve this I have done several things over the years. Because I am a retired librarian I have made sure they have plenty of books. Not just any books but the best I can find, the classics from all times, and a sampling of some of the excellent ones that are coming out now. There is plethora of children’s books at this time and some of them have nothing to commend them at all, so I read the ones I choose first to make sure they are something I want to influence my grandchildren.
The other thing I am doing, because it is Julian’s first year at SLOCA, is to find quotes from famous people from the historical time he is focusing on this year. I try to find an equal number of men and women, and along with each quote I include a few lines from Wikipedia about who they were and when they lived, as well as a photograph, painting or drawing from Google Images so that Julian can visualize them. When I look for the quotes I try to find ones that are short and relatively easy to understand and have some significance connected to these people’s historical importance. I was a History minor in college so my background is coming in handy. It is wonderful to be able to share my love of books and my skills and training to help educate my grandchildren.
One week Julian was working on copywork for a quote my mother had sent from Helen Keller. He had copied a few sentences without having read the context paragraph; who Helen Keller was, her accomplishments, or her disabilities. Julian asked me what this was about, and I read the context to him – that she was both deaf and blind, and yet had earned a BA, and become a lecturer, activist and author. I explained how she had learned to comprehend language, taught by her teacher, Anne Sullivan. I told Julian to close his eyes, and I took his hand and spelled out “w-a-t-e-r” on his palm (this was the subject of the quote). His eyes shot open, and he was absolutely amazed by the story. He finished his copywork, and got all excited, wanting to research more about her story.
By the way, the winner of our “Gratitude” drawing is Cheryl McCabe! Congratulations Cheryl – look for a gift certificate to the school store in your family file this week!
