Writing Assignment - Letter to the President

Today's forecast, mostly sunny, high 60 degrees. Yowser! Good day, sunshine; good day, sunshine; good day, sunshine . . .

On school days I ask my grandchildren Cari and Michael what was the most exciting or interesting thing that happened at school. Generally, Michael, who is ten and in fourth grade, mentions lunch or recess. Cari, who is 14 and an eighth grader, either shrugs or says, "Nothing much."

But last night was different.

Michael told us his class is writing a letter to our new president. I told him that's a wonderful class project. I remember how our school wrote a letter of sympathy to Mrs. Kennedy after President Kennedy was shot. Mrs. Kennedy wrote back, and her hand-written note was pinned to a hallway bulletin board.

Cari told us about a writing assignment she was given in religion class. The assignment is to write a letter to her grandchildren telling them how she felt about Tuesday's historic inauguration of Barack Obama. What an insightful writing project to give students!

In fact, both writing projects are inspiring!

Borrowing from Cari's teacher's idea, I've decided to record my thoughts for Cari and Michael--even though they live with my husband and me and we have discussed the election and inauguration--and to write down my impressions for them and my future great-grandchildren as well.

How about you?

Maybe you might want to write your thoughts about this week or urge your own children or grandchildren to, so decades from now future generations will be able to better understand the feelings, thoughts, and impressions of this week's historic events.

Or, like Michael's class, you or your family will write a letter to our new president and his family. Here's a link to an article on e-how on "How to Write a Letter to the President of the United States." that you might want to check out to get started.

One last thought: If you're not a Democrat or not a fan of our new president, how about writing a letter to former president and first lady, George and Laura Bush. It might be nice to thank them for their service to our country and for the graciousness they showed welcoming our new president and first lady to the White House.

Barack Obama - President, Writer

Today's forecast for St. Peters: Mostly sunny, high 29 degrees.

On this historic inauguaration day--when Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, the first African-American elected to that office--our nation is poised to enter an era of change. One change I hope President Obama will use his leadership and influence to foster is a greater emphasis on literacy in America.

Over the weekend I read a list of some books our new president has been reading as he prepared for the presidency; the list was long and impressive. With President Obama himself being an avid reader, as well as a bestselling writer, I hope he will, by his example, inspire others to read and write more--especially to read more.

Ours is a great nation. Wouldn't it be wonderful if four years from now that sentence would read, "Ours is a great nation of readers."