John 3:16 Be thankful, grateful, patient, charitable, kind, and don’t forget to smile, as it is infectious. God Bless America and Protect Our President and Military!
My earliest recollection was in Kindergarten at Most Blessed Sacrament in Southwest Philly (Now closed). I might add it was the largest Catholic grade school in the country with over 3,700 plus kids in the mid 60’s. Most learned to read from the famous Dick and Jane books used during the 50’s and 60’s in the Philadelphia Parochial schools.
They progressed to the New Cathedral Basic Readers in 1st grade, which featured characters such as John, Jean, Judy, their cat Puff, their dog Spot, and Zeke the Gardener. Published by Scott Foresman, this series was the official Catholic version of the well-known Dick and Jane books. This series served as a prerequisite for starting our religious studies, as we received our first Baltimore Catechisms in preparation for the Sacraments in the upcoming year and beyond.
Of course, since then, I have read many books, including Peanuts, Comic Books, Mad Magazine, Hardy Boys, Charlotte’s Web, Cat in the Hat, and many others.
Point of Note: I am the next-to-youngest of seven children. I remember asking my older sisters and brothers to teach me to read the newspaper, mainly for the Sunday comics, and to see what was on television. My first-grade teacher was Sister Mary Anthony, I.H.M. I was sad to learn that she had passed away during COVID-19, but she taught me a great life lesson. She said Daniel, you are a good reader, but your comprehension skills are lacking. She asked me to help a few kids who were having trouble reading and, in doing so, told me to slow down my reading to help me work on my comprehension.
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