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Sunday, April 19, 2015

The News - whether you want it or not!

Iggy has a nose for the news - not just catnip! 







































I still cringe when I think of it - the single issue, hand printed neighborhood newspaper published by me and my sisters. It headlined, "Meen People Who Woodn't Buy From Us!!" Fund raising merchandise was foisted upon us by the good sisters of our elementary school with a frequency that made neighbors audibly groan at the glimpse of a pleated plaid skirt on the front porches of their homes. Our edition painstakingly carbon copied addresses of the latest round of non-buying offenders. Mother read our "news" with a bemused expression; she would have been mortified to know that carefully folded copies were left on the doorsteps of every house in our territory. Beneath the fold was my crayoned illustration of "Spooky," Mrs. Shold's new kitten. The accompanying story welcomed him warmly into the neighborhood. And so there it was - in one tidy issue - "all the news...fit to print!"

Today, our family newspaper doesn't call out "meen people." Its main function is to serve as a "time's-running-out" educational experience for grandchildren, mainly because printed versions of daily news will probably be something that my great grandchildren view only behind glass museum cases. "Poor great grandma," they'll likely sigh, "she had to turn those clumsy, big and inky pages all by hand!"

We're starting out slowly - one or two-pagers on a sporadic schedule. Brielle's masthead was voted the best, so we'll use it for now. Each issue has dedicated space for the latest flashes from each of our four individual families. The kids brainstorm ideas and dictate stories to fill it and are encouraged to be alert for report-able breaking news. For now, it's grandma who cobbles everything together, adding photos as needed. I'm also setting the layout, printing final editions and handling distribution. The long term goal, of course, is to hand these tasks over to the kids. My vision is that of an enthusiastic team of cousins honing a multitude of  journalistic skills: observing, interviewing, composing, editing, designing, illustrating, photographing, typesetting, printing and distributing. Most of the latter will probably be done electronically, but I'm an old fashioned, traditional soul. I want to find my copies outside, on my doorstep, the same way I delivered my first effort to a chagrined audience some 55-ish years ago!

24 comments:

  1. What a fun idea - and it keeps the family interested too. I'm sure the kids will learn a lot during the newspaper time - and who knows, it might carry on into later years, keeping them all in touch with each other.

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  2. Wonderful idea, and a great way to teach kids about the world. What a great grandmother you are.

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  3. Good Morning, J! I think the newspaper is a great learning tool for the children..and fun too. You are just wonderful! Have a happy Monday and new week ahead!

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  4. MEEN people....oh my what you did is hysterical!
    ( but you are hysterical as I bust out laughing at your circle of life comment on my post! )

    This is such a cute idea and the kids will get a kick out of now and as they grow older and when they ARE older they'll cherish their back issues! :)

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  5. This is SUCH a fun idea...my first stop at your blog (thanks to the GRAND social, but it won't be my last. I think my guys may be a little too young yet, but I'm going to give it a try when I have time with them this summer!!

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  6. OMG, you sure took me back! I have this vague recollection of having this little printing press when I was young. You had to set each rubber letter in place with these little metal tweezers and I loved to do newsletters! I hadn't thought about that in ages!

    What a fun idea to do with the kids and before you know it they will be old enough to take over and make it even better! I love it!

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  7. I don't have a direct email for you- but wanted to stop by and thank you for praying for Krista on my blog today. If you get a chance-let me know you got this- thanks- xo Diana

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  8. I love this idea. When I get moved closer to my grandchildren I may suggest this to them. xo Laura

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  9. Stopping by from TO40 facebook group. What a wonderful idea. I do not have grandchildren yet. But, I have bookmarked this for future ideas! xo Kathy

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  10. Very clever idea indeed.
    Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  11. I always wanted to print my own newspaper when I was a kid. I had a typewriter, but I had to settle for printing tickets to "the show" which consisted of watching a video from the sofa. I hope the grandkids become interested in producing Family News. Love the masthead, lol.

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  12. This is such a darling idea, my friend :) My young son has been learning how to write stories in school and I think this would be something fun to do with him. You have such wonderful ideas! Thanks for sharing with Roses of Inspiration.

    About the comment thing... yes, it's very frusrating to visit {usually a WP blog} and see that the comment did not go through. I use Google Chrome and decided to try Interent Explorer when visiting WP blogs, but that didn't help the problem either. I am at a loss as to what I should do... We'll see, I'll keep working on it :)

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  13. What a fabulous idea for your grandchildren to explore! As much as I love technology, I'm still very attached to my daily newspaper - in print!

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  14. Here from #HomeMattersParty
    Love this! I used to print a family newsletter, ocassionally when my kids were younger.
    Now I have a grandbaby. Thanks for reminding me!

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  15. What a wonderful idea, I know it'll be a hit with everyone! What a super grandma!

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  16. What a creative thing to do! And when those great-grandchildren are tracing the family history, something like this will be an INVALUABLE resource. Your grandchildren will surely treasure these memories for many years to come.

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  17. I got a good laugh out of your first newsletter! And, I love the picture with your cat reading your more current newsletter! So clever.

    This is a wonderful idea. Thanks so much for sharing at Grandma Ideas Sharing Time link party. You are terrific!!

    All the best,
    Nina

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  18. What a fun idea! Love that the kids can all be involved. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  19. I kept looking to see a pic of the ORIGINAL newsletter LOL How fun! Thanks so much for taking the time to link up with us over at the #HomeMattersParty - we hope to see you again this Friday! Feel free to bring a friend :)

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  20. What a creative and fun thing to do with your grand kids. They will learn so much along the way, good for you!
    I admire those of you worth such creativity.

    Thank you for stopping in and visiting my place, it was good to see you.
    Your comment did not goo to my in box~ so I pooped on to see you. I needed tho, it's been awhile. :)
    Have a beautiful day ~ Debbie

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  21. Oh my! Sorry about all the spelling errors!

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  22. What an absolutely tremendous idea - so many of life's lessons to be learned. And, I can only imagine reading about the 'mean' folks. LOL I'm guessing like you said one of the grands will down the road set up a 'page' and it will be online on the www. :-) I like your news better than the nightly news. :-)

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  23. I agree with everyone else....this is a great idea! Enjoy your week and stay away from the meen people....and I will, too! Sweet hugs, Diane

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  24. What a fun project. And to have all the families near, working on the project together!

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