Memories in the Making

I really enjoyed Susan Straight’s article “One Mother’s Mission” (Feb. 4). I too will never forget building my mission in fourth grade. Even though I spent hours carefully constructing my not-so-striking rendition of La Purisima, the salt-and-flour dough it was made of crumbled and disintegrated for the most part.

I was able to salvage pieces of it, and I still have the bell tower, complete with tinfoil bells. The mission project has become a rite of passage for kids across California, a way for them to connect to the unique history of our state. It is an experience we can all share.

Arielle Little

Newport Beach

How timely that I read Straight’s article the same day as my fourth-grader’s open house at school, during which his class’ mission projects were all on proud display. This is the second mission project in our family, and both times we drove out to the kids’ assigned missions.

I didn’t grow up in the U.S. Studying and doing their projects with them gave me the opportunity to continue to be awed by the richness of this country’s history and to marvel at how far it has come since its birth. This mother’s mission is to make sure her boys never take their American citizenship for granted.

Cynthia Herrera

Eagle Rock