When I was a kid, I’d often attend sleep-away camps for part of every summer. (Nerd camps, not the toast-marshmallows-over-the-campfire-in-the-woods kind of camps.) Regardless, the point is, I’d make new friends and for most of them, never see them again. But we’d write letters. We became penpals. Remember having those? I wanted to share that thrill of writing and receiving physical letters with my child in this age of social media. Here’s how we got her excited about writing letters – through a club, penpals for kids, a book (and even Santa gets a mention.)
Join the (letter writing) club
The first key step was to make it cool. What’s cool to young kids? Clubs, and they’re even cooler if they’re secret clubs. That’s where The Secret Society of Letter Writers (SSLW, to those in the know) came in. The SSLW is the brainchild of Mr.Boddington’s Studio, a stationery purveyor based out of Brooklyn.
They will supply an introductory letter from Mr.Boddington and provide prompts for the child’s response. The stationery is lovely and whimsical, and I love the tone and spirit of the program. My daughter is very much into the secrecy of it! The program is geared towards children ages 3-14 and it’s free. What? You read that correctly, free.
Find more (real) penpals
Once our daughter experienced the joy of writing and receiving letters, the next step was to find her a real penpal. The SSLW has their own program to set up penpals for kids, with parental permission, of course. We opted out (because we’re overly cautious or no fun at all, you decide) but may revisit that when our child is a bit older.
So, her first penpal was another little girl she met at my brother’s wedding. They hit it off, and were fast friends by the end of the reception. Her new friend lives in a different region of the US, and the girls trade letters off and on. It is the cutest thing. They also try to include a treat of some sort in each letter (stickers, handmade bracelet, etc.) to increase the fun factor.
The next penpal she started writing is actually local – her best friend from kindergarten. They attended different schools beginning in first grade, so they started to write letters back and forth to each other to communicate. They tried to plan a playdate this way, which is, quite possibly the slowest way to schedule a playdate. (Don’t worry, we parents stepped in to make it happen!)
Read a book about a letter writing child
One book I’d recommend is It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton. It’s a cute story about a boy who would very much like to receive some mail. So, he starts writing letters – to his mailbox. You’ll have to read it to find out what happens next, but it’s a fun story with great illustrations and heart, and the kids love it!
I don’t want letter writing to become a lost art form. (Is it too late?) There’s something about the fact that it took time and effort – selecting stationery, thinking about what to write, penmanship, addressing it, stamping it, and dropping it in the mailbox that makes letters so special. I also love it because, extra writing practice! But I don’t sit next to my child and dictate what to write, or correct her spelling and grammar. I just want her to enjoy writing for the human connection and to make it a fun activity.
What do you think about letter writing and penpals for kids? An easy way to start may be with a letter to Santa. ‘Tis almost the season, after all. If you’d like your child to write a letter to Santa and get a response, Mr.Boddington’s Studio also sells a Santa letter writing kit. Act fast, Santa needs to receive his letters from the children by Dec.10 in order to respond. (Also, for any inquiring minds, this post is not sponsored in any way by Mr.Boddington’s Studio. I just love their products and what they do!)
