One of the “any time” activities on our summer fun list is writing letters. I added this one to the list for a few reasons. First off, I want Wyatt to keep his writing skills up over the school break. Also, one of my goals for the year is to send people letters through the post more frequently and when the kids sit down to write a letter, I’m more likely to do so too. And I’m always looking for more ways to help my kids connect to friends and family who are far away.
I’ll admit it — this one doesn’t always register as “fun” when I suggest it to the kids. They’re a shrewd pair and they see right through my clumsy machinations but I’ve slowly been making headway with the idea.
Unfortunately, the main thing that has inspired Wyatt to write is that his best buddy moved away. He has been writing notes and drawing pictures and stuffing them into envelopes every couple of days. Mostly, he has been writing his letters in secret which I think makes it more fun for him. Don’t you like having a secret with your best friend? I know I do.
When he does let me see what he’s writing, I keep my mouth shut about spelling (unless he asks, of course). Nothing like your mom marking up your letter with a red pen to kill all your fun.
When he sees Wyatt writing letters, Augie likes to join in too. His letter writing mostly consists of drawing on a piece of paper, adding stickers and scribbling “letters” and “numbers” on the page. When the letters are complete I help fold them and address the envelopes. Then the kids decorate the envelopes with more stickers and drawings.
Sometimes we write a lot of letters.
The real fun will come when people write back!
How about you? Do your kids write letters? Do you ever send snail mail to your friends and family?
