Love Mail

Day 6

Who doesn't LOVE to receive mail? Valentine's Day is the perfect opportunity to send those you love a sweet letter in the mail. Hand writing letters is a lost art. It is one of my favorite hobbies and has been since I was a little girl. Growing up I loved to write to my long list of pen-pals. Take this chance to sit down with your child/children and see what they know about writing a letter. 

Beginner's Basic Letter Writing

(Geared toward ages 7-9, but may be adapted to ages 3 and up)

1. First begin by making a list of what your child already knows about letter writing. This is fun to hear what they know goes into creating a letter that you will mail. Ask questions like: "Who do you write letters to?" "What do you write in a letter?" "How do we mail letters?" etc. 

2. Based on your child's background knowledge you may begin the process of writing a letter. 

Dear _____________,

    (Indent--3 finger spaces.) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

                               Love, ______________

It's nice to provide your child with lines and some prompts to help them get started. You could always do what my 2nd graders referred to as a SLOPPY COPY first and then have them copy their letter on to a beautiful hand made card! Encourage your child to ask their reader questions and inform them of exciting things that are happening in their own life. 

3. I say the more ART the better! Have your child draw pictures, borders, or color the letter to add personality. I always loved using stickers to decorate my letters when I was young.

4. ADDRESSING the ENVELOPE! This is a very important part of the letter writing. Rather than having Mom or Dad do it, take the opportunity to teach your child how to address the envelope properly. Here is an example below.

5. Have your child drop it in the mailbox! 

Letter writing is a wonderful way to promote good hand writing since they are writing for someone else to read. It is empowering for young children to write for a purpose. I know that I LOVED getting my pen pals response letters in the mail and could hardly wait to write them back and answer their questions! 

Have fun writing some LOVE MAIL this week to all those special Valentines!