I’ve had penpals since I was about 11. Some times many, sometimes just one, but I still keep in touch with a couple, even after 30 years. Today it’s so easy to connect electronically, but I still like the personal feeling of putting pen to paper and writing. My children have seen me write letters, think about special little items to include from time to time, and the excitement of getting a ‘real’ letter through the post box in the morning. As a part of the Pen Pal Blog Hop, Kallista has corresponded with a girl her own age, and she’s been thrilled with her experience.
It can be tough to know what to say in that first letter to someone you don’t know. What do you talk about? You don’t want to give away too much information and not have anything to talk about later, but you don’t want to say too little, either. To help Kallista out, I created a first letter template for her to use. You can download a copy by signing up for our emails.
Before the actual writing of the letter, P’s mom and I set up their letter exchange online. It wasn’t totally ‘blind’ as we have been in a couple of Facebook groups together over the past couple of years. I’d always recommend that children have their parents participate in exchanges for safety reasons. My parents did the same for me-finding me pen pals through educational newsletters, etc.
P’s mom and I exchanged a couple of things about our daughter’s likes and interests so they’d have a place to start.
Even before Kallista began her letter, she’d been thinking of what she could include in her envelope. It was just as challenging as deciding what to put in our package to my sister last month. She chose a couple of puppets (she coloured one and left the other for P to colour). She also had fun painting a picture to send.
We made a trip to the tourist information centre so Kallista could choose a few brochures to include about places here in Northern Ireland, as well as a postcard. You know we love postcards!
Kallista also included a couple of things from Canada as well.
Kallista sat down at the kitchen table and thought about her answers. I helped out by printing them for her first, and then she copied them in her own handwriting (I do hope that P could understand her printing). She was so happy and really engaged with communicating with another child of her own age.
After covering the envelope with stickers, it was time to walk down to the post box and send it on its way!
The anticipation of when she would receive a letter back was immense! Kallista ran to the door every morning when she heard the post arrive.
Kallista’s package from P arrived one morning just as we were headed out the door to the dentist, so she carried it with her to the train. The train had hardly begun to move when Kallista opened the beautifully decorated envelope. You can see her enjoyment in these photos.
Kallista received a letter from P, a beautiful drawing, stickers, brochures, a photo frame, and a little ‘Roxy’ plush toy that she’s taken everywhere with her since!
Kallista has absolutely enjoyed this experience and has already started to create and collect things in an envelope to send to P with her next letter.
There are so many things that can be learned by having a penpal, and so many things that can be exchanged. I’ll be writing more about these topics in the future.
To access your copy, simply sign up for our emails and you’ll find a link and password at the bottom of the emails that will give you access to this free printable, as well as all the past subscriber freebies that we’ve done.
Did you (or do you) have a penpal? What did you enjoy about it? Would you allow your children to have their own penpals? What do you like to send (or receive) through the post? Let’s chat more in the comments below.
October 9th is World Post Day, so if you’re inspired and don’t know where to start, here are some great ideas from my blogging friends:
Getting Started With Pen Pals : P is For Preschooler
How to be a great pen friend : Peakle Pie
Small things to send to pen pals : P is for Preschooler
A top-secret way to practice handwriting: Spy kit : Umbrella Tree Cafe
Crystal McClean says
Fantastic! I always love to see all of the ideas that are linked up each month.
Have a great week!
Homeschool Homegrown4 says
Pen pals are the best. My children write and send letters to their cousins. The joy of receiving a letter in the mail is priceless….. Come join our linkup party at homegrownadventures and share your wonderful posts 🙂
Crystal McClean says
That’s fantastic that your children have someone to correspond with.
Have a great week!
Crystal McClean says
Oh, I remember those! I used to get them from Australia and Scotland. They’re not used so often anymore – but with current postal prices, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them come back into style.
Homemade for Elle says
Love the idea of penpals! I remember doing it when I was in grade school. I will try this with my daugther – she loves getting mail!
Crystal McClean says
Go for it! Penpals are just as fun now as they were ‘back in the day’!
Salma Dinani says
I haven’t had a pen pal in forever! Letter writing is almost a lost art now. Love that you are doing this.
Crystal McClean says
You should pick up the hobby again!
Leah Mastilock says
It is exciting to get a real letter in the mail. My kids participated in a postcard swap around the US. I’ve tried to set up pen pals from other countries, but haven’t found anyone consistent yet, so it’s been a while. Thanks for the inspiration to get some letters written again! It’s probably so ordinary for you, but I love your big red post box, ours are wide and blue. And the fact that you get to take a train to the dentist is just awesome!
Crystal McClean says
The mail boxes in Canada are similar to the USA, but red. The ‘pillar’ boxes here are as cool as the old-style phone boxes to me. The newer post boxes are just little red rectangles on a post – not too exciting at all. It’s a shame, though, that they’re all too high for my children to reach.
We love to take the train – but it’s not time-efficient for us. When my hubby drives, an appointment can take an hour from the time we leave until the time we return. But by train we’re talking about 4-5 hours round trip! The schedule isn’t great, and the timing is never good for the appointment times. So we usually make a 30-45 minute stop at the library we pass between the train and the dentist to make our trip more worthwhile.
crystal says
My kids have tried to get pen pals started, but it hasn’t finished out. 🙁 I love having someone to write to as well. I send off snail mail letters just about each week to friends and family. I’d love to add to that pile.
Crystal McClean says
It’s so interesting to start up new friendships. I’ve started several over the years that didn’t go anywhere. Just like ‘real’ life, I suppose, not every friendship will last.
anne @ Learningtable says
I had a penpal from Japan when I was a kid, but we did not keep in touch over the years, unfortunately. This is such a great way for kids to connect with the world.
Crystal McClean says
Did you receive your letters on really cute paper and envelopes with stickers? I loved the stationary while I was in Japan! It was also very affordable. Now I can’t send letters on pretty paper because it’s way too pricey. Such a shame.
Sharisse @ Savvy Sweet Life says
How awesome that you still keep in touch with penpals after so many years! I loved writing to my penpals as a child and receiving mail from them in return. What a great experience that you are passing on to your daughter. Her excitement and enthusiasm are so, so sweet!
Crystal McClean says
It’s tough to keep up with correspondence these days, so it isn’t as frequent as I’d like, but to know that we’re thinking about each other still means a lot. It’s a lovely thing that I’m glad my daughter is learning as well.
Crystal McClean says
Thanks! (And I’ll send you a pm later) 😉
Amy Boyington says
Some of my fondest memories of my childhood involved my letters to and from my pen pals! I had one in France, one in Poland, and one in Sweden. Since technology has taken over, I thought they were a thing of the past. I don’t hear of schools providing pen pals anymore like mine did, so I wouldn’t know where to start to find one for my 10 year old daughter (she’d LOVE doing this) – I will definitely be reading the links in your post 🙂
Crystal McClean says
The likes of ‘social media’ has done away with letter writing, but there’s still so much to be gained from it. Check out the post by P is for Preschooler- I think there’s a link to a small FB group for people who would like penpals for their children.
Have fun!
Emma Craig says
How wonderful that you still keep in touch with some of your pen pals after 30 years! It looks like your daughter has caught on to your love of having pen friends too!
Crystal McClean says
Writing by hand is becoming a lost art, and it’s so much fun.
Kallista hasn’t stopped talking about getting her own mail! It’s great to see such enthusiasm for writing.
Lisa @ Fun Money Mom says
It’s so funny that I came across your post because my 2nd grader just discovered today that they were going to have pen pals. She is so excited and that’s all she could talk about as I tucked her in! How fun that your daughter is having the same experience!
Visiting from Family Fun Friday
Crystal McClean says
How fun! I hope she has a wonderful time and gets bitten by the snail mail bug!