Last year I shared with you a few of the reasons we love to send snail mail but there are so many more! With Snail Mail Day approaching once again (June 13), I thought I’d revisit some of the reasons we love snail mail. Have you been keeping up with our series, A Postcard From….Awesome Places Around The World? Go check it out!
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Why Snail Mail is Great
Every year life seems to get more and more busy, yet in order to write a snail mail letter one must slow down, stop, think, and contemplate what you would like to say, and how you are going to say it. I tend to use a little different structure, grammar, and vocabulary depending on who I am writing to. Make a hot beverage, sit somewhere quiet, and relax while you write. It’s like a mini vacation!
It’s fun to add some personality into letter writing that isn’t so easily done by other means. Choosing the paper (plain lined or fancy stationary) and deciding which colour of ink you’d like to use can bring a smile to the recipient. My philosophy is that one can never have too much stationary! Adding stickers or little drawings are also fun additions in the margins. When kids send post, it’s fun for them to use a postcard with their own picture on it, like the ones at PostPal Club. How do you jazz up a letter?
Snail mail is a great way to start or add to any collections you have going. My children have collections of postage stamps, postcards, currency and other items. From traditional fabric pieces, flags, paper, recipes, and other trinkets, many things can be exchanged through the postal system that cannot be done through a computer.
It’s interesting to make new friends through snail mail. It takes much longer to do than otherwise, but you’ll really get to know each other. Perhaps you’ll meet in real life at some point, or perhaps not. I’ve met a couple of my penpals during my life, and it’s been enlightening.
With a world that is becoming ever more self-gratifying, snail mail is a lovely way for children to think about others. They need to ask questions, not just talk about themselves. What will the recipient like to know about? What might they like to receive with their letter?
And then there’s the waiting! It always seems to take forever to receive a reply back in the post. And unfortunately, sometimes that reply never arrives. Another disappointment, but also another chance to talk about why this may be. Sometimes penpals just fizzle out.
And sometimes you find each other again, such as happened to me recently.
This year I’m all about travel, and if I can’t get there myself, I can learn more about a new place through the pictures and stories that someone will share with me.
Do you still send snail mail? Why or why not, let’s discuss it in the comments below!
Mia White says
Oh man, we are kindred spirits indeed! Ever since I was a little girl I’ve LOVED to send & receive mail. Stationary? Yes, obsessed. Choosing fun new stamps? The best. (Wonder Woman currently!) We incorporate a TON of correspondence into our homeschool– I even wrote a very similar post to yours last summer: https://untoadoption.org/youve-got-mail/
If y’all want new pen-pals in Oregon, just give me a holler! 😉
Crystal McClean says
That would be ‘Wonderwomanful’! I’d love to see how you incorporate it into homeschooling – we have done some that I haven’t yet blogged about, but we’re always looking for great ideas.
I’ll send you an email to set up a snail mail!
Carolyn M Wilhelm says
I agree, and snail mail is important for children to understand about, also. There is nothing as nice as a “real” letter! Thanks! Tweeted!
Crystal McClean says
Thanks, Carolyn! And I must catch up on my snail mail this month; I’m finding that it’s a good thing to do while the kids are in Ju-jitsu, I can watch them and write (or at least start) a letter at the same time 😉