Beyond Texting: Teaching Kids the Art of Letter Writing

In case it’s been years since you had your own pen pal, here are the basics for letter writing:

• Date
• Salutation
  If they’re writing a letter to someone they haven’t met, talk to them about using titles, such as “Dear Madam Vice President,” or more open salutations, like “To Whom It May Concern.” But for pen pals they know and love, the greeting doesn’t have to be as formal as “Dear Grandma.” Let them choose what feels most like their voice: “Hi, Nana!” works, too.
• Body
  The main part of a child’s letter, especially when they’re writing to a loved one, can be pretty simple—a sentence or a short paragraph.
  Let kids lead the way on what they’d like to express or inquire about. It might be occasion driven, or you can give them suggestions, like: Write three things you’d like to share with the recipient and three things you’d like to ask the recipient.
• Closing
  Help them create a “wrap-up” to the letter, whether it’s a request for a response or an expression of love or “I miss you.” And then talk to them about the differences between an appropriate “Sincerely” or a heartfelt “Love” before their signature.
• Signature
  My kids love practicing their cursive, so this is a great place for them to try a “fancy” way to sign their names.
• PS.
  Explain that this stands for “postscript” and is a quick, often fun add-on to the letter. Maybe a note about their pet? A “Can’t wait to see you this summer”? A mention of a fun memory they’ve had with the recipient?

How to make sending letters easy for kids

Make sure your kids have everything they need handy. Stock an organizer with:

• Notecards, stationery and postcards
• Their own address book or notebook
• Stamps (you can let them pick their own designs at the US Postal Service website)
• Writing utensils
• Stickers and washi tape

Letter writing is a wonderful way to express gratitude and writing thank-you notes is an easy place to begin, especially for younger kids. Start after a birthday or holiday and show little ones how to show gratitude for a gift received or time spent together.

A few more tips:

• If they can’t write just yet, ask them to tell you what they’d like to say in the letter—capturing it verbatim can be adorable. Let them decorate it with pictures and stickers. It’s also fun to let them “sign” (or cutely scribble) their name.
• If they can write a little, come up with a “fill-in-the-blank” letter where they can add a few words they know. Or help kids practice handwriting by printing what they’d like to say and letting them copy your writing onto their stationery.
• When they can properly write sentences, simply help them with structure and coming up with just the right words and expressions.

Letters aren’t just for sending to grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and faraway friends. Kids can express big thoughts to companies, people they admire, elected officials and groups.

They can make suggestions, offer criticisms, convey admiration or support, ask questions and share their gratitude. Letter writing is a great way to show kiddos how to use their voices for change and to constructively express their ideas, thoughts and feelings—the world is listening!

A few recipients to start with:

• The president or elected officials
• A company that makes a product they love—and one that made a product that disappointed them
• Someone who does a job in a field that interests them
• Someone they admire—famous or otherwise
• A nonprofit group they support
• Children’s book authors (my kids have received some really fun replies!)

Once they’ve decided who to write to, you can teach them how to find addresses online. We’ve got instructions for addressing envelopes.