Writing a Letter to a Penpal

How-to Find Penpals and Write Letters

© Elece Hollis

Sep 14, 2006

The art of letter writing is fading due to internet email. It is a great surprise and a definite delight to get a real snail mail letter addressed to you! Can you find a person who wants to write and mail letters back and forth with you on a regular basis?

Finding a safe pen pal can be a challenge. You want your child to find a penpal from a safe source. Here is a related site that gives information about the benefits of penpalling for kids School teachers often have safe listings. The lists are overseen by classroom teachers so lists are safer for a child. Still, all letter writing to and from a penpal can be made safer if the child shares the letters he sends and recieves with his family. There are also listings of foreign students who want pen pals. The Ranger Rick magazine offers a penpal service.

A grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin makes an excellent choice. Try an aquaintance who has moved to another town. Homeschooling penpal exchanges offer safe choices.

Letter writing can be fun. How about a message in a bottle? Send a letter to someone in a water bottle. Here are the instructions for this fun idea.

Encourage your child to write letters by providing a mailbox of supplies. What materials should you need for the mailbox?

Even little ones can color pages and dictate or print in crayon a note to Grandma or Grandpa. Preschoolers love to send and recieve letters. See this related article about working with preschoolers too.

Some ideas a child could write about are:

• About himself
• Wwhat he or she is doing and learning in his schoolwork
• Where he has gone lately
• His favorite things
• About his pets
• His friends
• His collections
• Books he likes
• Movies he has watched
• His hobbies
• Church activities
• Holidays

Pen pal letters should be friendly and chit-chatty. They should give news and views of the locality of the writer. Where he lives and what that place is known for. Are there any famous people from your hometown? Is there anything interesting to see there? Any products manufactured there that are unique?

My hometown boasts a factory that produces, from seaweed, a gum which is used in many food products. Our town has an Indian Council House which serves as a museum. It is the capital of a Native American tribe.

What is your town famous for?

• Famous foods?
• An annual festival?
• Horse racing?
• Flower or herb gardens?
• A celebrity citizen?
• A fine old building?

My pen pal lives in Honduras and she writes about growing pineapples, swimming in the ocean, her work in a mission and a hospital, and watching monkeys play in the trees.

What would your penpal like to know about where you live?

• About your family?
• Your school?
• Your daily activities?
• Animals or birds in your region?
• Politics?
• Gardening?
• Laws?
• Housing?
• Streets and Roads?
• Jobs?
• Money?
• Local sights?
• Stores and Restaurants?

Keep your letters interesting and you will get more replies.

Letter Writing

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