Dear Homeschoolers,

Isn’t it fun to get a REAL letter in the mail? You know how you are sorting through the bills, the junk mail, and then…there it is: a REAL letter. It makes you smile, right? I would guess you open it first, too. I sure do.

We love getting letters, especially in a world of emails, texting, and FaceTime. There is something special about knowing that someone was thinking of you days before and took the time to write you a letter.

Teaching our children to write REAL letters is a priceless skill. If we can motivate our children with a purpose for writing, they will actually want to write those letters!

How do you motivate children to write a letter? Simply give them a purpose. Let them in on the secret of surprising someone. Have them imagine what the person will do when he or she receives the letter. It will motivate them! Sharing a story of a letter you remember receiving and why it was special to you can be a powerful motivator for your children.

Here are some fun reasons your child can write a letter:

• Thank-you card
• Birthday card
• Invitation
• Get-well card
• Ask a question (for interviews or research)
• Encouragement
• Holidays
• Just to make someone smile
• Tell a story
• Write an author or illustrator
• Share something exciting that happened (a lost tooth, for example)

If you want to put a smile on a child’s face, send her a letter.

If you want to make someone feel special, send him a letter.

Teaching your child why and how to write a letter will create many happy moments for those who are special to you.

If you are looking for specific lessons on letter writing, TeacherFileBox.com has a great lesson to teach the format of writing a friendly letter in this file folder activity.

You can also sign up with TeacherFileBox.com to find other lesson plans on different types of letter writing.

What are some of your favorite reasons to write a letter? I would love to hear your ideas in the comment section below.

Until then, I will be writing a letter to you in the form of my next blog post,

Amy

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Contributing Writer

Amy Michaels is a certified teacher with 11 years of elementary classroom experience who is actively homeschooling her own children. Her mission is share the best teaching methods and resources with all homeschoolers. Amy supports parents through her podcasts, webinars, and online training for homeschoolers on her website http://www.thrivehomeschooling.com.