I found this idea at The Homeschool Post and thought it was such a great idea, I had to share!
We started a notebook that will contain letters between me and my daughter, its a great relationship building activity and will become a wonderful keepsake down the road! (Not to mention that it works on handwriting, spelling, and writing at the same time, and you know, if you can sneak in a little school, hey!)
But really I’m hoping to gain some treasured insight into my daughter and what goes on in that sweet head of hers. As well as strengthen our bond, and even give us some “1 on 1” time with each other that can be difficult to find in a family of 6.
I copied Beverly’s initial letter almost to the T:
“Dear ****, Would you like to be pen pals? I thought it would be fun! Instead of mailing letters to each other, we’ll keep them in this notebook.
I will write to you, and leave the notebook on your bed. Then, when you want to write me back, you write on the next page and leave the notebook on my bed. You can write anything you like. It can be funny or serious or anything you want to write. Sound like fun?
Love, Mom
P.S. Write back soon!”
I placed the notebook in one of my daughter’s workboxes for the initial introduction to it. After that we will leave it on each other’s bed. I’ll post updates to this post to let you know how it goes, and a HUGE thanks to The Homeschool Post for sharing such a wonderful idea!
So far, my daughter is LOVING this, and checks frequently in anticipation of her next letter. I’m hoping it will be a great treasure to look back on as the years roll by.
How precious! This brought tears to my eyes! What a wonderful idea! I will definitely remember this when my children can read and write.
This reminded me of an old jotter my Best Friend and I had!! We were in the same group but different subjects so in between switching classrooms we used to switch the book and write in it during our lessons!! We completed three jotters in our years together! I wonder if she still has it?I can't wait do start this with my daughters … in a few years time!
Oh, I LOVE this idea!!! I am totally going to do this!!!!!!!1
What a great way to connect with your children! I am starting this today!
I have done this off and on with my kids. Some times they would write to dad or a sibling. Some times it would be to a pet. I just reinstated this a month ago with my 8yo. She is not writing on her own yet but has no problem dictating notes to me. By the time she is able to compose on her own we will be in the groove for sure. I've kept my other kids journals. Sounds like a good time to pull them out and reminisce.
What a neat idea! I think I am going to have to start this too. Thank you for sharing this.
I started one with my six year old step son right away! I love this idea!I also started one for my 20 month old daughter, but right now it will just be letters to her and possibly pictures she draws and such. I want her to know about her day to day child hood, how much I love her,and how crazy she drives me! I also hope this will help explain why her brother isn't always around, and the harder parts of life. I also want my kids to know they can talk to me about anything and I think this will open that door for them! Watch for my blog post about it!
I love this idea! I'll definitely be doing it. It's a terric way to practice skills, preservwe the art of letter writing (real) and connecting with our kids. My 17yo daughter has a box on her desk even today that is filled with several years worth of lunch bag notes I wrote to her. Handwritten communication is very special.
I do this with my husband actually. When we were dating and at different colleges, we would write each other letters all the time, so we continued it after we got married, but we write in a journal. Great idea to do it with the kids too!
That's a cute idea!