It makes what they read and write even more special. Writing letters with pencil and paper slows kids down. And that’s great for some things, but for others it’s a problem. Raising kids in the digital age means they don’t have to wait for much anymore. "But for me, there’s an even more important skill kids learn, patience. Getting back to basics, helping to create an imaginary world without the need for apps, buttons, sound-effects, motors, or the digital experience.Īs blogger Jennifer Cooper says on the PBS Parents website, Just ask Amazon or Ebay!Īnd finally, I would say that sometimes, ‘slow-living’ is about teaching your children a different kind of play. This is not just a fun craft activity from a lost era: even today, mail is still very relevant. I don't know if many schools are teaching children about mail any more, so maybe it's up to us to take that on. It wasn't their fault we realised they had never been taught the proper way to address a letter or affix a stamp. Instead, they'd simply done the logical thing when it came to writing anything: they'd started at the top. The girls had written the addresses in tiny handwriting in one long line at the top of each envelope, and then stuck the stamp right in the middle. * Counting (weighing parcels and buying stamps) * Reading (the fabulous letters that come) * Writing (storytelling in their own letters) * Handwriting (developing their visual, cognitive and fine-motor skills) * Art (enclosing drawings or making mail-art) * Geography (looking at maps to see where their letters will travel) * Learning about other cultures (from international pen-pals)Ī few years ago, Mr B and I gave a bunch of envelopes to his daughter and her cousin, asking them to address them for us. The girls were about 11 years old at the time, and we had 50 envelopes to address, so we offered them some pocket money for the task. They gleefully did the job and then ran off to the shops to spend the pocket money, only for Mr B and me to discover that the envelopes were no use to us, we had to throw them out and redo them all. Teaching children about the post office reinforces all kinds of other important skills: If for this pleasure alone, teaching your children about the postal system and having someone write to them is a wonderful thing to share with them. For children, the novelty factor triples that joy and excitement. After all, you and I already know the joy of going to the letter-box and discovering something personal, and friendly, with your name on the front. Often, parents write to tell me that the letter I had sent them made their children so excited, and curious, and inspired them to send letters of their own. It's so rare these days, that sometimes people contact me to tell me that they are in their 20s and my letter was the first they had ever received.
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