Pen pals are a fun way for kids to practice writing skills. My kids have had a couple over the years and it is something they always enjoyed. It’s something I enjoyed as a kid, too. I remember one in particular that I traded a few letters with that lived in Spain. How to Find […]
This Free Printable Pen Pal Letter is a fun way for your little ones to keep in touch with friends and family over the summer break. Hop ove to grab it now.
Sending mail to friends and family in prison or jail can be tricky. We have a few tips, suggestions, ideas, and examples of how to send a letter to an inmate. These jail mail tips will help you send cards that will mean the world to your pen pal in prison.
This is no ordinary pen pal book! Designed with friendship in mind, it is filled with resources, tips, creative inspiration and more. Everything a person needs, if they are inside or out, to assist them find and be a better pen pal. Just some of the interesting knowledge you will find in this great new book - Pen Pal Profiles & Writing Tips, Pen Pal Resources for Prisoners, Anyone and Specialized, Pen Pal Mail Art & Ideas, Quotes to Share, Stationary and Notes & Address Book. Take your correspondence with family and friends, old and new, to a whole new level!
**please note that there are a few affiliate links in here. thanks!* Hello everyone! I’m pretty sure a lot of you know how much I love snail mailing by now. If you don’t then I REALLY L…
Have you read the book, “Have you Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol McCloud? I highly recommend you read it if you haven’t already. This book is perfect for this time of year. Have you noticed a change in your students' behavior lately? Too many days spent inside for recess plus colds and viruses can make students irritable. They often spend more of their time tattling than doing their classwork. This book will help your students make an attitude adjustment. Your class will begin to look for the positive instead of focusing on the negative. This book can be used a variety of ways. Use it with your lesson about metaphors. Or set up a "Share the Love" writing center. There are writing papers and cover included with this FREE packet so your students can be bucket fillers. BLANK FORM: This would be perfect for a pen pal type of activity. Each week, let students draw a name out of the hat, and write a note to fill their classmate’s bucket. FORMS WITH PICTURES: Classroom teachers are often shown appreciation during the holidays by parents. There are many people like crossing guards, cafeteria ladies, reading specialists, librarians, P.E. teachers, and custodians who help our students, too. These staff members are often overlooked. Why not use these forms to fill their buckets? You could set this up as a writing center. Staple the notes together in a book and put it in their mailbox for a nice little surprise. Click HERE to download the freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my February Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. How do you show appreciation? Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
Pen pals bring back the excitement of writing and help teach kids about patience, etiquette, and letter writing skills. Plus, they're also a ton of fun!
Having a pen pal helps promote many key developmental skills. Sure we can hop online any time and be in contact with someone from the other side of the world, but having a snail mail pen pal has it's perks too! The most obvious skills practiced with sending and receiving letters in the mail are reading and writing. This is a great opportunity to focus on practicing punctuation, capitalization, and long hand writing as in not short cutting phrases like "that was funny" into "LOL." I'm sure any ch
Sending mail to friends and family in prison or jail can be tricky. We have a few tips, suggestions, ideas, and examples of how to send a letter to an inmate. These jail mail tips will help you send cards that will mean the world to your pen pal in prison.
Look at the penpal letter then do the exercises to help you practise writing in English.
Having a pen pal helps promote many key developmental skills. Sure we can hop online any time and be in contact with someone from the other side of the world, but having a snail mail pen pal has it's perks too! The most obvious skills practiced with sending and receiving letters in the mail are reading and writing. This is a great opportunity to focus on practicing punctuation, capitalization, and long hand writing as in not short cutting phrases like "that was funny" into "LOL." I'm sure any ch
Where to find pen pals around the world, a guide to finding pen pals, happy mail websites along with details of my pen pal sign up
This week’s writing practice will focus on letter sizing, and we have more great printable writing prompts for your kiddos!
**please note that there are a few affiliate links in here. thanks!* Hello everyone! I’m pretty sure a lot of you know how much I love snail mailing by now. If you don’t then I REALLY L…
Formal_Informal_English (Formal Writing Expressions) (Formal letter Practice) (For and Against essay) (how to write a film review) (film review) (film review) (opinion essay) (a magazine article) …
Do you remember the times you used to rush from school, sit behind your parent's desk and put pen to paper (back in those days this was a valid expression) and feel so utterly liberated by the act of writing a letter to someone from another town or country whom you got to know only through the nice smell of paper and ink? And then there was the pleasant wait, for the post person to ring the bell and give you that special letter you've waited for weeks, sometimes even for months. Do you remember?
Having a pen pal helps promote many key developmental skills. Sure we can hop online any time and be in contact with someone from the other side of the world, but having a snail mail pen pal has it's perks too! The most obvious skills practiced with sending and receiving letters in the mail are reading and writing. This is a great opportunity to focus on practicing punctuation, capitalization, and long hand writing as in not short cutting phrases like "that was funny" into "LOL." I'm sure any ch
This Free Printable Pen Pal Letter is a fun way for your little ones to keep in touch with friends and family over the summer break. Hop ove to grab it now.
Hello, dears! I’m super excited for this post! (How unusual. :P ) One of my readers recently requested I write about pen pal questions, so here we are. Asking/answering questions in letters (…
Here at Root & Branch, we are all about snail mail. In this blog post I've put together tips, inspiration to help you up your letter-writing game
Suggestions and ideas of what to write to your pen pal, from that initial letter through to ongoing snail mail chats and inclusions.
Does your reluctant writer hate to journal? Do you need a way to encourage her writing? Try becoming your child's pen pal with these simple tips.
Needing some ideas for things to do on summer break? Look no further! With 102 things to choose from, you're sure to find some fun activities for your family!
All about finding a pen pal, writing your first letter, and ideas on what little treasures fit in an envelope!
Love the idea of having a pen pal, but never know what to say? Want a fun project for that creative kid in your life? Or are you just looking for something laid back and happy to ease your daily stress? Download your own digital copy of the Pen Pal Activity pages! This digital download includes 5 activity pages that offer up fun topics for you and your pen pal to write about! Silly questionnaires and topics to discuss, plenty of room for drawing, coloring, and thinking outside the box! Fun for adults and kids alike! Ages 7 & and up SIZE INFO: Each page is 8.5 x 11 PRICE INFO: Download all for $6. Contact me if you'd only like to purchase one page, or if you'd like to request a custom-made page! HOW TO ACCESS YOUR PURCHASE: Once payment is confirmed, digital files are available to download. To access, go to You >> Purchases & Reviews and click on "download files" DIGITAL ONLY; NO PHYSICAL ITEM WILL BE MAILED TO YOU. All digital sales are final. Please contact me if you have any issues and I will assist!
Classroom pen pals offer authentic and meaningful friendly letter writing opportunities. Read up on related cross-curricular and technology connections.
Get more out of learning English with these free and printable Fun English Worksheets that you can print out directly from your browser. Each English worksheet is available with different theme to make sure the learning time is effective. This resource of printable worksheets is great for practicing your knowledge in English.
Hello, dears! I’m super excited for this post! (How unusual. :P ) One of my readers recently requested I write about pen pal questions, so here we are. Asking/answering questions in letters (…
Besides the desired benefit of nurturing our relationship with grandkids, having a pen pal benefits them too! Get started with these pen pal ideas today
Here are some of our favorite expert tips and strategies to help kids improve handwriting!
A question I hear all the time is, "What do I write to a pen pal?" My own pen pal, artist, and L.W.A. member, Mary E. recently sent me over a handy list of 50 things you can write to a pen pal about.
Several years ago, Sarah and I were classroom pen pals with Aylin and Amanda from Learning to the Core! Every month we would exchange letters. Our kiddos LOVED it! Our students were happy to write letters to their pen pals and were THRILLED when a new package arrived. We saw some of our most reluctant readers and writers try their hardest....and enjoy it. Pen pals can be whatever you'd like to make them - pen pals can be across the country or across the hall! We wrote our pen pals once a month - but this is obviously not required either! We created our Pen Pal Through the Year product to make pen pals a reality for teachers that want to give it a try! Below is what Pen Pal Through the Year looks like in pictures - we completed an example of each template to give you an idea of what the monthly activities look like. SEPTEMBER // Intro Letter Students will get a chance to share about themselves to their new pen pal! OCTOBER // Postcard Students can make the postcard be about any topic - in this example, I made it about a field trip to the zoo. On the back side of the postcard, kiddos draw a picture of what they wrote about. NOVEMBER // Puzzle Students create a puzzle for their pen pal. If this is done in November, the topic can be "I am thankful for ____," like the example I made below. Once students draw on their puzzle, they cut it out, put it back together to give it a try, and put it in a Ziploc bag for their pen pal. DECEMBER // Gift Tag Students will make a very small gift for their pen pal. In this example, a friendship bracelet was made. Students make a gift tag to go along with the gift. JANUARY // Text Message This template is made to resemble a text message and coordinating picture. The text starts with the prompt, "My favorite part of break was_____," so that students can write about their winter break. FEBRUARY // Greeting Card Students have a chance to make a Valentine's Day card for their pen pal. You can add a pencil or small treat if you want! MARCH // Book Recommendation Students get a chance to share about a favorite book they think their pen pal would love to read. There is also a template to make a bookmark to send along as well. APRIL // Email This template is made to resemble an email message. The email starts with the prompt, "This weekend I _____," so that students can write about their weekend. MAY // End of Year Reflection Students can share a reflection about their school year and then share plans for the summer on this template. Any Time // Friendly Letter Template Students can write a friendly letter. This template can be used any time! The ideas above are only suggestions for how to use each month's template, you can ultimately pick when / how you use of the activities included. Want to give it a try? Click here and you'll find our Pen Pal Through the Year product!
No matter how old you are, everyone longs to feel a little more connected these days.
Hello, dears! I’m super excited for this post! (How unusual. :P ) One of my readers recently requested I write about pen pal questions, so here we are. Asking/answering questions in letters (…
Learn how to easily access ready-to-use curriculum for global student connections. This online pltaform and EdTech tool makes it easy to connect students.
