How to Encourage a Love of Letters in the Lives of Little Ones 

 Is there a little one in your life - a niece, nephew, or grandchild? They're probably already email-savvy, which is great, but you can make sure they also learn to love sending and receiving letters by mail.

Here's how to make sure the fine art of letter-writing does not die out.  First, purchase a supply of stationary (not note cards but actual writing paper) and matching envelopes, and a small sheet or booklet of stamps. The paper doesn't have to be expensive, but try to match the theme of the paper and stamps to the interests of your budding writer. The post office has a great selection of stamps featuring flowers, paintings, animals, bugs, sports, and even cartoon characters. You can see the current selection online at www.usps.gov (click on "postal store"). You can even purchase your stamps online.

Next, print some return address labels on your computer, with the name and address of the child.  Then write a newsy letter to your little one, explaining that you're giving them the paper, stamps, and labels so that you can write to each other.

You may want to include some topics that the child could write to you about, or jot down a few questions in your letter that the child could answer, such as "What are you learning about in science class?" "How is your soccer team doing this season?" etc.

Tuck everything into an envelope, address it to the child, and drop it in the mail. One seven-year-old girl whose aunt sent her a pack of letter writing supplies said that going to the mailbox to look for letters became her favorite part of the day. Her letters back to her aunt were short but oh-so-sweet.

The letters you receive may contain just a few words, but if you keep up the correspondence by writing back quickly, you (and your little one) will soon have a box full of letters that you'll treasure forever.

Reprinted with permission, by IntegrityNotes.com