PenPals to encourage writing?

[lizabird]

My son is 7 and not too interested in writing/reading.  BUT, he loves to get mail.  I am really sorry if this isn't an appropriate post for this forum, but I was wondering if there might be any others out there who maybe want to connect their kids with an AP homeschooling penpal?

I think he would love to have a penpal, girl or boy, about age 7, interested sending and receiving short letters.  My ds is currently obsessed with LEGO and anything Star Wars.  He would love a regular "correspondent" via mail, if anyone out there may possibly be interested.

Maybe we can use this thread to exchange penpal requests, and if anyone sees someone that sounds like a good match, send them a PM?  Would that be allowed?  I think it would be really fun for the kids who love mail!

:)

liza

[tammyw]

Just a thought, but does he have any friends or relatives out of town? That's what I started having my dd (just turned 8) do. She now regularly corresponds with her grandmother and several of the friends we've moved away from (a benefit of moving around with the military). I think it makes corresponding easier when they "know" who they are corresponding with?

[lizabird]

Yes, he has grandparents and aunts who write on occasion, but I think he would love another kid his own age (he can't read grandparents or aunts writing, for one).  He has been begging to write a letter to his younger brother's imaginary friend.  We have several local friends, but the correspondence via mail gets slowed down by the fact that they see each other regularly, and then don't really feel the need to communicate in writing.  I remember having a penpal as a kid, and it was really fun creating a friendly bond with someone I never met.  He also wants someone who shares a lego or star wars bond.  Grandma definitely can't do that.  ;)

[KJoslyn78]

I too have been looking for a penpal for my daughter (12 1/2, so i would guess too old for your son), so I've been looking at various penpal sites online, I just can't decide that ones are safe, and what ones might be fishy.

[Mere]

lizabird, My ds is also 7 (well, will be in one month!), obsessed with Start Wars and Legos, and loves to get mail - they might be a good match!  He can read alright, but we've had issues with letter writing before.  He actually gets a little excited at the prospect of writing a letter and then getting a letter back, however when he actually sits down with a pencil and gets past the 'Dear ___' he freezes up.  At that point he generally claims that he can't think of anything interesting to say (my suggestions are completely disregarded) and crumbles up his paper.  Given past experiences, I just don't think he'd do a 'Dear __, I am 7 yo and my favorite color is red' kind of a letter. 

I'm wondering however, if for these beginning writers, it would be helpful to have a some 'letter starters' of some kind so they're not starting from scratch?  For instance, ds has recently enjoyed doing Star Wars Mad Libs.  Maybe they could exchange Mad Libs stories?  OR...they could exchange pictures and descriptions of different Star Wars Lego sets they've done. 

Anyhow, let me know if you (or anyone else) is interested and we could brainstorm some more ideas. 

[lizabird]

The types of letters my ds has written recently go something like this.

Hi _____, Who is your favorite Star Wars person?  I like Luke Skywalker best.

and maybe he'll include a small drawing of R2-D2 and then write his name at the end.

I don't expect him to write an amazing letter, I just want him to have an experience where reading and writing is fun, and he runs out to greet the mailman every chance he gets, so it's always exciting for him to get a personal letter in the mail as well. 

Today, he got a post card from Grandma.  He saw it had his name on it, but he can't read her writing, and it was just about a recent trip to New York, which wasn't terribly interesting to him.  Oh, well.  Sigh!