Tuesday’s Tips: Mail Mania!
Long before Google searches made it simple to explore any topic in the blink of an eye, I attended my first teaching conference. While I was there, I took part in a workshop called THE IDEA SWAP. The concept behind this little activity was simple– each educator shared in writing one great idea that had actually worked in the classroom. In return, she gleaned hundreds of tried and true tips from other teachers in the trenches. What I loved most about the ideas that emerged from that intentional exchange was their practicality. They weren’t theories that looked good on paper but failed to produce the promised results with the real live kids in my classroom. They were a treasure trove of wisdom born out of my fellow teachers’ trials and failures, prayers and victories.
I’ve often thought about that IDEA SWAP when I’m fixing the same meal for dinner again or I’m playing my fifty-third round of Go-Fish for the week. Wouldn’t it be nice to glean a few fresh ideas from other moms? Wouldn’t it be fun to share a tried and true tip that has actually worked with the real live kids who spill milk on our dinner tables and throw tantrums in the grocery store? That would be like excavating treasure from the diaper pail!
So, would you grab your shovel and join me? I’m inviting you to dig for treasure in a new feature called “Tuesday’s Tips.” Just think of it as a weekly IDEA SWAP for moms. I hope that when you stop by on Tuesdays, you’ll find jewels of encouragement and clusters of creative ideas from the sticky trenches of parenthood.
Of course a SWAP wouldn’t be a true exchange without many voices. So, please consider chiming in the discussion and sharing your own great ideas. If you’ve discovered a tried and true trip that has made motherhood a little easier, a little more exciting, or a bit more meaningful, please let me know. Just leave a comment after this post or send me an email (rbruxvoort@iowatelecom.net) so I can share your idea in the next swap! I’d love to feature you on an upcoming Tuesday. Let the digging begin!
Nothing brightens my children’s day like the joy of finding a letter with their name on it tucked between the piles of paper in our mail box. Though my little ones are growing up in a generation of emails, texts, and instant messages, they still get a thrill out of good-old-fashioned snail mail.
Over the years we’ve experimented with different ways to elicit “fun mail” in the mailbox. The kids have initiated pen pal letters, they have sent off loads of refrigerator masterpieces to far away friends, and they have designed home made cards in hopes of receiving a simple reply. Sadly, few of our attempts ever create return mail.
Mail Mania!
Nothing brightens my children’s day like the joy of finding a letter with their name on it tucked between the piles of paper in our mail box. Though my little ones are growing up in a generation of emails, texts, and instant messages, they still get a thrill out of good-old-fashioned snail mail. Over the years we’ve experimented with different ways to elicit “fun mail” in the mailbox. The kids have initiated pen pal letters, they have sent off loads of refrigerator masterpieces to far away friends, and they have designed home made cards in hopes of receiving a simple reply. Sadly, few of our attempts ever create return mail.
That’s why we were totally excited when our dear friend Jill shared her great idea with us a few weeks ago. One of Jill’s favorite things to do with her preschooler is to create”fill-in-the-blank postcards.” This ingenious idea teaches children the dying art of both SENDING and RECEIVING mail. The fill-in-the-blank format encourages a quick reply and produces a happy harvest of fun mail!
Hannah and Joshua tried this idea a few weeks ago. Here’s what we did:
1. We wrote a brief note with some fill-in-the-blank questions. (Jill writes hers by hand because she has beautiful penmanship, but we chose to script ours on the computer, print it, and glue the short letter onto a postcard. That kept the postcard legible for the recipients and also allowed us to send the same note to several different friends.)
Here’s the post card Hannah composed:
Dear friend,
I’d love to hear from you. Could you please fill out this postcard
and drop it in the nearest mail box? Thanks! -Hannah
My favorite thing to do with you is…
The best thing that happened to me this week is…
Something you could pray about for me is…
If I could be any animal for a day, I’d like to be a…
because...
Hope this postcard makes you smile 🙂
2. Next, we added postage and put Hannah’s name and our own address on the front of the post card.
3. Then, we put the fill-in-the-blank postcard in a business sized envelope and addressed that envelope to the friend from whom Hannah hoped to hear.
4. One more stamp, and the envelope was ready to be dropped it in the mail.
One week later, Hannah did a happy dance when she spotted one of her postcards waiting in the mailbox. (Not surprisingly, the first friend to return the mail was Jill!).
Shortly after, Josh joined in the celebration when his cousin returned the first “Josh postcard.”
Do you need a smile delivered right to your door? Give Jill’s marvelous mail idea a try. If you do, a simple trip to the mailbox may become the best part of your children’s day!
4. One more stamp, and the envelope was ready to be dropped it in the mail.
One week later, Hannah did a happy dance when she spotted one of her postcards waiting in the mailbox. (Not surprisingly, the first friend to return the mail was Jill!).
Shortly after, Josh joined in the celebration when his cousin returned the first “Josh postcard.”Do you need a smile delivered right to your door? Give Jill’s marvelous mail idea a try. If you do, a simple trip to the mailbox may become the best part of your children’s day!
Sherri,
I’m glad Joshua’s postcard found its way to “little Luke.” Just put one of Luke’s amazing drawings in the mail.. josh would delight in ANYTHING that has his name on it!
Thanks to my new friend in Ohio for stopping by The Overflow! Oh, my, I feel your “endless hours”. Nothing can erase my memories of the seven long years when my husband was in med school and residency. I thought some days that the day would never end. I’m praying strength and peace your way! Blessings! And thanks for the website.. can’t wait to try it out!
I love love love this idea! And yes….Luke was thrilled to find a letter in the mailbox…probably his first ever! Now for my part….I can’t find his adorable answers to send back! Don’t worry I really am a bit more organized then I was in my last house…well, not yet…but my plans are all in place. I will figure it our! 🙂
Thanks for the great idea. I just came across your blog and have found it to be so uplifting! My jusband is in law school and as I am home alone with my children for endless hours, it’s always wonderful to come across blogs like yours. We will be trying this out today.
Another fun thing to do is join postcrossing.com. My children have really enjoyed getting postcards from around the world.
Thanks!
Angie in Ohio