I found this idea at The Homeschool Post and thought it was such a great idea, I had to share!
We started a notebook that will contain letters between me and my daughter, its a great relationship building activity and will become a wonderful keepsake down the road! (Not to mention that it works on handwriting, spelling, and writing at the same time, and you know, if you can sneak in a little school, hey!)
But really I’m hoping to gain some treasured insight into my daughter and what goes on in that sweet head of hers. As well as strengthen our bond, and even give us some “1 on 1” time with each other that can be difficult to find in a family of 6.
I copied Beverly’s initial letter almost to the T:
“Dear ****, Would you like to be pen pals? I thought it would be fun! Instead of mailing letters to each other, we’ll keep them in this notebook.
I will write to you, and leave the notebook on your bed. Then, when you want to write me back, you write on the next page and leave the notebook on my bed. You can write anything you like. It can be funny or serious or anything you want to write. Sound like fun?
Love, Mom
P.S. Write back soon!”
I placed the notebook in one of my daughter’s workboxes for the initial introduction to it. After that we will leave it on each other’s bed. I’ll post updates to this post to let you know how it goes, and a HUGE thanks to The Homeschool Post for sharing such a wonderful idea!
So far, my daughter is LOVING this, and checks frequently in anticipation of her next letter. I’m hoping it will be a great treasure to look back on as the years roll by.
Awww! I used to do this with my little sister. *sigh* I may have to do this!
This is such a good idea. My oldest daughter did this with her grandmothers. She had one for each of them. They took a long time in sending them back, so it just kinda fizzled out after a couple of years. I was really hoping it would work since we live 16 hrs. from one and 20 hrs. from the other grandma.
I've done this with my husband, but hadn't thought about how special it would be to do with one of my children!
Fabulous idea! I'll definitely be using this with my daughter this fall when we start school!
Oh my gosh! I cannot wait to be able to do this with my daughter one day. My husband and I did a similar journal when we were dating long distance. Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
I think that is awesome! I can't wait until my daughters are old enough to read and write! I've heard of this before and think it could be very insightful. I'm not good at keeping up with scrapbooking but I have found that journaling is something that I can manage to do from time to time. I keep a journal to each of my three kids. Every now and then I write letters to them telling them what is happening in life at the time, what their favorite things are, and sometimes words of wisdom. I'm not fully decided when I'll give them their book, but I know I would treasure something like that from my childhood.
Just started this most awesome idea with my almost 6 year old daughter tonight. I am much better at writing my feelings, rather than verbally sharing them. This is a great tool to have as the years go by. Thank you for sharing!
My daughter does this with my husband. I find it not only helps build their relationship, but helps connect him to our days.
I love this idea! For writing/reading practice my husband and I have written letters back and forth with Rylan, but storing all the letters is a bit of a pain, this is such a simple way to eliminate all the single sheets of paper and a will be a wonderful keepsake…thanks for sharing!
This is such a great idea…thank you for sharing it! I'm going to start it this week.