After the holidays (and for us, a January Birthday), we have a lot of Thank You notes to write. I want my daughter to learn about thank you notes and to appreciate the power of a written snail mail.
I started with a box of mixed colored cards and matching envelopes. (Target, for about $12.00) We set about to make some notes by hand. She does not exactly read and write yet, so she participated at her level.
Stickers. (Themed, foamy, plain…)
The ocean creatures are always popular
I lined up cards on the table. The hope was that she would have some sense of how many we needed to do, (LOTS.) so perhaps we could knock some out in batches. I was hoping we would not get super focused on one single card.
We started off a little slow.
But with a change of costume and a little time, we got into it
Here “we” are working more with the rubber stamp.
And the letters
Here is the start of one of our masterpieces
And then this admirable creation
A mixed media collage. (There is a lot going on there. It’s hard to absorb. : )
In the end, when I sat with her and leaned in a little bit, we got them all written, signed and stuffed.
We are very lucky to have so many wonderful (and generous) friends. Very lucky indeed.
© 2005 – 2014 Kathy Lewinski & Susan Cornish
I agree with you wholeheartedly. It is never too young to write Thank You notes and to send them via mail. A handwritten note is something to be cherished and I am so glad that you are starting young with this concept. Well done everyone.
We did something similar with our boys (4 and 2 years old). I started with just having them draw a picture on the inside top part of a standard thank you note, and then labeling it “a rainbow by Jonah” or whatever they told me it was. Now we are working on them signing their names. Obviously the 4 year old has a much better grasp on copying the letters in his name, but it’s a start. I like this idea too! We have lots if stickers and they love “projects” so I think we might have to try this next time.
Katherine, Exactly. I like the idea of using her drawings! I tried not to get too harsh with her, in terms of “sticking with it” or “hammering it out”. I wanted to keep it in the spirit of “art project”. I thin one thing I will do, it to make them some time in the summer, and then just bring them out when it is time to write them. Thanks for visiting us!
I’ve received thank you notes from little people which used some of their artwork in lovely ways – if you can bear to cut up some of their big bold paintings, then mount them onto bright cards, it looks stunning.
Ros, I saw something like that on Pinterest and I am dying to do it. !!
Thank you for sharing such a lovely story. There was not much available for crafts when my kids were writing thank you notes, so they pasted pictures from magazines onto folded copy paper, but the joy I had helping them was the same joy you experienced. Your daughter is so blessed to have such a caring mother!
Ellen, what a lovely thing to say. Thank you so much. The truth is, I feel like the luckiest Mom in the world. I am so grateful to spend this time with her. Thank you for your kind comments. My heart is warm. -S