Who doesn’t like to get mail? A pen pal station for kids is the perfect way to develop your kids’ reading and writing skills in a super fun and engaging way.
My kids love to write letters now.
Plus, with all the fun supplies and resources I included in their pen pal kit, they’ve become pretty independent letter writers, which makes this a great quiet time activity.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Supply list
Here are the supplies I used to create this adorable little pen pal station for my kids:
Storage bin
I’ve been seeing this storage bin on Instagram lately, and decided to try it out.
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Citylife 17 QT Plastic Storage Box with… |
$34.99 |
Buy on Amazon |
I wanted something that could keep all our supplies organized, but that I could still tuck away in a cabinet when we weren’t using it.
When I saw this bin in person, I was so excited- it’s perfect!
Writing supplies
I started out by grabbing a bunch of art supplies (washi tape, markers, paper and envelopes) from supplies that we already had at home.
(I included our favorite Amazon felt-tip marker pens, which we use all the time!)
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon Basics Felt Tip Marker Pens,… |
$8.97 |
Buy on Amazon |
Then I added a few new purchases: this stationary & envelope set, and a new sticker book.
My kids have been tearing out sticker pages from this book and including them along with their letters as a little gift to their pen pals.
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
IMagicoo 48 Cute Colorful Writing… |
$11.99 |
Buy on Amazon |
|
Fashion Angels 1000+ Ridiculously Cute… |
$4.99 |
Buy on Amazon |
I also bought new postcards for the Postcrossing project we started doing- read more about that below.
And, of course, we stocked up on postage stamps.
Helpful pages
After filling our pen pal kit with all the supplies my kids could possibly need, I decided to include a few helpful pages that they could reference as they were writing letters.
I found this friendly letter printable for free on Teachers Pay Teachers, and printed it to give the kids some guidance on how to write a basic letter.
I found this page on How to Address an Envelope (also free on Teachers Pay Teachers) and filled it in with our own address in the return address space.
For each of my kids, I also created their own “address book.” (It’s just a list of the names and addresses of a few of their friends that I thought they might like to write to.) I also made a family address book with the addresses of grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Now they can send letters without asking me to address them- yay!
Download the address book template
You can download your own address book here, print it, and fill it in for your own kids:
Postcrossing
My kids have had a blast writing back and forth with their friends, and finding small things like stickers and bookmarks that they can send to each other.
But if you also want to use your pen pal station to learn about other countries, I highly recommend a program called Postcrossing.
Postcrossing is a postcard exchange project. Your kids can send and receive postcards from people in other countries. It’s totally free, and my kids love getting mail from around the world.
Have fun creating your own pen pal station for your kids! And if you take a picture, please tag me on Instagram- I’d love see it!
-Laura
Christmas planner: Free printable
This 36 page Christmas planner for moms (free printable PDF download) includes a Christmas bucket list, to-do checklists, book and movie lists, gift ideas for kids, non-toy gift ideas, a Christmas party planner, Christmas activity ideas for kids, thank you card checklist, a holiday meal planner, and more! It’s absolutely everything you need to keep…
Best Christmas Movies for Kids
Here are 24 of the best Christmas movies for kids to watch this year. Enjoy! 1. Home Alone (1990) I recently did a poll in my Instagram stories, and Home Alone came out as the number 1 favorite Christmas movie to watch with kids. 2. The Grinch (2018) This version of The Grinch is sooo…
November gratitude calendar for kids
This gratitude calendar is the perfect way to encourage your kids to be grateful and thankful for all they have during the month of November. What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving! Download the gratitude calendar for kids Download the november Gratitude calendar for kids here! Link not working? Click here instead. Tip: When you…
How to organize legos for kids
As a mom of 4 kids, I’m here to share the secret about how to organize legos for kids. The secret? It all depends on how your kids play with their legos. Let me explain: Our kids used to love doing lego sets. They would build a set, take it apart, and build the same…
Easy sports night dinners: 100 ideas
When I signed my kids up for sports, I didn’t realize that it meant we would either be eating dinner at 4:00, or at 9:00 pm! Evenings with sports practices and games can make eating dinner as a family tough. Which is why I decided to make a list of over 100 easy sports night…
How to organize your iPhone photos (the fun and easy way!)
Here’s how to organize your iPhone photos without losing your mind: My phone was out of storage. I had WAY too many photos and videos that I never sort through, but the thought of going through them all was wildly overwhelming. Which is how I came up with the photo cleanup challenge. It’s a fun…
Continue Reading How to organize your iPhone photos (the fun and easy way!)
Save and share Pen Pal Station for Kids:
Leave a Reply