The Art of Letter writing

The creative writing group prompt was about postcards.

I have always loved sending and receiving postcards.

Grandad Powell collected many postcards, some of which were displayed in a beautiful montage on a six-foot tri-folding screen. It was a wonderful piece to admire, filled with glimpses of history.

Grandma Powell had a lovely collection of old postcards kept safely in a book. Occasionally, I was allowed to look through them. Among them were postcards sent by Grandad during the war.

I also remember a large collection of cards of a ‘Lillian Elsey’, who was on the stage in Brighton. Lillian Elsey was Grandma's maiden name – but it wasn’t her.

Throughout my life, I have collected and treasured postcards, which I still keep safely in a box. Some I received through the post, while others were scenic views or memories of places I have visited.

This also reminded me of how we started writing at the beginning of the school term in Year Two. We set up a scheme of work using a few books about holiday news and Postcards..

I've also been following Sally Cronin's blog post, where she shares letters she sent home to her parents in 1985-87. 

It has been lovely to read her chatty messages, and I'm sure her parents were pleased to receive them.

It reminded me of my time in college and on holidays when I sent and received letters.

Nowadays, the post is mainly bills and advertising flyers. I'd much prefer a letter.

Our writing project at school involved books by Martine Selway, 'Wish You Were Here' and 'What Can I Write?' I eventually tracked down the books.

I'm sure my grandchildren will enjoy the books, and I would certainly love to get a letter from them one day.

As my husband and I were off on holiday for a week, I asked them what they might like me to bring back.

Alexander wanted a 'special shell', and Isabelle wanted a 'pink rocket '

As I was about to head off to the airport, I thought I would use some of my special writing paper to send them both a letter. I put the two letters together in a bigger white envelope.

Once in Spain, I headed off to get some nice paper and envelopes. But no luck.

No wonder no one sends letters if there's no paper to use, and where do you get a stamp?

I chose two postcards with their message and bought a card to use the envelope.

I hope they treasure these as much as Sally Cronin's parents obviously treasured her messages from America,

A message for Alexander

You asked for a shell

A special magical shell

With the sound of the sea inside

A shell? What size would it be?

What could have lived inside?

We have found shells on a pebbly beach

That crunch and break under your feet

Will I find a shell on the sandy shore?

I will look for that special magical shell

With the sound of the sea,

And a whisper from me as well.

A message for Isabelle 

A pink rocket, that’s what you said

I hope I find one for you.

Where will you go in your rocket?

Where will it fly?

I’m going in an aeroplane.

Not up into space, just up in the sky.

I’m off to Spain, but I will be back again

I’ll look for a rocket.

Otherwise something pink,

Because you like ‘pink’, don’t you? 

The School postcards lesson plan

As the new school term started, the first task is usually to settle the children back into the routine, often by sharing holiday news. This was an excellent way to ease into writing again. It is the first piece of writing after the holidays and often serves as an assessment task. The children share holiday experiences in pairs or small groups, practising speaking and listening skills.

Questions like:

• Where did you go for your holiday?
• Who did you go with?
• What was your best day?

Story Book

To inspire their writing, we often choose a book to read together. One favourite is by Martina Selway, which encourages children to think about what they want to write.

Postcards Activities

Task One:

We examined various postcards, noting their layout. Some featured a single image, while others had a collage of different views. Sometimes the location was clearly marked; other times, it was hinted at along the bottom.

Task Two:

Children drew a bright, colourful image or images of their holiday on a postcard-sized card.

Task Three:

They then drafted a message about their holiday or favourite memory. After editing, the message was written on one half of the back of the postcard.

Task Four:

Since the postcard was to be displayed, we would use the school’s address instead of their home address. This was written on the other half of the postcard.

Task Five:

The children designed small stamps on sticky labels -  sometimes a scene, sometimes a royal portrait. After sticking their stamps onto the postcards, they added wavy watermark lines, like real postcards.

The Result

Their postcards were grouped in sets of 6, tied together at diagonal corners, and hung from the ceiling. It was a fun way to share holiday news and created a colourful display for each workgroup. The lesson was a perfect way to start the Year Two term and the new school year.

Fast forward… with sensory alarms now in place, hanging items from the ceiling is no longer allowed.