FOLLOW QUEEN ELIZABETH AND ME IN HAVING A PEN PAL

 

Queen Signing PhotographTim Graham / Getty Images

  I was surprised but delighted to learn Queen Elizabeth had a pen pale. For 70 years, the queen exchanged letters on her birthday with

Adele Hankey of Park River, South Dakota. They had the same birthday--even the same birth year. And so Adele wrote to the Queen. To her surprise, she received an answer. You can read about it here.

Having a pen pal is a very special experience. And I mean a real--letter through the mail. I had two very different but wonderful experiences with having pen pals.

All through high school I was pen pals with a girl in France. I don't remember exactly how I connected with but probably through my French teacher. 

Part of what made this memorable was our sharing our holidays and experiences. This also happened to be during the time that President Kennedy was assassinated. It was special to receive my pen pal's messages about how her country was reacting, and how sad she was about "my" loss.

Then when I first settled in New Zealand in 2000, I had round robin pen pals. 

I lived out in the country in Amberley near Christchurch on the South Island. 

Amberley Main Street

It was a very rural area and this was an amazing way to get to know local customs and people. I joined this by picking up an address on a bulletin board at the local library. Then what happened was an envelope (a large mailer) circulated during each month. 

When it reached me, I read the letters from each of the other five women in my round robin group. Then I wrote my letter to the group. In it, I told what I'd been doing. I asked questions if I had any, such as suggestions for getting something I needed to buy or gardening tips. And I included something extra. It might be a favorite recipe. It could be a photo of something growing or a wild animal I'd spotted. Then I packaged up my envelope with the name of the next person and posted it.

This was in the Post Office Store

    By the way, local post offices in New Zealand's rural areas were private businesses. They were a general store as much as a post office. So, I traded paperbacks I'd read with a new one to read at the post office. I also bought snacks, picked up art supplies, and visited with neighbors who were there too. Delivering the mail was a business too. Our mail couple (man and wife) often dropped in for coffee and to visit.

Share photos. Share ideas. Share smiles!

Queen Elizabeth enjoyed having a pen pal. My pen pal experiences were also special to me. So, I have to suggest having students try it. Could be within your class or between classes--even between schools in different places. 

But also think about doing a round robin pen pal program with another class. Let students think up what to share in the envelope each month: notes, photos, an activity to each do and share results, and a book to read aloud.