Encourage kiddos to keep in touch with long-distance friends via fun pen pal activities and printables!
Socialized Homeschoolers
The world has this crazy notion that homeschoolers are awkward, un-socialized, and don’t know how to hold a conversation or maintain friendships.
This is one of the most absurd things I’ve heard in my entire life, you guys!
Being an adult who was formerly enrolled in public school most of my childhood, I can positively state that being homeschooled is not what makes someone awkward or un-socialized.
Truth be told, I say homeschoolers are typically more socialized than public school students simply because trying to socialize in that public school setting often got me into trouble as a child.
The school was strictly for learning, not socializing.
That said, I’m a homebody and an introvert, which means I’m pretty much as socially awkward as it gets.
My homeschooled kids, however, could strike up a conversation with literally anyone.
So, next time someone tells you homeschooling = unsocialized and public schooling is the way to go, gently remind them just how crazy they are.
Seriously though.
Making Long-Distance Friends
While my children do make friends nearly everywhere we go, forming solid friendships with children their own age can still be a challenge.
This is when co-ops with other homeschoolers or playdates with mom friends can come in handy.
Thankfully, we visit the zoo bi-weekly for science classes and all 3 of my kiddos have made some wonderful friends in their age brackets!
That said, I was still totally intrigued by the additional possibility of pen pals when a fellow mom mentioned the idea in a homeschool Facebook group!
I once had a pen pal as a young girl and I still cherish the memories of sending and receiving letters with my sweet friend.
So, I totally jumped at the chance to watch my very own kiddos experience this special type of relationship.
While my older boys were both able to take pen pal letter writing into their own hands, I immediately felt concerned for my youngest.
My daughter is only five years old absolutely loves making new friends.
However, due to the typical 5-year-old’s attention span and her minor frustrations with writing, I knew right away that writing long letters to her new long-distance friends would likely end in disaster.
How in the world was I going to help her embark on this new adventure without frustration?
That said, my sweet, independent, social butterfly of a daughter was the biggest inspiration for these printable pen pal activities, you guys!
Little kids simply aren’t made to sit still all day.
They should be experiencing life and learning through hands-on activities and simplistic fun.
So, I tackled this new adventure just like I do everything else in our homeschool — by utilizing something that works.
Printable Pen Pal Activities
Simple friendships in the form of pen pals should be an exciting new experience, not an overwhelming one.
That’s why this pack of pen pal activities is jammed full of easy-to-complete activities for both your child and their pen pal!
While traditional letter writing is great for older learners, letter writing can be a difficult challenge for new writers and spellers.
This is why fun printable pen pal activities that allow children to communicate back and forth with less effort are a much better option.
Pen Pal Activities Pack
While I originally designed this pen pal activities pack for my daughter, I’m so excited to share it with other homeschool parents and school teachers who are walking through this same season with their own little ones!
This pack is complete with seasonal printables and activity-based fun for kiddos in grades K-3 and their pen pals!
Now, young learners who are just beginning the process of learning how to spell and write can easily communicate and enjoy the full experience of growing a new friendship through the mailbox.
What’s Included:
- About me pages (4 pgs)
- New school year pages (2 pgs)
- Seasonal activity pages (16 pgs)
- Holiday & Birthday activity pages (39 pgs)
- Lined writing pages (6 pgs)
- I start you finish activity pages (5 pgs)
This pen pal activities pack includes simple about me pages for a fun new friend introduction.
One version leaves a space for a photo of your child while the secondary version includes a self-portrait drawing space instead.
Fun Idea: If your child is the first to introduce themselves, consider sending a blank about me page for their friend to fill out!
That said, if sending a copy isn’t an option, you can easily direct your child’s friend to our free printable about me worksheets instead!
This next portion of our pen pal printables includes tons of fun seasonal activity pages!
From pages that feature kids’ favorite things about each season to Easter printables and Valentine’s.
The best part? You can easily pair all of the printables in this pack with any number of our FREE seasonal printables featured on the Life + Homeschool blog!
For example, you can effortlessly pair the pen pal Valentine’s with our free Valentine’s Day coloring pages for some added Valentine’s Day fun for your child’s pen pal!
The next set of pages I want to touch on are my absolute favorite of all, you guys!
The I Start, You Finish activity pages are so much fun for little ones.
Encouraging young students to start a doodle page or a story page, and then mailing it to their friends to finish can be a fun way to motivate neat coloring and handwriting.
Fun Idea: Take a photo of your child’s work before sending it, and then request their pen pal to send a photo copy (or the completed project) back!
All of these pen pal resources are perfect for younger students learning at home or in the classroom.
Storing Pen Pal Letters
While sending letters, cards, and shared activities can be fun and exciting, sometimes keeping those special memories tucked away for future reminiscing is even more enjoyable.
We opted to pick up a budget-friendly memory box for my daughter’s pen pal letters and she now has a full collection of fun pages from friends that she stores alongside birthday cards & other special keepsakes from events and holidays.
Get Your Pen Pal Activities Pack
While most of the printables I create and share here on Life + Homeschool are 100% free, this is one of the only ones that isn’t.
I was a total newbie at creating printables when this pack first came to be and after spending hours upon hours creating this printable pack of activities I chose to add it to my Teachers Pay Teachers e-store instead of adding it to my free printables library.
Each download of this pack full of pen pal resources helps support my blog, keeping the rest of our printables (that I also spend many hours creating) completely FREE of charge!
I work hard each week to supply freebies,= educational resources, and other helpful content to homeschool parents and educators and I appreciate every purchase made on my TPT store.
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More Pen Pal Fun
If you loved these printable pen pal resources check out some of our printable freebies your child can include in their next pen pal letter!
Consider sending these fun snowflake coloring pages during the winter months or include a favorite things list any time!
So many fun ideas, you guys!
