The Art of the Hand-written Thank You Note

In a world where texting, tweeting and status updates make up much of our communication I decided to teach my son the art of the hand- written thank you note.  None of our family members need or even expect a thank you note, but after emerging from the sea of wrapping paper it’s nice to sit and reflect on what my son received this holiday season and remember who gave it to him.  The process of expressing gratitude through a written note is something that is good for him on multiple levels.  He gets to feel gratitude towards his family and translate that into words.  We talked about how to write a thank you note, starting with stating what the gift was and then including a nice detail about how he will use it or his favorite thing about the gift.  Since he is only four years old, I will have him dictate what he wants to say and write it for him.  He’ll have a chance to practice his writing skills too, he can write the person’s name at the top of the card and his own at the end.  

To keep his interest I like to set out some art supplies to choose from and let him be creative with how he puts the cards together.  If we are going to make a dozen cards he will get bored if each one is exactly the same.  We also work on these a little at a time over several days or a week.  I want him to have fun and not be overwhelmed with the project.  He is really interested in cutting, gluing and stamping these days so we took a trip to the craft store and picked out his favorite “Thank You” stamp from the store’s scrapbooking supply section.  I collected some supplies from around the house including:

·         card stock (8 ½” x 11” sheets cut in half and folded so you make two cards from each sheet)

·         envelopes (invitation sized 4 ¾” x 6 ½” (#6)

·         colored construction paper or scraps

·         markers & crayons

·         glue stick

·         stamps & stamp pads

·         glitter

·         white craft glue

·         qtips or glue brush

·         shoe box or Chinese takeout boxes

·         stickers (we decide on a limit for each card, maybe 3 or 5 stickers –without a limit he will stick stickers until they are gone and every inch on the card is plastered.  This is a good time to practice counting!)

A Tip For Using Glitter:

If your child is into glitter (and what preschooler isn’t?!) try using a lidded box for applying glitter.  Glitter has a way of getting everywhere, but I have found this process to be helpful in keeping it mostly contained.  Have the child put glue where he or she wants the glitter, using a q-tip or a cheap brush dedicated to gluing projects.  Once the glue is in place, put the card in a lidded box.  The child can sprinkle glitter on it and then put the lid on and shake the box back and forth.  If it’s a small project you can also use a Chinese food take out container with a clear lid and watch the glitter shake around.  When you remove the paper shake the extra off into that same box. 

Have fun making each card unique!  Your family members will especially love getting a card with their name scrawled across the top in precious preschool handwriting!