Next generation of letter writers

I'm the leader of my daughter's Brownie Girl Scout troop, and we've been working on the new badges that the organization has developed. The latest step in our project was to study the concept of "connect" — how we connect with each other. We played some games, such as having a three-legged race, etc. But, I wasn't sure I was getting the point across about how we connect with the others around us, the people in our lives.

Then, I thought of letter writing! Well, nowadays, I think of letter writing all of the time, it seems. But, I thought of it in terms of a Girl Scout meeting this time.

So, I started out the meeting by having the girls pick out stickers that represent something about them and their lives. We have a big box of stickers that was donated to our troop, so the girls always have great fun digging through all the stickers. Some picked out animals for their various pets; others chose peace signs, religious symbols, pictures of food, whatever was of interest to them. Then, they all told why they picked out the stickers they did.

Then, I started the discussion about how we connect with other people. They're just in the third grade, but they caught on quickly.

As many of us would expect, they listed off many electronic ways of connecting with people....e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, cell phone, etc. Finally, one little girl (not my daughter, who is very familiar with letter writing) thought of "writing letters"!

So, we talked a little bit about writing letters, and the girls decorated some lined paper with the stickers they picked out.

We've been distracted for a couple of weeks with our annual Girl Scout Cookie sale, but we'll be back on track soon, and the girls will write some letters that we'll mail out. They already have some ideas about who they want to write...a little girl who recently moved away from our community, the Obama girls, grandparents...

I'm happy to pass along the craft of letter writing to a new generation!

Great day for U.S. -- great day for letter writing!

As I write this, CBS is airing schoolchildren reading aloud the letter that Barack Obama wrote to his daughters, Sasha and Malia. The letter can be read in-full at Parade Magazine's Web site.

What a great gift to his daughters! When you read the letter, you'll see that he discusses current events, as well as his own personal life and history, and what he expects and hopes for their future together. He gives them some guidelines for how he hopes that they'll lead their lives, and he tells them how proud he is of them.

I hope that parents all over the world will take a cue from the new U.S. President and write a letter to their own children. Write a letter; slip it under their pillow or drop it in the mailbox so they'll get a wonderful envelope to open! Share yourself with your children in a way that they will be able to cherish forever.

Other letters that were mentioned in the news today include the letter that outgoing President Bush wrote to incoming President Obama and the letter that Bush's daughters, Barbara and Jenna wrote to Obama's daughters with advice about being the daughters of the president. They offered advice about friends, puppies and sliding down the banister in the White House.

How wonderful that letter writing has taken such a spotlight on this historic day!