Add to Cart: Stationery

not that i need an excuse to buy more pens

When was the last time you got a real piece of mail and was it a birthday card?

Although narrative and informative writing are primary focuses of the Common Core Standards, letter writing is not a specified skill area. Therefore, in today’s day and age most kids are only exposed to formal letter writing instruction in a random unit buried within their English writing curriculum. Or when they’re making valentines.

It’s a shame, because the informality of texting really has altered our ability to compose meaningful written correspondence. I’ve learned through working with both Gen Z and Gen Alpha students that they are truly starved for analog writing. They famously love pencils! They’re visiting stationery stores, and they’re dying to write in cursive (cursive clubs are popping up at schools by popular demand)¹. And yet, an entire generation has already missed out on many natural opportunities for observing what it takes to create a handwritten note at home in lieu of tippy tapping away on a screen and/or a keyboard all day long.

Now, I know many of you are wondering what you are going to do all summer with your kids at home and letter writing was probably the last thing on your mind to try out.

But even if your child isn’t anywhere close to picking up a pencil, I think knowing how to write a proper letter is a highly underrated life skill and can easily be sold as a fun, motivating activity with the right strategies and a good plan.

Over the coming weeks I will be sharing the practical ways that you can easily include letter writing and developmentally appropriate pre-writing skills into your day. Some of these posts will continue to be free as one of my bi-weekly newsletters while others will be exclusively for paid subscribers². I hope you will find value in the deeper dives as I continue to be a reader supported publication.

Before getting started, we need to gather our materials—

• paper and envelopes

• pens

• pencils

• stamps

• stickers

• anything else your child may love to color or decorate their letters with

Of course I couldn’t send you off without sharing some of my favorites

day and night rabbit stationery via etsy // hello from camp postcards and rainbow ombre stationery and DIY envelope set from Joy Creative Shop // green envelopes // LIFE typewriter paper

paper mate flair pens // O.G. gel pens // pastel ball point pens // ooly noted! pens // le pen // stabilo pens // baguette pen

bic mechanical pencils // ticonderoga pastel pencils // ooly mechanical pencils // pencil sharpeners // paper mate handwriting pencils // blackwing x MoMA pencils // pink pearl erasers

self-inking stamps from Oriental Trading Company // stamp sticker roll from Pipsticks // vintage stamps via etsy // ooly stampables // wooden alphabet stamp set // Goodnight Moon stamps and writing kit from the US Postal Service

and don’t forget the stickers too!

all via Pipsticks pipstickers on the roll // mini mailer set // letter sealers // alphabet // numbers // hearts

If you have a kid that really loves stickers, Pipsticks also has sticker club subscriptions, which are currently 30% off with code STICKWITHUSA.

Sincerely,

Jennifer

The Childhood Curator

1. I happen to be very proud of my penmanship, which I inherited from my Dad who inspiringly did the envelope calligraphy for his and my mom’s wedding invitations. He’s a DIY early adapter.

2. So that I can protect my intellectual property and have ownership over the content I use for parent workshops and professional development lectures