Did you ever have a pen pal?
Did you regularly write letters to friends?

Recently, I shared a picture on Instagram of a box of old letters I’d kept, dating back to my early teens.
I remarked on how this box of letters is my teenage life, catalogued. It is my email thread of old.
Yet, it’s tangible.

This post really struck a chord with people.
People like me, who remember what it feels like to send and receive letters. The excitement of when the Post arrives and there is a handwritten note with your name on it.

To pick up these letters and read them is like opening a window to my past.
Even though it’s only one-way, you’re right back there in an instant.
There’s something to be said about having those memories so close and so real, don’t you think?
Despite the space-saving practicalities of the cloud it’s not the same is it?

Our kids don’t write letters, they send messages.

It’s instant. It’s realtime. But have you ever read any of your kid’s messages? Do they actually use words? Most of them seem to communicate using emojis and they don’t say anything that is interesting!

Are they missing out?
A part of me thinks so.
A part of me thinks every child should experience the joy of sending and receiving letters. And this is something I’m determined to facilitate through my creative writing club, Storymakers.

The plan for the Pen Pal Club will be to match the participants with a similar aged child before they start.

They’ll come to the first group, be given details about their pen friends and will write their first letter.

I will send the letters, as a group, to our partner Pen Pal Club, who will then write their replies.

The Pen Pal Club will run fortnightly, on a Thursday evening from 5 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. at the Storymakers studio in Sevenoaks.

It is suitable for 7-10 year olds.

If you would like your child to be part of this group, with the opportunity to, not only improve their writing, but to make new friends (both near and far) and develop their creativity, please email storymakers@nikkiyoung.co.uk