n an age of instant messaging through twitter, instagram and Facebook, sometimes it pays to slow down.
That’s the message behind a new program created by Alison Butler.
Her company Petit Mail provides story postcards to kids through traditional mail, but with the Send Happiness Project it’s the kids writing letters to pen pals in Uganda.
Butler says it’s always a thrill for the students to receive a letter in the mail, but the Project has the added benefit of students from around the world connection and learning about each other.
Alison Butler of Petit Mail with Ms. Pottle’s Grade 3 class at St. Theresa’s Elementary in St. John’s – one of the classrooms that participated in the pen pal exchange.
Photo by Alison Butler
Students at the Ssuubi School in Uganda reading letters from students in Newfoundland and Labrador and writing a pen pal letter in return.
Photo by Jorja’s Journeys
She says it was the first time many of the students had written physical letters, and the students in Uganda responded, asking questions like “what is a Nan and Pop?” or “What is Minecraft?”
It was a great way to show students how different and how similar the lives of children around the world can be.
