It's in the Mailbox

This story came from here. I thought this idea was really clever. Sometimes it is nice to get ideas on how to think outside the box!

Thinking Inside the (Mail) Box

by DreamTeamMary

"Is the mail here yet?" my oldest son, Steven, says as he walks in the door.

When most kids get home from school, they greet their mother with an enthusiastic "Hi, Mom!" or a token greeting as they head right for the fridge for a snack. But for almost 12 years now, Steven has walked in the door with one thing on his mind: the mail.

From the first day of kindergarten, it was clear Steven had zero interest in writing. "Do I have to? This is no fun," he'd complain, refusing to use more than a few words in any written sentence. He grew, but his sentences didn't. And in a tech culture that considers "LOL" and "G2G" full sentences, I knew my son would need all the help he could get.

One day, I noticed how curious all my boys were when the mailman dropped off the mail. "What did you get?" "Is there anything thing in there for me?" they'd ask in a jumble of words as I sorted through the advertisements, magazines, and bills. When there was a birthday card, party invitation or random note for one of them, the recipient celebrated as though he'd found buried treasure, while his brothers grumbled enviously.

Celebration and envy -- all about the written word? Just like a treasure map, my plan became to come together. The next day, I called Steven to the kitchen table and presented him with a treasure box -- actually, an old shoebox filled with blank index cards, a pen, a variety of envelopes, stamps, a pad of lined paper, and a wrapped copy of Lee Ellis' The Celebrity Address Directory and Autograph Collector's Guide.

I explained that, each day from Monday to Thursday, he was to write a letter to one of his favorite celebrities and request an autograph. Although the letters could be similar, each would have to include a personalized section.

"Can I write the letters on the computer?" he asked.

Thinking quickly, I realized keyboarding is an important skill -- but so is good penmanship. "How about two days a week writing, and two on computer?" I countered.

Deal.

Of course, celebrities don't always have time to answer scrawled requests of little boys. But we started small, writing to local celebrities (including the mayor -- heck, she's in the paper as often as Brad Pitt!), so we had a steady trickle of response. Then the first big envelope landed in the mailbox.

"Dear Steven, thank you for watching. God bless you and your whole family." The picture was signed by the late Fred Rogers. My son was hooked.

That picture still hangs on Steven's wall, flanked by one signed by Nancy Cartwright (who wrote, "Don't have a cow, man!" over a picture of Bart Simpson) and another with signatures of the first President Bush and his wife Barbara.

He's still checking the mail, but I know Steven already found the treasure -- the ability to write concisely, clearly, and with detail. And, of course, a wall full of heroes who encouraged him to do just that.