Birthday Cards

So I am always trying to find fun writing activities which encourage the girls to ‘write’ and mark make as opposed to sitting down for a handwriting activity. Invitations to write should be enticing and without you having to tell them to what to write. M in particular is very much into anything birthday party related so we have been reading a story all about a birthday party and basing our activities on this. I had bought the birthday cards as a very cheap pack online a while ago and thought they would be perfect for our birthday themed week.

Set Up

No real prep is needed for this fun writing activity. Either use cheap birthday cards and envelopes like these one I bought on Amazon or print your own out. Or you could even draw your own! I also gathered a selection of more “grown up” pens, including these gel pens from Amazon, as again this always entices the girls to want to write.

It quickly became a hive of activity. Drawing, writing, stuffing envelopes and addressing envelopes. They were both so happy and proud of what they were doing. I was constantly being shown a card or envelope from both small people for my approval. And I was happy to shower them with praise as it motivated them to go back and keep going.

My toddler and preschooler loved this fun writing activity! They were both happy sitting there for quite some time. M even came up with the great idea of using some old stickers as the stamps for the envelopes. M was writing names, letters, drawing pictures and scribbles. F was happy doodling away. Obviously I have no idea how much meaning there was behind her marks. But she was clearly proud of what she was producing. Even holding the pen and drawing up and down or round and round is an achievement for her. The cards were then used for some role play of posting them to various toys around the house.