Tech Savvy Kids Communicate Via Email to Hone Writing Skills

It probably isn’t surprising that Little Miss Techie has her own email account since she was born.  When she sits down at the computer she always hopes that the little mail icon on the desktop will tell her that she has a message. While she doesn’t check her email as obsessively as either of her parents, we’ve found that email is a great tool that allows her to practice her writing while communicating with a small network of trusted adults.

When Little Miss Techie was younger, she used to sit on my lap and dictate emails for me to type from her account.  Earlier this year we gave her access to her account on her own hand-me-down computer that sits right next to mine in our home office.

After setting up her account to accept mail from select known accounts from friends and family members to thwart spammers, why it’s important to be careful when clicking, and a quick lesson on checking and composing e-mail, we turned her email account over to her.

Tech Savvy Daddy sat down at his computer with his back to Little Miss Techie to do some work of his own. She opened a new mail message, had the auto-fill enter her grandmother’s e-mail address from the address book, and then paused before saying, “I want to send a picture. How do I send a picture?”

Ah, sending an attachment. That was clearly missing from the initial e-mail lesson but an important part of what email is to her— a way to share photos!

These days Little Miss Techie continues to share photos that she’s taken with her own digital camera (another fabulous hand-me-down!).  They provide a visual of her dog’s latest adventures (of which there are lots!) or silly stories about her brother when writing to her grandparents.  She also loves to send ecards created on the various websites that she plays on and even writes to her kindergarten teacher who loves to share photos of her own dog.

Little Miss Techie’s emails are like a peek into her world through a little digital diary.  I love looking back on the emails she’s sent to me and others to see what was important to her at any given time.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

I took a photo of her favorite stuffed animal last Christmas and sent her a photo.  She wrote back “tonight is cristmas bear!!!”

Little Miss Techie’s Bear anxiously awaits Christmas

This is a message she sent to her grandparents about their upcoming visit.  I think the font size was maybe 48-60!  As you can see, she was very excited!

While words are typed in a hurry with little attention paid to spelling, I truly love that Little Miss Techie is so enthusiastic about composing emails since writing is not something that comes naturally to all young children. The computer can be a powerful tool for writing and an offer to let them send an email to a grandparent or use a digital photo as a story starter can be a huge motivator.    The sheer novelty of hunting and pecking for letters on a keyboard is a task that even the most reluctant writers enjoy especially as we look towards summer.

It’s great to capitalize on the novelty of digital communications at home in order to help your child hone their writing skills but it’s also important to set limits, establish guidelines, and keep a watchful eye even after those countless lessons about online safety.

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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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