31 Letters. Sounds.  Images.  Senses.  The WORDS of YOU.

Literacy is all about words.  Getting kids to read words, understand words, enjoy words, experiment with words, talk about words is the key to LITERACY.

Parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles and special friends can help children embrace words in the most simple, yet magical way – with LETTERS.  The letters can be read silently by children.  Children can read the letters aloud.  Parents can read the letters to younger children.  Literacy is about absorbing words, sounds, images, senses, and you can be a wonderful part of this.

In the 31 Letters Project, the art, the intrigue and the magic of writing a letter and dropping a line is brought to life.  By YOU.  Your children will not only receive these letters in the mail, read all about YOU and your CHILDHOOD, but cherish your words and cherish the art of correspondence.

Try it. Begin today if you’re just jumping in.  Day 1 of 31 Letters was about your favorite or most special childhood toy.  Day 2 of 31 Letters was about your first journey.  Write from your heart and mail your letters.  31 Letters in all… the length of one month, but time captured forever.  In YOUR words.

Today, Day 3 of 31 Letters is all about animals.  Back in January, on Day 3 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids, we bumped into the poem The Giraffe by Ron Padgett.  This poem inspired the prompt, or topic for your 3rd of 31 Letters.  Write about an experience with an animal or pet… or an experience that you had at a zoo or aquarium, in your own back yard or maybe even on a safari!

We also bumped into 56 Adjectives in 365 Days of Literacy for Kids during the month of February… words that children can read, hear, talk about, learn and love.  Today, try working one of these awesome adjectives into your letter.  How about the word colossal?  Use your letters to gift your kids with incredible words!

Grab your writing materials and get a little inspiration from Padgett’s delightful poem:

THE GIRAFFE by Ron Padgett

The 2 f’s
in giraffe
are like
2 giraffes
running through
the word giraffe

The 2 f’s
run through giraffe
like 2 giraffes

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Here is my letter to my grandchildren today. It is written in my own hand, 3 times for 3 families of grandchildren, and already in the mail:

Dear _________________ (names of grandchildren),

Hi, my little darlings!  I am having lots of fun writing about my childhood.  This time, though, it’s even more fun having each of you along for the ride!  Today I’m writing about the time I visited a petting zoo with my family.  I still remember it because of what happened…

A petting zoo is a fun place where kids can get very close to animals… animals like rabbits, ducks, pigs, goats and sometimes even bigger animals like camels and miniature horses.  When I was little, I remember going to a petting zoo where there were reindeer.

My Dad had what we called a “movie camera” back then.  It was called an 8 millimeter camera.  He got that movie camera when I was 4 years old and he took that movie camera everywhere we went.  The camera only captured motion.  No sound.  But I have “movies” of my family and all kinds of things we did during my entire childhood.  As I’m thinking about it right now, I can’t believe I’ve never taken out those movies to show you…

My Dad took his movie camera to the petting zoo on the day we visited.  I remember being very frightened that day.  I was probably 5 or 6 years old.  I really don’t remember what I was afraid of, but I remember my Mom and Dad telling me that it would be so much fun to pet and feed the reindeer.  I wasn’t convinced.

When we arrived at the petting zoo, my two brothers ran ahead with my Mom.  They couldn’t wait to get inside the fences where all the animals were.  Kids and parents could actually go inside these huge fences where all the animals roamed free.  This didn’t seem appealing to me.  My Dad held my hand and tried to convince me that I’d have so much fun feeding the reindeer.  I could see that my brothers already had little cups of grain or corn… whatever they were feeding the reindeer.  They dug their fingers into their cups, spread the food on the palms of their hands and the reindeer ate right from their hands.  Great.  But not for me!

I only focused on the HUGEness of those reindeer.  My Dad was telling me that these were Santa’s reindeer.  I didn’t care.  I didn’t want to go in.

Finally, my Dad coaxed me into one of those fences filled with animals.  He gave me a little cup filled with reindeer food.  He helped me spread the food on the palm of my hand.

Then it happened.

One colossal reindeer came running over to me and began to gobble the food from my hand.  I thought he was going to eat my hand.  He pushed me up against the fence and grabbed the cup from my other hand, with his giant mouth.  I began to scream.  My Dad stooped down and held me as he got the reindeer to eat from HIS hand.

And my Mom captured the whole thing on our movie camera!

I know the colossal reindeer didn’t intend to frighten me.  He just wanted something to eat.  But that didn’t make me feel a whole lot better back then.  (Thinking back about this, I’m sure the reindeer appeared so colossal because I was so small.)

My Mom and Dad and brothers had the greatest time at the petting zoo that day. I don’t even remember what we did next or how long we stayed.

I never, ever wanted to go to a petting zoo again.  And I didn’t, until I took my own kids… to a petting zoo where the parents and kids stayed outside the fences!

Do you like petting zoos!?

Sometime soon, let’s all get together and watch that old, old “movie” of me and the reindeer.  We’ll even eat grain… well, popcorn… out of little cups at our “movie” night!

Love you forever and ever,
Grandma Couto

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Letter writing is one great way to immerse your kids in the wonderful world of LITERACY.  Make the Literacy Connection with your 31 Letters.

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MAIL TIDBIT of the day: On September 26, 1789, George Washington appointed Samuel Osgood of Massachusetts the first Postmaster General under the Constitution.