The Art of Thank You Notes: Homeschool Handwriting

Some practical tips for homeschool handwriting and the art of thank you notes. Includes art, handwriting practice as well as a heap of gratitude!

The Art of Thank You Notes: Homeschool Handwriting the Fun Way!

With all those gifts coming from family friends over the holidays, it’s time to enjoy some art. Yes, writing thank you notes is a form of art. Just plain card stock is the start. Even construction or printer paper is a good base.

When we compose thank you notes we are:

• pulling out fun scrapbook paper
• using stickers, markers, crayons – maybe even paint!
• drawing, sketching
• being creative

How Writing Notes Practices Handwriting Skills

Though they aren’t opening their handwriting books this day, in writing thank you notes my children:

• get their very best handwriting practice
• sneak in some spelling and grammar lessons
• practice gratitude
• consult creativity in thinking of how they are grateful or what they are grateful for
• Work on comprehension – if notes are composed shortly after a field trip

Tips for Writing Thank You Notes in Your Homeschool

A few thank you note tips:

Keep it brief. In the mail, we received a thank you from a cousin. “Thank you for the money. Now I’m rich!” – Short and sweet. And it sure made us laugh!

Save sample notes. One family keeps a file folder full of examples of good thank you notes. If a child is “stuck” simply pull out the folder, thumb through the offerings and the task is no longer overwhelming.

Encourage the reluctant writer. Compose a family-wide thank you note. After Christmas, we composed family thank yous to aunts and uncles. I wrote a sentence or two for the youngest boy. The littlest girl dictated to me what she wished to convey. “You are so smart to give me that snowman ornament!” four-year-old said. Then each of the older children wrote just a line or two on the same note. The finished product was cute and brightened a mailbox.

Share from your stack of finished art work. Send a finished paint-with-water page or other recent and beautiful piece of art work from your littlest one.

Take a photo of your child with the gift! We took a photo of the books picked out with the gift card a grandparent gave a child.

Most of all – make it fun! It can be a pleasant break in the homeschool day – or any day!

Pull out the Draw Write Now books, consult your grammar text. Put the supplies in a workbox. It may be messy but it surely can be fun. Eight-year-old recently had a birthday, so I suggested to her that she pull out a Draw, Write Now book. Choose a picture she’d like to draw and then write her thank you at the bottom. This got everyone started and led to a fun (yes, and messy) afternoon of creativity.

Note writing is an art.
But most of all, writing thank you notes is polishing basic, good manners.

More Homeschool Writing Resources and Ideas

• Kerri’s The Write Stuff – how sending notes can be a blessing to others
• With multiple ages in our homeschool, we decided on a Writing Workshop
• 20 Top Handwriting Resources for Your Homeschool
• Choosing a Homeschool Writing Curriculum: Programs for Success

First shared December 2011. Updated December 2024.