OK, this one is a treat for the whole family. Your kids will have so much fun that they won’t even realize it’s educational! What am I talking about? It’s a thing called “Letterboxing.” It’s been popular in Europe for hundreds of years, but has only caught on in the US in recent years. Our family has done it several times and we’ve had a blast!

So what is letterboxing? Simply put, it’s a treasure hunt. Letterboxes are placed, by different individuals (and, yes, once you get the hang of it, you & your family can hide a letterbox too!) all over the place. Some are located inside buildings, most are hidden outside. You have a list of clues, that when properly followed & with sharp eyes, will lead you to the letterbox.

Supplies you need to bring:

• A rubber stamp – you can use a purchased stamp or make your own. The more unique and reflective of you, the better. The whole family can use one stamp, but usually the kids each like to have their own.
  • Stamps aren’t hard to make and making them together can be lots of fun. Here’s a few sites with directions for making stamps How to Make a Rubber Stamp, Eraser Carving, Letterboxing Kids, and Make a Rubber Stamp with Foam
• Ink pad
• Small sketch book
• A pen
• A compass
• The set of clues
• A packed lunch or snack

The process:

• Follow the set of clues, using your compass when necessary, to find the letterbox. (The letterbox is simply a plastic leftover-type container with a lid, to keep the contents dry.)
• Once you find it, open it and inside the box you’ll find a rubber stamp, a notepad and usually an ink pad (sometimes the ink pad is missing or dried up which is why it’s a good idea to bring your own.)
• Using the stamp found in the letterbox, stamp it into your sketchbook. Make a note of where you found it and any other notes as well.
• Using your stamp, stamp the letterbox notebook and make a note of where you’re from and anything else you want to add.
• Take some time to look at other entries and where other people came from – you might be surprised!
• Remember to put everything back, just as you found it.

This really is so much fun and such a great educational experience for the whole family! With one fell swoop, you can cover art, geography, critical thinking, using a compass, all while you’re having a great time together as a family.

If you’re headed somewhere on vacation, be sure to check for letterboxes in the area of your destination and bring your supplies! It’s addicting

To get the whole scoop, visit Letterboxing.org. To access the information you will need to sign up, but registration is free. Have fun & let us know about your family fun educational experiences!

Sue

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 10:05 am and is filed under Family Fun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.