Pen Pal Monsters!

While most FIUTS programming has had to change completely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one program that has stayed mostly the same is our Pen Pal Program!

As is typical of any Fall quarter at FIUTS, over the last few months University of Washington students have written letters back and forth with local elementary school students. This quarter’s program included 72 Martha Lake Elementary 4th and 5th graders, four teachers, and 37 UW Pen Pals. The one difference was that the end-of-quarter celebration - where pen pals get to meet each other in “real life” - took place on Zoom rather than on the UW campus.

One fun thing that the pen pals did together through their letters was a monster-drawing activity! Around Halloween, the kids had a writing assignment to draw a monster, then write out detailed instructions on how to draw their monster. The teachers used it as a way to help the students practice directive writing skills. They sent the instructions to their pen pals, who responded with their drawings. The kids then had fun comparing their original drawings to their pen pals’ drawings!

Below are some of the pictures of the monsters that the pen pals drew. Thank you to all the Martha Lake students, teachers, and UW pen pals who participated this quarter!

Are you a current UW student? Sign up to be a winter quarter pen pal today!