Pen-Pals and Computer-Pals

Technology sure is a beautiful thing when used correctly! For one thing, it has allowed me to share many stories and pictures with all of you through this website…Thank you Lord! These days there are so many evil uses for technology, that I would like to share with you a positive one that I have found: computer-pals! But first, let me back up a bit and fill you in on how it all started…

This semester, a friend of mine in La Crosse, WI, asked if my 1st grade class would like to be pen-pals with her 1st grade class. I wasn’t sure exactly how well we could do it overseas, but we decided to give it a try. She sent a package to us with pictures of each child in her class, as well as a drawing they did of what they like most to do in their free time. Our class then did the same, sending the drawings by mail, and pictures of our students by email. Both 1st grade classes then emailed back and forth over the next several weeks, asking questions such as “How many students are in your class?”, “What is your favorite subject?”, and “Do you know any other languages?”. Through these emails, we learned that the American 1st graders had learned the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in their Spanish class, and that the Dominican 1st graders had learned the song in English class. So, we set up a song sharing date.


Using a webcam, a camera that hooks you into the internet like a video phone, our 1st grade classes finally met “face to face”. Each class sang “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in both languages, and the children took turns asking the other class questions, and responding to those questions, as I did my best to translate in between. The best question, in my opinion, came from Maria here at Grace School: Tia Tatiana. She asked “Are you well-behaved?”  I’m sure you can guess what the American 1st graders replied!


What a fun way to learn about other cultures, and be motivated to learn a second language! I pray this sparks interest in these children to continue learning about other languages and cultures, that maybe one of them would grow up to be a bi-lingual staff for a ministry such as VisionTrust! 