Need some inspiration for writing letters to the child you sponsor? Look no farther than your calendar! Here’s a list of questions to ask your sponsored child based on seasons and holidays. Remember to keep the child’s age and family situation in mind when phrasing your questions.
Writing Letters at Easter
When sponsored children learn the real meaning of Easter, they begin to realize how much God loves them. Here are some Easter-related questions you could ask the child you sponsor.
- What is your favorite part about Easter?
- Why do you think Easter is an important holiday?
- Who is Jesus to you?
- What does your family do on Easter?
- What is the weather usually like on Easter?
Writing Letters in the Spring
Your sponsored child might live in a culture that recognizes only two seasons — such as wet and dry, or rainy and hot. There’s an easy way to find out more: Ask in your next letter!
- What time of year does spring come in your country?
- When is the planting season in your country?
- What colors of flowers grow near your home, school or church?
- Do you like to smell flowers? Which one smells the best?
- What is your favorite season? What do you like most about it?
Writing Letters at Mother’s Day
Many countries set aside a day to celebrate mothers — even if it’s not the second Sunday in May like in the U.S. Any time of year in any country is an excellent time to honor moms! If you know that your sponsored child doesn’t live with his or her mother, you could change these questions to make them about a grandmother, aunt or teacher.
- What is something you love about your mom or caregiver?
- Does your mom have a favorite Bible verse?
- What is your mom’s favorite thing to do?
- How do you and your mom spend time together?
- What makes you proud of your mom?
Writing Letters in the Summer
You and the child you sponsor might experience summer at different times of year, depending on where he or she lives. Here are some questions you could ask to find out more!
- When does summer start and end in your country?
- What is your favorite thing to do in the summer?
- Do you go to school during the summer months?
- Is there a sport you like to play during the summer?
- What is your favorite thing to eat when it is hot outside?
Writing Letters at Father’s Day
In the U.S., Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. If you know that your sponsored child’s father isn’t present, you can change these questions to ask about a grandfather, uncle or teacher.
- What do you and your father like to do together?
- What is your father’s favorite food?
- How tall is your father?
- What makes your father laugh?
- What Bible verse reminds you of your father?
Writing Letters in the Fall
Fall might be a foreign concept to the child you sponsor, but he or she would still love to hear about what it’s like. Depending on where you live, describe the leaves, the food and drink you enjoy in chilly weather, and your favorite things about the fall. You can also ask them about back-to-school time!
- When do you go back to school each year?
- What is your favorite part about back-to-school time?
- Do the leaves ever fall off the trees or turn colors where you live?
- What is your favorite thing to do in chilly weather?
- What are you most thankful to God for?
Writing Letters at Christmas
Every kid loves talking about Christmas! Consider asking some of these questions to learn how the child you sponsor celebrates Jesus’ birth. Some kids who live in poverty have never received a gift. But thanks to sponsors who donate to Compassion’s Christmas fund, all children in Compassion’s program get Christmas presents at their church-based centers!
- How do you celebrate Christmas with your family?
- What special Christmas traditions take place in your country?
- Do you have a favorite Christmas song?
- What is the true meaning of Christmas?
- What is your favorite Christmas memory?
Writing Letters in the Winter
Sponsored children love hearing about their sponsors’ lives. Write to the child you sponsor and consider describing winter where you live. What do the trees look like? How cold is it? What do you wear? Here are some questions to ask your child about winter where he or she lives.
- When does winter start and end in your country?
- Have you ever seen snow?
- What is your favorite thing about winter?
- What is your favorite winter holiday?
- How do you dress for the cold weather?
Are you feeling inspired yet? Try out your new ideas!
13 Comments |Add a comment
Thank you for sending me the “Happy one year sponsor-verdant” card. It would really be awesome to have an updated picture of my child. The picture in the card was the same one I received one year ago.
Hi Sheila! Happy Sponsor-versary to you. 🙂 Thank you so much for being part of the Compassion family! We do send photo updates for the children in our program once every approximately 24 months, and regrettably, we’re not able to do more frequent updates than that at this time. If you would like to provide me with your sponsor number or child’s ID number, I can let you know when your kiddo is due for their next photo update!
Is it possible to write too many letters & too quickly? I’m excited to get to know Nadine and want to share a lot with her. But I don’t want to overwhelm her.
Hi Christina! Thank you so much for your passion to write and get to know Nadine! She is so blessed to have you as her sponsor. We certainly encourage sponsors to write their children often, and our system will allow you to send as many letters as you want (as long as you don’t try to write multiple letters in one day). The amount of letters you write is completely up to you; however, please do keep in mind that children only sit down to respond to their sponsors’ letters about once every two months. That means that if you write a letter every day, they would have 60 letters from you to respond to! This may be overwhelming, especially for children who may not be used to writing or receiving letters. With that said, I normally write to my children about twice a month, but we have sponsors that write once a week or more. We would much rather have you write often than not at all. ?
Is it possible to write too many letters & too often? I’m excited to get to know Nadine but I don’t want to overdo it either.
Hi Christina! Thank you so much for your passion to write and get to know Nadine! She is so blessed to have you as her sponsor. We certainly encourage sponsors to write their children often, and our system will allow you to send as many letters as you want (as long as you don’t try to write multiple letters in one day). The amount of letters you write is completely up to you; however, please do keep in mind that children only sit down to respond to their sponsors’ letters about once every two months. That means that if you write a letter every day, they would have 60 letters from you to respond to! This may be overwhelming, especially for children who may not be used to writing or receiving letters. With that said, I normally write to my children about twice a month, but we have sponsors that write once a week or more. We would much rather have you write often than not at all. 🙂
This is wonderful information! I am going to use it for my letter writing.
My question is, can I write more than the space they give on the holiday and birthday mailings?
Hi Teri! I’m so glad that you found this post helpful! Yes, you are welcome to send a total of six pages with each letter you send, so if you run out of room on the templates we send, you can continue the letters on your own stationary.
Great work!
good
It takes a while. Part of the problem is that it takes months to get letters back and forth. By the time they get the letter, it takes a while to answer, they may have forgotten what you wrote. I suggested we each date our letters so we know when they were written and how long it took. Now my Sponsored child is 13, and I am getting really meaningful letters. So be patient with the process, real people take a while to get to know each other.
Thank you dears this is so helpful because it will help us guide children write more intentional and meaningful letters.
Unfortunately my questions do not get answered very often. The letter I received from my sponsored child seems to be a standard letter most of the time. It is hard to get to know your sponsored child very well that way