I’ve tested scores of pens and pencils to write postcards. Here’s where I tell you about it.
Links to pens and pencils I use to write postcards:
Episode 109: Pens & Pencils for Postcards
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Listen to The Postcardist Podcast
Hi, Frank – Here is an idea for a podcast. On Postcrossing, teachers sign up for their classrooms to learn about other parts of the world. It might be interesting to interview a teacher and some students about what has been learned by the students. What sort of surprising things have they gotten. I have never got a postcard from a class but I have sent postcards to classrooms. The latest address for a school was in Taiwan to The name is: greatoaksstudents, Taiwan Member since Joined 12th Feb., 2011 sent 5,478 Receive postcards 5,505. I realize this is half way around the world and phoning overseas may be cost prohibitive.
So I did a word search using *****class and ordered them by last login, as some accounts have not been logged into for a number of years.
User name: Miss TribacksClass, Massachusetts
User name: Mrs_Torchia_Class, Pennsylvania
User name: MrBunkersClass, Utah
User name: MrsMakelasClass, Minnesota
User name: Mrs_K_Class, Texas
User name: 5-1BClass, class of 5th graders in New Jersey
User name: SunnysideStudents, Oregon
User name: JKMontessoriClass, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
As I write this I heard there is a lock down due to a breakout in Yellowknife, NWT. So this topic might have to be something to do when the kids get back in classes full time. In Ontario where I live, students are doing online learning from home.
However; I saw this on the Forum today there was this post under >Postcrossing >Education (I copied the message) Hello! My name is Jaime Comtois and I teach grades 3-5 Science and Social Studies. We are trying to collect postcards from all over the world. We would love to have you send us a postcard from your state or country! We would be happy to send you a postcard back if you would like. Send us a postcard with lots of interesting facts about where you live.
I have a large map in my classroom where we are mapping exactly where all of the postcards come from! I have also purchased large binders and I have put the postcards we have already received in the binders by continent. We are so close to receiving postcards from all 50 states, but would be thrilled to receive more!
Here is my address:
Jaime Comtois
Coventry Village School
PO Box 92
Coventry, Vermont
05825
USA
We will be doing this until the end of the school year and next school year too so please feel free to send them all summer long!
Thank you so much!
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Maybe you’ve already done this topic. I have listened to a lot of the podcasts but not every single one.
Happy Postcrossing,
gstone (PX ID)
I super like this.
I just got Tomba pens for my calligraphy. I started practicing again so I could use it on postcards.
Okay, now adding Tomba to my mix! Thank you.
In my experience more and more new postcards have crappy paper that takes only a Sharpie or Staedtler – that is so sad. Even ballpoints won’t last without smearing. I like writing with fountain pens; and I often take a Sakura Micron 0.5. And pencils, of course. Especially since I got many postcards from World War I where people wrote with pencils – still perfect to read.
Glad to hear your experience with pencils is like mine — pencils last on old postcards. Many pens smear. The Sakura pens are nice — they have been my go-to recently.
I have so many pens. I like to use fine tipped Sharpies – I write the address first, in black sharpie, and also the Postcrossing ID number. Then I draw a decorative circle around the number in 2 different colored sharpies. One of those pens will then be used to write the day, date, time, and temp on the top of the card.
I usually use a regular ballpoint pen to write the message. I actually really like the pens that are issued by the US government. They are plain, black ink Skilcraft pens. They tend to be resilient. But I am really always looking for new pens!
Thank you for the Skilcraft recommendation. I haven’t tried those yet — now I will. I also like the Sharpies — they work in all situations.