Thank you for your interest in participating in our cultural exchange. This will be revised often so please do check back frequently for updates.
How will it work:
Each session (6 weeks) we will come up with a theme. Based on this, individuals will exchange their home or school mailing address (get permission) and send appropriate items keeping a budget in mind. We do not want anyone to feel burdened or feel that this is costing them an expense in participating. The wider the reach the better- think global.
I do think this will be a wonderful way to exchange culture and become a bit more globally aware. For the classrooms, the maps will come to life, and hopefully geography folders will grow. I suppose the target age is 3-10/12. I hope this will also encourage writers to write and children to have more discussions about people and places beyond their immediate environment. This is a wonderful geography and culture lesson. I'm really hoping to enhance my geography folders in the classroom through this. Teachers, this is an ideal way to ask for something specific like photographs of monuments, or other cultural landmarks, costumes, food, native plants and animal, etc. The sky is the limit. This will encourage children to write, keep a small journal of stamps, and track where the letters are coming from and going to.
For international packages, you will need to check what is allowed as certain items are not allowed to be mailed (seeds, meats, cheeses, and such). But, we have time to get there.
If you are interested, please be sure to join us on Facebook as that may be our fastest way of communicating for now. In your comment let us know where you're from and the ages of your children or class, and if you hope to join as a family or as a school.
Once a "session" or exchange is open, comment to indicate you are interested (please don't hit "like" as this will not be sufficient). You will need to say where you are from (city, state and/or country) and how old your children are or classroom age. You will then contact the person before you and get their contact details via messenger. You will send them the item of the session. The person after you will contact you and so and and so forth. When the session ends, I will send the last person on the list an item. This way, everyone is covered and relatively in the order that you signed up. If you know the person before you, or live in the same city/state/country and would like to exchange with someone else, please wait until another person has responded, and then comment.
Rules:
- You must be courteous and polite and sensitive to all cultures, races, religions, and all beliefs. If you receive something negative or inappropriate please let us know and we will block the person from participating in the future.
- If you sign up, please be sure to send the person you contacted the item in a timely manner. There is approximately 6 weeks per session (mid month to end of following month).
- In general, this is a group for families and teachers, singles should consider joining a different group.
- Please consider mailing packages with real stamps instead of exact value stamps. If it means going a bit over, please consider it, so that those who are also collecting stamps may have the opportunity. Allow your children to choose the stamps while at the post office and choose some interesting and varied stamps, most postal workers are happy to show you the latest stamps available. Don't forget the limited edition, commemorative, and other special stamps.
- If you have a blog please feel free to write up a small post and share a picture of what you received. If you don't, feel free to do so directly on the FB page. This will help the community to get ideas and see what is being exchanged.
- Ideas and input always welcome, criticism and negativity can be self contained.
- When sending any food items, be sure to check for allergies.
- Check your local post office for details on items that cannot be mailed domestically and internationally.
- DO NOT POST YOUR ADDRESS on the facebook page. If so, I will remove it. It is for your safety that this information be exchanged by contacting the person directly. When you click their name, it will give you an option to message them, this is how you will need to contact your recipient.
- Most importantly, HAVE FUN! Keep the children in mind.
- This exchange is based on the participation of the community and safety we feel in sharing with strangers. Please do not violate this trust. I'm not sure how long I will maintain this exchange but I hope it will be fun and safe for as long as we can keep it going.
- Please do not add your recipient as a friend unless you become friends. It is important that we respect each others privacy as much as we can.
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