Updated: I've Created A Monster... And I Love It!

Back in August and September I posted a couple of items about a visiting niece who finding stamps scattered around my computer thought stamp collecting was "cool" so I proceeded to get her started.

Last Friday, just before Halloween, I thought of mailing her more stamps to arrive on Saturday in time for "trick or treat."

If I had any doubts of hearing from her, they were certainly quickly dispelled by Tuesday when a note from her arrived by return mail. It was very short and to the point, thanking me for the stamps, telling me she needed more hinges, asking me for more stamps, and asking me when she could come over again! When she's here she likes to look at stamps and try to scrounge anything that isn't in a album.

She literally discovered stamps around and about my computer, and it's nice to see such a genuine interest in them coming from someone so young, especially in this day and age!


Here are the two previous threads about her for anyone interested:

https://goscf.com/t/9291

https://goscf.com/t/9687

It is always nice to hear about young people getting involved in the hobby.

Seems like Santa will enjoy what he is leaving her this year.

Donna

Whoo whoo.

I like this Modern. Yeh keep us informed. If she could use some Tuvalu stamps I would be happy to send to you for forwarding.

Hi Larry..... I do remember your telling us of your niece and her new found love of stamp collecting. I think it's wonderful. Great story.
What are her collecting interests?




Butch

Great story -- an example for the rest of us.

Thanks, everyone, for your appreciative comments!

Donna, I think Santa will, right Santa?

BeeSee, if I were to tell her someone wanted to give her some stamps but I turned them down, she'd wonder what was the matter with me.

Butch, I've started her out with a beginner's world wide album. She seems to like everything that comes her way and hasn't shown special interest in any one area, just yet.

Great news. Could we share ideas on how the rest of us could get children interested in stamps without being arrested for suspicious behaviour?

My little 'Stamp Monster' returned today. I call her that because she seems to have become to stamps what the Cookie Monster was to cookies: she devours them!

She always arrives by surprise, by bumming a ride out into the hills where we live with a relative heading this way. Once again, it was my wife's sister and her husband who have a lot of contact with both her mother and grandmother.

What's new with this young collector?

She has already taken her stamps to school for show and tell. (She has only been collecting for maybe a couple of months.)

She asked me for the names of websites where she can buy stamps online. (Now that's getting pretty serious for an eight-year-old!)

OMG She's hooked! I bet that the classmates that she was showing her album to are going to be hitting their parents and relatives up for stamps. You haven't just created a monster, but a virus....Keep it up!...lol

Are her parents going to indulge her in the online auctions? Maybe joining up with Kenmore or Mystic might be a better route for all concerned.

Donna

Donna, next time I see her I will have to ask how show and tell played and if any of her classmates had any interest. I gave her wensey, bidstart, and ebay, to look at, but somehow I don't think she will be indulged, though that remains to be seen. If she is still enthusiastic by her 9th birthday, I will probably move her into a larger album, like the Harris Statesman, and coach her on being careful about condition and when hinging, particularly with mint stamps. Until then, she has her current album to practice with. So far, she has not had any problem identifying the nations to which the stamps belong, she just goes through the album and matches the names she might see on the stamps to the country, such as Norge to Norway.

Yes, Kenmore and Mystic are out there, I just hate to see her killed with their prices. I might end up having to be the one to indulge her in her hobby for a while!

One more nice thing about a 8 year old collecting stamps is that she will do better in history and geography from the lessons she learns with her stamps.

I am glad she has stuck with it and is sharing her interest with her classmates. 8 is a good age to get them hooked with collecting.

And not just history & geography - it could spark off interests in a wide range of topics . . .

The National Postal Museum (U.S.) in the Smithsonian used to have an area for teachers I think it was called stamps in the classroom. It might still be there. I will check later today and upload link if possible.
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/educ...ucators.html