How to write a family newsletter

THR FIRST EDITION OF YOUR FAMILY NEWSLETTER ROLLS OFF THE PRESSES! Though it’s more likely that this landmark issue will roll from a computer printer, the headline excitement should be the same. A newsletter is a wonderful project to bring your family together. Hopefully, it will also be an educational experience so couched in fun that children won’t notice all the writing and design skills they’re practicing. In fact, the only absolute rule to ensure the success of this project is that it must be fun! Let this be an instance where children take the lead. They might choose to form an editorial board or they could prefer taking turns as managing editor. Give them as much editorial and artistic control as their ages can handle. After setting limits regarding offensive material, foster an atmosphere governed by freedom of the press and team spirit. A newsletter may become a document of family history that is as rich and telling as a photograph album.

That said, let the creativity begin! All aspects of your children’s lives contain material to be explored: best dinner of the week, wish lists, recently seen movies, a sports award, silly jokes, or a school subject they’ve recently discovered. (If articles seem closer to a Mad magazine style than to your local newspaper’s, just enjoy the humor!) Individual writers should contribute according to interest and writing ability. A third grader might interview grandparents about important life stories. Preschoolers often find great delight in seeing a silly tale they’ve dictated to an older sibling in print, especially with an accompanying drawing. An editorial page is a great place for teenagers to discuss their opposition to a family policy. Even your one-year-old can contribute a scribble.

Children can make a game of examining all sorts of publications, from glossy magazines to PTA mailers, for ideas about material, format and design. Computers allow for multiple options in your newsletter’s look, and experimenting with different styles will enhance your children’s computer literacy. Though not all software programs offer the same variety in font selection (“font” means the overall style of letters, such as Helvetica or Times New Roman), they all provide some diversity. Through experiment you can choose which styles you like, with the option of changing fonts for different sections of the newsletter. For instance, an editorial could be well served by a serious-looking font, latest family news in a more whimsical choice. All software programs will provide both italic and bold, and of course you can change point size (the size of the letters) for headlines and subheads.

Computer programs also let you format text to add boxes around sections you want to set off, create more than one column, and underscore subheads. In terms of including drawings, cartoons and photographs, if you have a color printer and scanner, you’re all set for business, but any copy shop can provide the same results for a moderate fee. If you would like a spiffier look, desktop publishing programs are available, ranging in price from $20 to more than $100. Most likely, you won’t care to splurge on an expensive package unless you’re certain your family newsletter is a serious project. If you don’t have a computer at home, many public libraries service communities with systems access, or see if your child’s teacher--so impressed with this project she might develop it into a class activity--will make a school computer available.

Finally, though, this project could exist in a computer-free environment—a few handwritten pages filled with your children’s ideas. If your newsletter becomes a creative experience in which your kids learn to work as a group, gaining a sense of closeness, it’s a special event. Whether it winds up as a brainstorm thrown together when the mood hits or turns into a formal publication distributed to friends and relatives, the ideal family newsletter is the one that your family creates.