Ruvalcaba said that in the lesson her students not only learned about Digital Citizenship, but also about hard copy mail.

“Our class was learning how to draft and edit sentences,” Ruvalcaba said. “We learned about being able to create and send letters online through emails, but also about sending mail across the world and reaching out to our loved ones, despite the fact that they may be thousands of miles away.”

Ruvalcaba said that is when she got the idea to send out letters and care packages to active duty members of the military.

“My students were learning about giving and providing others with gifts from the heart,” Ruvalcaba said. “Students were excited to gather materials that soldiers may have needed or wanted while away from the U.S.”

Ruvalcaba said she started out by doing some research on military care packages. She said she found the address and contact information of a unit overseas that her class could sponsor.

“Students were able to observe that gifting and giving are done for a good cause,” Ruvalcaba said. “They also got the experience that sending mail overseas really does get to its desired destination. They enjoyed the overall experience of communication with their very own U.S. military heroes.”

Ruvalcaba explained that her students were able to see the response from the unit just before the shutdown occurred last spring.

“Our class got to see the letters and the students were very excited about the mail correspondence,” Ruvalcaba said. “They were astounded by the signatures on the paper flag we created. We received an envelope with thank you letters from five soldiers. Another soldier sent us an artistic origami color art page. We all opened the package together and read the letters. We talked about how our letters and things we sent to them got to them – across the world!”

Ruvalcaba said that when the shutdown happened in the spring, it was the hardest thing she had ever had to deal with as an educator.

“The shut down was really sad,” Ruvalcaba said. “It was very unexpected, heartbreaking, and there were lots of tears. I, and so many others, didn’t get to say goodbye to my kids. However, I do think this was a great learning experience for my students. They got the experience of giving, interacting with people through the mail, and the understanding of writing letters. This project was an excellent way to get students to learn about communication and writing letters.”