It's all about writing for a purpose. When he writes an email, it's because he chooses to - not because he has to - and he writes what he wants to write because he has something he wants to communicate. He will learn more about the purpose and conventions of through this practice than he will through a whole collection of artificial writing activities and lessons.
I pre-entered a few key email addresses for him - mine, his dad's, his older brother's and his teacher's. I gave him a 5 minute lesson, and he was off. He has already sent 20 emails.
The first was to his teacher to tell her he got an iPod and to make sure she had his email address (smart boy!). The second was to his brother to taunt him a bit (isn't that what brothers do?).
My favorite one is the one he sent to me at work to tell me he missed me and he wanted me to come home.
And when I want to tell him I love him when I can't call, I can send him a quick email. The reply always comes back quickly:
"I love you, too, Mommy."
Email doesn't get any better than that.
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