By Melissa Rayworth/Associated Press

Even avid collectors will tell you: Stamp collecting is not the flashiest of hobbies. It isn't trendy.

It rewards patience and persistence, teaching those who embrace it about everything from ancient history to modern graphic design.

And that's exactly why a growing community of parents and teachers believe it's a hobby worth encouraging kids to pursue.

The Postal History Foundation in Tucson, Arizona, works with more than 14,000 kids each year in person and online, sharing lesson plans with teachers and sending packets of stamps to kids.

Child development experts say the benefits are many; the challenge is to get kids started. Cool stamps aren't arriving in the mailbox much now that ground mail is less common. And few kids know others who are already collecting stamps. So parents and teachers have to start the ball rolling.

Five reasons why they should:

1. Kids can develop patience and focus.

Sorting through stamps and building a collection requires "a very different kind of attention" than video games or television do, says Miranda Goodman-Wilson, assistant professor of psychology at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The intricacies of a tiny image printed on a piece of paper, and the story of why that particular image was printed on a stamp, draws kids in, slowing down their racing minds.

2. Kids develop expertise.

Some kids focus on U.S. stamps, learning about U.S. history and famous Americans. Others might collect stamps from their countries of ancestry. They learn about languages, currencies and historical figures, according to Gretchen Moody, director of education at the American Philatelic Society.

3. Kids discover stunning artwork and intricate graphic design.

Stamps were once both useful and beautiful. Today, some of their usefulness has been replaced by email and the Internet. But many remain beautiful, and offer a lesson in expressing what's important and celebrated in a given culture on the tiniest of canvases.

4. Screen time is minimal, and optional.

Some kids do hunt for stamps online, and there are collecting apps for Android and Apple devices. But hours spent sifting through a collection of paper stamps connects kids to the physical world.

5. A stamp collection can be personalized.

"In our electronic age, stamp collecting has much more competition for a child's interest than, say, 50 years ago. But every child has an interest in something," says Richard Rizzo, director of the stamp outreach program at the International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors. "When you put a pile of stamps in front of a child and they start thumbing through them, they will almost always find something that piques their interest."

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Online:

The American Philatelic Society: http://stamps.org/

International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors: http://www.iswsc.org/

Postal History Foundation: http://www.postalhistoryfoundation.org/

The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum: http://postalmuseum.si.edu/