Introduce your child to letter writing and early literacy concepts by playing Post Office. Your child will compose or dictate mail, talk about who will receive it, and put it in a homemade mailbox.
Learning Area(s): Language and Communication; Reading and Writing
MATERIALS
- Cardboard box (a shoe box works well)
- Scissors or utility knife
- Crayons
- Paper
- Stickers
- Envelopes
LET'S PLAY
Before starting, create a mailbox by cutting a large slot (larger and wider than any piece of mail) into a cardboard box with scissors or a utility knife.
Explain to your child that he is going to play Post Office, and make and send mail to someone he chooses. Talk with your child before and during the activity about vocabulary words and ideas related to the post office and mail delivery, such as what a post office is and how mail is put into envelopes, addressed, stamped, and put into a mailbox for mail carriers to deliver to homes, schools, and other places. If you and your child have visited a mailbox or the post office, help him remember and talk about this experience.
Help your child identify someone he would like to send mail to, perhaps a family member or friend. Next, encourage your child to create mail, which can be written, drawn, or otherwise put on paper. Younger children can be encouraged to try drawing and pretend writing on the paper. Older children can be encouraged to try to write their name, or any letters or words they know, on their paper. If your child is not yet able to write complete words, he can do his own part first, and then he can dictate additional words for you to write on the paper. In this way, your child is learning that we send mail to communicate with each other through written words and sometimes pictures.
Show your child how to fold the paper and fit it into an envelope. Then show him how to put a sticker in the upper right-hand corner of the envelope like a postage stamp. Help your child label his envelope to include to/from information, such as “To Mommy, from Felix” or “To Wyatt’s Daddy.” Encourage your child to take his envelopes and put them into the mailbox slot. Later, he can pretend to be the mail carrier by delivering the mail.
TIPS
- Remember that with so much electronic communication these days, children may not be very familiar with printed mail. This is a great opportunity to encourage your child to participate in mail-related activities, such as putting a stamp on an envelope and inserting envelopes into a mailbox. Your child might enjoy playing with some “junk mail” or extra greeting cards that you give them.
- You might want to prepare your child for this activity by first reading a book about the post office or about writing a letter, or by taking a walk to a local post office or mailbox so that he understands what the real items look like. You could also print out a picture of a real mailbox and attach it to your cardboard mailbox to make the connection clear.
- Try to use gender-neutral language such as “mail carrier” rather than “mailman,” so that children know that men and women can both do this job.
- Some children may just enjoy the art aspects of this activity, such as scribbling on paper and sticking stickers onto paper or envelopes. That is okay—even if your child does not understand the whole concept of mail, you can introduce these words and ideas to him.
- You can create several mailboxes for different family members and the child can try to match names on the envelopes to names on the mailboxes. If your child can’t match the names, place the mailbox by each person’s bed so that your child can make a connection between the written name and the person.