Each year at my preschool we work on learning our addresses. It is one of my safety goals :) I try to help the kids understand what an "address" is, and when we might use it. A fun way to expose the kids is to set up a post office in your school! Super fun and super cute!
Introduction Activity
Read Some Good Books!
I think it is a good idea to do a whole group project and discuss both the terms: address and post office. We enjoyed the book Jobs People Do by Christopher Maynard because it had a Mail Carrier page!
Make Preschool "ID Cards"
I made the kids at my school "ID cards" with their photo, name, phone number, and address :) I printed and laminated them so they looked like little drivers licenses. We will use them all week. Together we read their address as they looked at it on their ID card.
Mail Letters From School To Home
The kids got to make a picture (or write a letter if they are already doing word-blending and writing...many of the kids who are back at my school for a second year wrote actual letters!) to send home in the mail. I addressed envelopes for them and then we worked on folding our papers to fit in our envelopes, how to seal the envelope, and where to put the stamp. We did this together as a group.
The kids then walked their letter to our school mailbox for the mailman to pick up! How fun! Earlier in the year I mailed all the kids a letter thanking them for a wonderful first week of school. I think it will be a great experience to actually mail a letter and see it show up at their houses.
Setting It Up
Our Class Post Office
Make a Space
I turned one of the rooms in my school into a post office for the week. I put our three small tables together and then put our chairs around it. It works perfectly for my group of kiddos!
Find a Mailbox
I LOVE this mailbox set from Melissia and Doug! It is cute and very sturdy. It comes with velcro stamps and wooden letters to practice where addresses and stamps go. It also has sized slots that work for the wooden pieces so kids can practice sizes too! We made a rule that only the "Mailman for the day" gets to open the mailbox at the end of the day and deliver letters. Once they go in there, they are stuck, just like a real mailbox :) Of course, you could make a mailbox out of cardboard and it would be awesome too!
Gather Supplies
I put out a variety of envelopes and paper for the kids to write letters and draw pictures. I also set out a bunch of crayons across the post office table.
Help the Kids Work Independently
Many of the kids at my school are writing their letters and starting to write words on their own. I don't force this, but give them the supplies to work independently if they want to. For our post office I set out a laminated list of all the kids pictures and names at our school. This way the kids can write their name in the upper left corner of the envelope, and their friend's name in the middle before putting it in the mailbox. If they need help then I am there to write for them :)
Stamps, Stamps, Stamps!
I wanted to find stickers that look like stamps from around the world. I didn't find them in time, but I am sure they are out there and that would be really fun for the kids to use when mailing their letters at school. We went ahead and used an ink-pad and an actual stamp for our post-office which was equally fun. And it was FREE :)
Enjoy The Educational Fun!
The kids are not only working on drawing and writing! They are working on name recognition (of friends too), name writing, stamping, their address, and learning about the mail process. My kids were so excited to sound out words, to write, and to send letters to their family and friends. It is a great social activity. We may just end up having this out for longer than week!