Make a Family Post Office

 

We don’t live very close to anyone in our family. We get to see grandmas and grandpas and cousins every now and then, but not nearly enough. My 3-year-old loves writing letters and drawing pictures. She is always asking for an envelope and a stamp so she can send her picture to Grandma or an uncle or cousin.

So, I decided to put together a Family Post Office. It was simple to do and I love that the kids can see their cousins and grandparents and send them letters more easily now! Here’s how we did it…

1. Print a Cover

• I found a 1” binder we already had and printed out a cover and side thingy  
• I love free printables, so if you’d like to use the same cover and spine label, just click HERE to download!

2. Add a pencil pouch

• Snap a pencil pouch right inside the front cover.
• Put big and little envelopes in the pouch.
• Add several different stamps.

3. Add paper and cards!

• Fill the left front pocket with blank paper and some different blank cards the kids can pick from.

 

4. Address Pages

• Find a picture of each family/person in our family.
• Add their address on the right side (mine are blurred out, but they’re there!)
• NOTE: I love that if the address changes, I can update and just print out that one page.
• Put the pages in plastic page protectors.

5. Back Cover

• On the back cover, I taped an envelope with a “How-To” address the front and where to put the stamp.
• There’s a little sticky note pad at the bottom … sometimes my 3 or 5-year-old will tell me what they want to say and I’ll write it out for them so they can copy it.

7. That’s it! … For now, it sits on the counter by our tin bucket filled with pencils, little scissors and a stapler. My kids know they can use these anytime they want to. They are quite the little creators.

8. Mail your letters!

• The last thing my kids do after they address the envelope and put a stamp on is to run it out to the mailbox and put the flag up.
• So exciting! Especially when the mailman brings a letter back to them!

Letters

My kids love to get a letter in the mail. I think today because of email and texting, it’s almost a novelty to get an envelope or package with their name on it.

• Morning Letter
  1. To start the day, have a letter, sealed in an envelope, addressed and waiting for your preschooler at the breakfast table (or a place they will notice it.)
  2. Follow a simple letter form
     • “Dear xxxx,”
     • Tell them what the plan is for the day (or whatever you want!)
     • End with “Sincerely,” or “From,” or “Love,”

• Read “Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type” by Doreen Cronin
  1. In this book, the cows and ducks write letters back and forth to Farmer Brown.
  2. As you read, point out how the letters start with “Dear” and end with “Sincerely”

• Typing Practice … my oldest loved doing this when he was 3-years-old
  1. If you can find or borrow a typewriter, the kids would love to type on the keys and watch them show up on the paper!
  2. Otherwise, turn on a simple word processing program, make the font very large and show the kids how to use one finger to make the letters appear on the screen.
  3. I love using the font Print Clearly for my preschool activities. It’s very simple and has great letter form. You can download it for free if you click on the Resource tab at the top.
• Go on a Letter Treasure Hunt
  1. Write down several clues in the form of a letter
  2. Fold them up, seal them in an envelope and address it like you would if you were mailing it.
  3. Place a sticker in the corner for a stamp.
  4. Hide the clues and have fun opening each letter. One clue could be hiding in the mailbox! 
  5. For a treasure, I might include some letter stamps and an ink pad or a set of envelopes, paper, and a pencil tied with a ribbon just for them to use! I’d love to hear your treasure ideas!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Alphabet & Letters)

This year we are doing a combined preschool with some other mom friends and their kids one day a week. Thursday was our first preschool together and it was so much fun! My friend, Camie, hosted in her home and she did a fantastic job. The kids (and moms) loved it.

The focus was on Letters and the Alphabet.

 

• Sing the ABC song together … Point out the letters on the end pages of “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” as you sing!

• Name Cards
  1. Write each of the kids names on a 3x5 card in a different color.
  2. Show the names one at a time and see if the kids can recognize their names.
  3. Say each name and point out how our names are made out of letters!
  4. I can’t tell you how excited my 3-year-old was just to have his name written on a card that he got to take home!
• Sing Here We Are Together (click the link for words and music)
  1. Give each of the kids their name cards.
  2. Sing the song.
  3. Have the kids hold up their name as you sing it!

 

• Search for ABCs … my kids love egg hunts and treasure hunts, so searching for ABCs was just as much fun!
  1. Write Aa, Bb and Cc on individual 3x5 cards. Each child should have a set in the color their name card was written.
  2. Ahead of time, hide the cards around the room.
  3. Ask the kids to search for the cards in their color. My 3-year-old’s name card was written in blue, so he found the Aa, Bb and Cc cards written in blue!

 

• Read “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault.
• Watch the animated version of “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”
  1. I had never seen this from Scholastic Storybook Treasures, but the kids loved it.
  2. Very catchy tune
  3. Check at your library or find it here on Amazon. The reviews are excellent!

 

• Make a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree!
  1. Give the kids 1/2 sheet of colorful paper. I love how Camie used bright colors just like the book!
  2. Have them glue on a long brown rectangle for the trunk.
  3. Give them a page of bright polka dot paper with 3 leaves drawn on the back. Let them practice cutting out the leaves with scissors.
  4. Glue the leaves to the top of the tree.
  5. Glue on a few brown circles for coconuts!
  6. Last, since we were focusing on Aa, Bb and Cc, the kids each glued those letters to their tree.
  7. So cute and bright!

• Dry Erase Boards
  1. Practice writing letters (we focused on letter A) and their names on the dry erase boards.
  2. Don’t forget to remind the kids that the markers should only draw on the boards
  3. The kids loved doing this with their special boards, pens and napkins to wipe them off.
• Snack Idea … Chicka Chicka Boom Boom kabobs!
  1. Use wooden skewers.
  2. Alternate A = apple chunks, B = banana slices, C = cantaloupe chunks (and we had grapes too – yum!!)

Thanks Camie for all of your great ideas!

Mail

• Use an empty box to make a mailbox. Hang it outside of each bedroom. Provide paper, crayons, pencils, envelopes, stickers (stamps) for the kids to write letters to each other.
• Make a special thank you card for your mailman and leave it in the mailbox for him or her!
• Ask grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, & friends to mail letters to your kids this week (see letters post). Ask them to write your preschooler’s name on the envelope. My 3-year-old LOVED getting mail with his name that he could read on the front. **If they didn’t make it in time for "letter" week, they will work this week for “mail"!
• Write a letter back, address it, stamp it, then take it to the post office to mail it.

• Read "The Jolly Postman" by Janet & Allan Ahlberg … a very cute book about a postman who delivers real letters (they actually open up and you can take them out and read them!) to all of the fairy tale and nursery rhyme creatures.
• Cut pictures out of magazines or ads and glue onto index cards. Write each family member's name on an envelope. Let the kids choose a card to "send" to someone. Deliver to their mailboxes. Open & see what you received!

Letters

Letters are so fun to get in the mailbox!

• A week or two before L week, ask your family and friends to write letters to your preschooler and have them sent to arrive during L week.
• I usually email everyone the week before and we have several letters arrive throughout the next week from grandmas, aunts, cousins and friends. It is so much fun to see the excitement of receiving letters.
• Of course, we learn how to write a letter back (or draw pictures and sign our names). Then it’s fun to let my 3-year-old fold the letter himself, put the stamp on the envelope, add a return address label and put it out in the mailbox with the flag up.

NOTE: the great thing is, if the letters arrive too late, they still work as MAIL for M week!
TIP: Anytime I sign up for free samples or things like that, I put one of my kid’s names on it. So when it comes in the mail, they get to take turns getting something extra special. They love getting mail!