Age guide: 3 to 8 years. Younger children can send drawings, and older ones write notes.
A little mailbox on the shelf can start a lot of reading and writing. Children enjoy sending something real to a real person, and finding their own name on an envelope is a small thrill. It also gives you a way to say something kind to each of them.
What you need
- A box or tin with a slot, as your mailbox.
- Envelopes with each family member’s name on the front. Include a grandparent or a friend if you like.
- Paper, pens and crayons.
- A place for the post to be delivered, such as a pocket on a door or a basket per person.
How to play
- Set the mailbox and envelopes in a corner with the writing things.
- Invite your child to write or draw something for someone: a drawing, a few letters, a scribble that “says” something. Their way of writing counts, whether it is a picture, a squiggle or letters.
- They find the right envelope, put the note inside and post it in the box.
- Choose a postal worker. At set times, such as before supper, the postal worker empties the box and delivers each letter to the right person by reading the name.
- Take turns being the postal worker.
Make sure everybody gets mail
Add a note of your own to each person’s envelope: a joke, a thank you, a “saw you help your brother today”. It means no one is left with an empty envelope, and children see you using writing for something real.
Ideas to stretch it
- Write a postcard to a relative far away and post it for real.
- Use stamps made from drawings.
- Make a shop where children post their own “orders”.
- If a child is not yet writing, let them dictate and you write it down.
Keep it safe
Keep any personal information, like your home address, off the practice letters. Use real names only for family and close friends. If you do post a real letter, check postal prices and rules first.
For more ways to use family time well, see five minutes that belong to your child.
