Have your children draw a picture or help them write a letter to a friend or family member. Help them package it into an envelope, address it and put a stamp on it so it is ready to be mailed. While they’re not looking, write a letter to your children and put it in an envelope. Have them help you write your own address on the center of the envelope, as this letter will be mailed back to them. (This is a good time to have them memorize where they live!) Put a stamp on it and head to the Post Office!!!
Go inside the Post Office and have your children put the mail in the correct mailbox. Explain what is going to happen with each letter. They will go from this Post Office to another bigger Post Office on a big mail truck, where the workers will look at the address and put it in a special pile for letters going to __________ (name of state). Once the letter gets to __________(state) they’ll look at the address again, and will put it into a pile that goes to ‘Grandma’s’ city. Then the mailman or mail woman will pick up these letters and take them for a ride in their own little mail truck.
Take children out back to see a mail truck if possible. Point out that the driver's seat in the mail truck is on a different side than it is in other cars. That is so they can be closer to the mailboxes on the side of the road. They have a lot of mail to deliver, so they must do it quickly.
Have children say the days of the week with you, and explain that Mail carriers deliver our mail every day except for Sunday and on certain holidays. They deliver mail in all kinds of weather… even when it’s snowy, rainy and icy. They work really hard to help us get our important mail. Give them a tour of the other parts of the post office: PO Boxes, the packaging area, the stamp machine. Explain the purpose of each and ask if they have any questions. Tell them “In a few days Grandma will be getting your letter and she’s going to be so excited.”
Next time you go to the library, check out a few books about postal carriers to help reinforce what they learned on the field trip. It’s always fun for kids to read about places they’ve already visited!
In a few days your child should receive the letter you addressed to him/her. It will make their day!
