From very early on, my son loved posting objects. We would find lost objects such as keys and other valuables posted in the oddest of places, such as through gaps of chairs and down the sides of other various furniture. Soon after came the fascination with Postman Pat, henceforth; post boxes and letters.
I wanted to continue and encourage this interest by purchasing a post box toy. I had my eye on a beautiful wooden post box complete with little wooden letters, however, we never seemed to have the cash to hand. So with a bit of imagination and an old box that was waiting to be recycled anyway, my son has had hours of fun exploring his interest as well as encouraging many other areas of his development.
You will need:
A sturdy cardboard box
Marker pen
Sharp scissors
Red gift wrap
Sticky tape
Postal images to decorate and sticky-back plastic
You will also need envelopes for your child to post! You could buy or make these.
Simple to Make
First I taped the flaps of the box closed. Using a marker pen I drew a rectangle shape on the front of the box for a letter box and on the back, I drew a larger rectangle for a door so the letters can be retrieved. I then cut these shapes out. (Note: Only cut three sides on the door so you have a flap to open and close!)
I then covered the box with the red gift wrap. I searched for some postal images online. I printed them, cut them out and attached these to the post box with sticky back plastic.
The post box is ready to go!
Areas of Development
• Encourages hand eye co-ordination, not only by posting the letters but opening and closing the door to retrieve them.
• Imagination and role play. Who is the letter going to and why?
• Encourages early interest in reading and writing.
• Develops understanding that print conveys meaning and encourages child to give meaning to their own marks.
• Allows and encourages a child’s exploration and development of their schema (a method or way in which a child learns about the world around them) including posting and envelopment.
Extending Play
• Link to celebrations. E.g. make and "post" Christmas/Easter/Birthday cards.
• Talk about what happens with post. (Postman Pat is a favorite conversation topic for my own son!)
• Visit the post office to encourage knowledge and understanding of their world.
• Counting and sorting envelopes.
Further Information About Schemas
http://www.leics.gov.uk/penn_green_schemas.pdf
Chimene Court-Smith - Hello! I am a nursery nurse for a reception class in Somerset. I hold a Level 2 Certificate in Child Care and Education and a Level 3 ...
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