Community Helper Post Office Writing Center for Preschool
2:38 PM
Fall is the perfect time to introduce community helpers to a preschool classroom. During the month of October the boys and girls learn about fire safety and prevention. At this time they may also have a visit from fire and rescue as well. It makes sense to also discuss police officers, doctors, trash collectors, mail carriers and other important community helpers.
The unit usually lasts 6-7 days and there is never enough time to spend a day on each helper. That is why I love to use play center time to keep learning going. In this post you will see what I add to my writing center to turn it into a post office.
The writing center has been our favorite area for several weeks. Some staples that I always keep in our writing center are:
Writing Tools
- crayons
- markers
- colored pencils
- gel pens
- smelly markers
- pens
- chalk
- pencils
- Dry erase markers
Paper
- post its
- index cards
- scrap paper
- cardboard
- cardstock
- paper with lines
- grid paper
- large notebooks
- journals
- mini notebooks
- scrapbook paper
Extras
- stamp pads
- ABC stickers
- stickers
- ABC stamps
- seasonal stamps
- stencils
- whiteboard
- clipboards
- scotch tape
- colored tape
- stapler (large and mini)
- paper puncher
- binder rings etc
The writing center is usually pretty stocked, so it was simple to add a few things to make it into a post office.
The first item I added to the center was a mailbox for our friends. I took a 9 by 12 sheet of paper and folded it in half and stapled the sides. Then, I wrote each child's name on the front. I attached it to the wall using sticky putty. This simple addition will help the boys and girls work on name identification of themselves and friends. When the boys and girls are looking for a friends mailbox, I will give her a clue like "Max's name starts with the letter M." Each day the children can check their mailbox and take their mail home.
Another simple addition were these picture name tags and magnetic letters. I used pictures of people close to us. If the boys and girls want to write someone's name on a card they can pull the card off the board and use it as a model to try to write some of the letters.
I also added a large mailbox and mini mailboxes for the boys and girls to practice being a mail carrier. The boys and girls choose an envelope, count the total number of dots on the envelope and place it into the mailbox with the matching number.
To complete the Post Office I added a sign and some materials specific to the post office.
- envelopes
- post cards
- birthday party invites
- old valentine and Christmas cards
- paper folded over to look like a card
- die cut animals and shapes
- stickers shaped like stamps
An easy way to obtain materials for your post office is to ask parents to send materials like the ones listed above. I was able to find a lot of the materials at the dollar store.
If your looking for more community helper ideas check out our Community Helper Unit for Preschool.
The post office is sure to be one of your students favorite writing centers!
by Katie Ellingson~Kindergarten Rocks
0 comments