When was the last time you walked down to the post-office to send out a letter? Snail-mails, while not so relevant in today’s world of instant messaging, can be a lot of fun, and is still a great way to teach children the concept of communication.
Imagine you come home from a long day at work, and right there in your post box there is a sweet little letter from your child, about everything you missed during the day. Then you slip a creative reply back into the post box, continuing the wonderful game that teaches your child basic social and communication skills.
In this DIY activity we show you how to make a post box. The one that we show you is utilitarian and basic, so feel free to design and dress it up any way you like. Most importantly, have your child participate in building it.
When you’re done, encourage your child to write notes to you, grandparents, friends or even your house pet. You can even consider maintaining a scrapbook of all the letters your child writes and draws for you. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see/read these letters years from now?
Skills that your child learns during the activity
Visual-Spatial and Fine motor kills – Design and creating the post box
Mathematical skills – learn about postal addresses, writing an identifying dates, Days of the week.
Socio-emotional skills – Communication, Language, Story telling & Social nuances.
Step by step instructions
Step 1
- Find the top flap of the cardboard box, tease it out and tape all the open ends firmly. Ensure that the flap is outside.
- If you are using a shoe box, tape the lid of the shoe box firmly and cut open only one flap at the vertical end and fold it over.
- Draw a Rectangle in the middle of the box (the flap end) and draw a bigger box on the opposite side. This time on the lower end.
Step 2
- Use the cutter and cut out the middle rectangular shape (Parent assistance required).
- Now cut at the center of the square box on the opposite side, make it open like a door.
Step 3
- It is time to cover or paint the box red! Glue red paper all over the box, or if you are using paint – paint it all over. Wait until the glue / paint dries.
Step 4
- Carefully remove the red paper around the open mouth under the lid.
Step 5
- Now flip it to the other side and slowly ensure you can open the back door of the box by cutting the paper in the center and sticking it.
Step 6
- The post box is nearly ready! Paint the lid with black paint.
- You can also paint the mouth of the box and back door of the box with an outline of black paint.
Step 7
- Name your box! I called mine – Bubbles. Stick the name on the box and your post box is ready to receive mails and messages!! Hurray!
Go ahead and post photos of your postbox here!
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