Valentine Post Office Adventure

By Lynn Moore

Celebrate the coming of Valentine’s Day by planning a preschool day trip to the post office. On this adventure, preschoolers will learn about community service workers, the concept of buying a product, math skills, handwriting skills, and have the fun of mailing something themselves to grandparents or other relatives.

Prepare for the Adventure

1. Buy Some Cards  Many themed cards (inexpensively priced) come in a box of about thirty cards. The drawback of these cards is that the space on the back is small and can be difficult for preschoolers to sign. These mini cards also do not come in mailable envelopes. If you choose to use the small cards, you may wish to save them to give to nearby friends and neighbors. Larger cards are available for purchase in packages of six or eight. Still others are for individual sale for a reasonable cost in the children’s card section.
2. Or Make Some Cards If you prefer not to purchase cards, consider using a few simple supplies to make them. Preschoolers love to make their own Valentine’s cards! In the tradition of original valentines made by the sender your preschooler will delight in making a special card for a grandparent. Keep the cost low by purchasing construction paper, paper heart-shaped doilies, non-toxic glue sticks, and Valentine stickers. Preschoolers also love to add their own designs with markers and crayons. By using a package of envelopes to judge the size, the valentine creation can soon begin.
   
3. Sign the Cards Preschoolers are learning to print their names. They can make Xs and Os to represent hugs and kisses. By signing Valentine’s Day cards they are able to practice these beginning handwriting skills. A younger preschooler may simply wish to sign his first initial.

Go to the Post Office

1. Buy Some Stamps For this outing, have your preschooler purchase a small sheet of stamps from the postal clerk. He will be learning about a community worker and the concept of buying something (other than a preschool treat).
   
2. Stamp the Cards The self-adhesive stamps available today are truly stickers. Pulling these off to place on envelopes for mailing is a pincher grasp skill (another early handwriting necessity). As preschoolers add a stamp to each valentine envelope, they are practicing the early math skill of one-to-one correspondence. (For more ways to practice this math skill on a preschooler adventure read Math Counting Adventures).
   
3. Mail the Valentines Some people mail valentines inside the post office. Some people mail them at a drive-through box. Point both out to your preschooler. Where would he like to mail the valentines to his grandparents? 

Let the preschooler also be the recipient of valentines mailed to him. These can come from Daddy or Mommy at work as well as the ones that will arrive from relatives. If your relatives live nearby, clue them into the fact that you have gone on a post office adventure and encourage them to mail the cards this year instead of delivering them when they visit.       

Preschoolers will be thrilled with their Valentine Post Office Adventure, and families will be amazed at how much they learn along the way.

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