In the last two decades children have lost 8 hours of free play per week and 30,000 schools in the United States have eliminated recess to make time for more academic study. – Kathy Hirsh-PasekThis statistic freaks me out! I worry “ are my kids playing enough?


Post Office Play Kit
- Mail bag
- Mail boxes (*If you don't have your own mailboxes, make you own out of cereal boxes or shoe boxes.)
- Stickers
- Stamps, stamp pad
- Scissors
- Envelopes
- Pencils, markers, pens
- Paper
- Labels
- Index cards
- Stationery
- Tape
- Date stamp
- Scale
- Storage shoe box
- Money, cash register
- Scale
Learning Through Post Office Play
Now that your kids are engaged in play, you can facilitate learning with a few suggestions. Ages 3 “ 5- Teach new vocabulary words associated with the post office: delivery, address, postage, scale, sort, mail carrier.
- Count and sort letters.
- Draw and dictate letters and postcards.
- Practice writing your own name.

- Write postcards and letters.
- Weigh mail.
- Sort, count, and deliver mail.
- Practice writing your address and addresses of others on envelopes.
- Practice letter writing formats.

Additional Learning – Post Office Books
- Max and Ruby Bunny Mail
- Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type
- Toot and Puddle
- Post Office non-fiction books
- movie theater
- writer's toolkit
- pirates
- beauty salon
Additional Resources – Importance of Play
Do you want to read more about the importance of play? You might like these favorite books:- Einstein Never Used Flashcards
- Brain Rules for Baby
- NurtureShock
- Mind In the Making
- Tools of the Mind
I ™d love to hear if you make your own play kits, too. What are your kids’ favorite pretend play themes?Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity. – Kay Redfield Jamison, Contemporary American professor of Psychiatry

I love this! So cute! I saw this on Skip to My Lou I would love it if you would share this with our readers too for Fun Stuff Fridays! http://www.toysinthedryer.com/2012/02/14-days-of-valentines-fun-stuff-fridays_10.html
Wow! You gave me lots of good stuff to add to my pretend post office! Thanks so much!
I love the ideas in your kit. I probably would have just handed my kid some envelopes and a pen and what fun would that be??? Now we can have a rockin’ post office!!