Mail Match Math!

Who doesn’t love getting a letter?  To preschoolers the mail ranks up there with other anticipated special deliveries like their Easter Baskets and Christmas stockings.  Perhaps the one thing more exciting than receiving mail, would be getting to be the all-powerful letter carrier!  Here’s an activity that lets your children in on the fun of delivering the mail, while also reinforcing the basic math skills of numeral recognition and counting.

Create letters by writing the number name in the address spot.  Place the same number of 1 cent stamps in the stamp corner.  For the group I was working with, I did numbers 1-10, but you could adjust that to meet the needs of your group.  Next, create houses or mailboxes by writing the numerals corresponding to your letters.  These can be simple pieces of paper as I show here, or you could make actual house or mailbox drawings.  (I wrote mine on colored paper, and we began by putting the numbered papers in order, and then pointed out the abc pattern created by the colors.)  Put these numbered papers in your pocket chart or in the center of your circle of children.  Place all of your letters in a bag like a mail carrier.  Have each child take a turn being the letter carrier (add to the effect by giving them a postal hat to wear during that turn).  Each child will reach into the bag to select a letter and then place it in the appropriate spot by matching the number of stamps on the letter to the numeral written on the house/mailbox.  After the children have experienced this activity, you might consider putting it in your dramatic play area along with your post office theme!