Student Post Office

Introduction:

During the height of the pandemic we were looking for opportunities for socialization amongst students and staff. We thought developing a post office to send mail across the school would be a good way to spark interaction across the school despite our limitations.

Target OT Skills:

• Handwriting

• Using a glue stick or dot marker

• Addressing and formating a letter

• Pre-vocational skills (i.e. delivering mail)

• Following a visual schedule

• Folding paper

• Stuffing an envelope

• Addressing an envelope

• Visual Motor (i.e. scanning paper to find pictures)

• Creativity

• Community participation

• Overall opportunity to learn about the mail system

• Social Participation

Set Up:

1. Mailbox

One of our committee members used a cardboard box to create the realistic mailbox. It has a slot at the top to put envelopes in and a door in the front to take envelopes out.

2. Envelopes

We laminated envelopes and added Velcro to the front for delivery address, return address and stamps. We also added Velcro on the back to close the envelope.

3. Stamps

We bought a teacherspayteachers.com (https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Printable-Postage-Stamps-for-Post-Office-Dramatic-Play-USA-3048440?st=2c03938689a6940dedf301a84237e3f6) stamp sheet and laminated each stamp. We added velcro to the back of each stamp and velcored them to a sheet. Finally, we put the sheets into a binder.

4. Delivery Address

We have 2 options for delivery addresses, a color-coded written one and one with student and staff photos. We allow both students and staff to send mail. We color coded each classroom and staff office, so each delivery address is colored accordingly. We made 2 seperate binders for each option.

5. Return Address

We printed out all of the student and staff names for the return addresses. We added them to a binder and grouped them together by classroom. For students who are unable to read, we have the student and staff photo binder.

6. Letter Templates

We found a variety of different letter templates and put them in a binder for students and staff to choose. We have templates for writers as well as templates with PECs for those who cannot write.

Picture 1: From Primary Playground (https://primaryplayground.net/free-printable-pen-pal-letter/?fbclid=IwAR0PSssYZAN98n0DHaWaqVRnLVv8J20PhICvr-3Msh93_diQ5KiPVovJvdE)

Picture 2: Inspiration from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mothers-Day-Card-Boardmaker-Special-Education-3124021

7. Envelope containers and writing utensils

We have 2 bins next to the mailbox with unused and returned envelopes. We also have a container with pens, pencils, markers and glue sticks for creating the mail.

Mail Carrier Job:

We created a pre-vocational skill opportunity for students to deliver mail every Friday. Below are the different materials we created for this student job:

1. School Map- we created a color-coded map with the different classrooms and offices for students to follow when delivering the mail. (Envelope with red address label goes to the red classroom)

2. Delivery Checklist Visual- we created a color-coded mail delivery checklist for students to follow along with when delivering mail. Students sort the envelopes by classroom (i.e. by color) and deliver to the according classroom. Once they deliver to a classroom, they move the colored icon to where it says "All Done."

3. Checklist- We created a step by step checklist of the mail carrier job responsibilities

4. Time Sheet- We created a time sheet for students to clock in and clock out for their mail carrier shifts.

5. Mail Carrier Badges- We printed and laminated mail carrier badges from HomeSchoolShare.com (https://www.homeschoolshare.com/preschool-post-office-printables/) and put them on landyards for students to wear during their shifts.

Please let us know if you would like more information or if you have any additional ideas for this project. Thanks :)