There is something irresistibly fun about opening a mailbox and finding something inside which is why this activity is one your kids won’t want to stop. You can easily tailor it to match a wide variety of themes like Letters, Numbers, and Colors. We chose to learn about Shapes because both my preschooler and toddler could benefit from this subject and they always enjoy learning together (don’t worry, only one kid is needed for this activity). Anytime I can get my kids moving during an activity is a plus so I added some distance from the mailbox to the mail sorting area so the kids were able to run around making this Shape Sort Mailbox Activity feel like a game!
Suggested Books:
Delivering Your Mail: A Book About Mail Carriers (Community Workers)-affiliate link
My Very First Book of Shapes (affiliate link)
Shape Sort Mailbox Activity
Supplies:
- Shapes signs (available to download for free from our Shapes Match Post)
- Shape Buttons (affiliate link)
- Envelopes
- Tape
- Toy Mailbox-affiliate link (you could always use a tissue or shoe box if you don’t have one)
(you could always use a tissue or shoe box if you don’t have one)Directions:
Tape a shape to the backside of the envelope (the side with the flap). Open the envelope and tape the front side of it to the wall or board.
Secretly put a button in the mailbox, have child open the mailbox, find the button, name the shape, and run to put it in the correct envelope. While they are running secretly put another button in the mailbox so when they return they can do it all over again.
Another way to play would be to add a timer and have the child see how many buttons they could sort in a certain amount of time.
(If you look closely you may notice my kids look a bit younger then they currently do now. I’m just trying to keep you on your toes as well as I found a little bit of free time to go back to our archives and pick out one of our favorite activities to share).