When my twins were little they had a garden playhouse with a gate that opened and a mailbox. They loved the mailbox. It even had an old fashioned red flag to lift when there was mail inside. It didn’t take us much time to lose the plastic letters that came in the mailbox, but we came up with even better things to “mail”.
If they got real mail from their grandparents, birthday or holiday cards or postcards from their travels, I put it in their mailbox and told them to go check it. Some days I even put a morning snack in there – cereal rings or tiny cheese cubes in their toddler bowls. On those days when time seemed to drag on, any little distraction was appreciated.
When they got older, I’d put stickers in there for them, or new crayons, or small prizes. Sometimes I would tell them, and sometimes I’d just wait and let them discover the prizes for themselves.
And then, they began to mail things to other people. Even though the twins couldn’t write, they made scribbles on small pieces of paper and folded them up. They sent letters to cousins and grandparents and preschool friends. They drew pictures of their favorite stuffed animals and scribbled stories to send to those favorite stuffed friends. Sometimes after birthday parties they would wrap (smush paper around) some of their treat bag surprises and draw small bears, dogs, and giraffes for the address. Then they would have the animals come and find their mail. The boys left snacks for those stuffed animals too. I found some of them, but I’m pretty sure that our dog found most of them!
Even without the official mailbox, any box or even a drawer would work. The teacher in me was thrilled at their early attempts at writing, and the fact that they understood that those symbols meant language. But mainly, the mom in me just thought it was a dear, sweet game.
More Ideas for Mailboxes and Letters:
Christmas All Year Writing Project