Preschool Writing Activity: Letters to Family
Writing letters to family is an excellent preschool writing activity because most young children are very interested in getting and sending mail. Evan is very intrigued by the whole process and thoroughly enjoyed this fun activity. Since it was Grandparent’s Day we thought it would be an awesome idea to write letters to his grandparents.
This week’s PLAYful Preschool theme is Family. Since we have family that lives in other states, we thought it would be fun to send them letters in the mail. This was a great way for Evan to practice writing and to connect with family he doesn’t see all the time.
Objective: To practice communicating through writing, to introduce letter writing structure and learn about addressing mail.
Materials Needed:
Blank white paper
Crayons or Markers
Envelopes
Stickers (optional)
Stamps (if mailing letters)
Activity Prep:
1. Lay out all the supplies above. That’s it!
Activity:
The first thing I did was model letter writing for Evan. So I took a piece of paper and a marker and started writing a short letter. As I wrote the words I said them out loud. So it went something like this, “Dear Grandma, I miss you and can’t wait to see you soon” and so on. Then I ended with “Love you, Danielle.” I wanted Evan to get an idea of letter writing structure and model to him that I am writing words.
He picked up on it right away and began writing his own letter. He started with “Dear, Grandma” and then began scribbling things on the paper while telling me out loud what it said. I jotted down what he was saying on my own paper. Then when he was done with his writing, I wrote what he said directly on his letter so that Grandma or Grandpa would know what his letter said. He wrote many letters! I eventually had to encourage him to move on to the next part of the activity because he was going through so much paper.
Now it was time to show him how him how I fold up the letter and put it in an envelope. From there on out, I folded the letters and he stuffed them in the envelopes. He thought it was very funny that I had to lick the envelope before closing it and after trying it on his own once, I was assigned that duty for the rest of the envelopes.
Then I modeled how I addressed the envelope to the recipient and put his name and address at the top left as well. He thought it was so neat that his name was on the envelope. Afterward, I let him decorate the envelope with stickers that he thought each grandparent would like. Lastly, he was able to choose which stamp he would like to put on each letter and I taught him where and how to place the stamp.
Once the letters were completed, he took them out to the mailbox and remembered to raise the flag so that the mailman would know his letters were in there and ready for pickup.
I am sure we will do this many more times in the near future because Evan was enthralled by the whole process. He is so excited for his letters to get to his grandparents! I am excited because there were so many skills and learning opportunities covered in this one simple lesson. When all was said and done, we worked on writing skills, fine motor skills, literacy skills and even life skills. How awesome is that?!
To plan your family theme preschool activities, check out all the other ideas from the PLAYful Preschool Education Team below!
For even more playful preschool learning activities check out my Preschool Pinterest board.
Follow Mom Inspired Life’s board Toddler-Pre-K Learning Activities on Pinterest.
Plan your Family Theme Preschool Activities with these ideas from the Playful Preschool Education Team!
Family Theme Learning Activities: Reading – Writing – Cooking – Sensory – Art – Math
Bookmaking for a Preschool Family Theme from Fun A Day
Finding My Family on a Map from Powerful Mothering
Preschool Writing Activity: Letters to Family from Mom Inspired Life
Cooking with Kids: Family Recipe Books from Growing Book By Book
Our Family Tree: Sorting Family Members from Still Playing School
Family Themed Sensory Bin from Little Bins for Little Hands
Tips for Using Skype to Connect with Family from The Educators’ Spin On It
Family Portraits from Rainy Day Mum
Family Counting from Tiny Tots Adventures
Jamaican Games for Fine and Gross Motor Skills from Learning 2 Walk
Family Footprints from Capri +3
My Funny Family: Family Tree Stick Crafts for Preschool! from The Preschool Toolbox
Family Paper Dolls: Learning Big & Small with Preschoolers from Life Over C’s
We would like to extend an invitation to join in our Live Google+ Hangout Tonight at 9:00 where we highlight Family Theme Preschool Activities for parents, teachers, and caregivers.