We created our own mail center in our schoolroom and play room because my kids love getting the mail. They love to send letters to friends, teachers, and grandparents. I also created monster postcard templates to help them practice everything from early writing skills to addressing postcards and learning the parts of a letter. Of course, these aren’t post cards for the US Postal Service: they are for our own homemade mailbox!
How to Make a DIY Cardboard Mailbox
To make our own indoor mailbox, I found a rectangle of cardboard. It was flexible but strong. It had a flap of cardboard in the front that reminded me of a mailbox flap.
It took some simple bending and some painters’ tape to move it in the the correct shape. I used an Exacto knife (aff link) to cut it into the proper shape and cut out a back for our mailbox.
My son loved to paint it with me.
Monster Postcards Templates for Preschoolers
To add to our fun, I decided to make some postcard templates. I made two different options, one for my toddler and the other for my second grader.
First, for my toddler, I made postcards with a “To” and “From” spot with monster stamps in the corner. I laminated them so she could use them over and over again!
Our dry-erase crayons (aff link) are perfect for this! Note that the crayons are much less messy than the markers would have been. They wipe off very easily, and my preschooler can write a new letter.
Letter Writing and Handwriting Practice for Elementary Kids
For my second grader, I intended this to be a handwriting practice center as well as a fun play place! I made a blank template with primary-grade lines. We talked about the parts of a letter. Obviously, this is a much casual letter than some may be, but I still expect him to have the basic parts of it!
He really wanted to attach the stamp himself, so I printed letter templates without the stamps and separate monster stamps to use. (I laminated the stamps so we can pull them off and reuse them on other postcards.)
He was very eager to write me a letter. While usually I have to cajole him to do his handwriting or copywork practice, this time he was excited.
“Don’t look!” he kept telling me.
The kids played for an hour with our mail center. I am excited that they are getting writing (or in my daughter's case, pre-writing) practice all the while having some imaginative fun!
Do you have a letter-writing center in your home or classroom? Download these postcard templates below and set one up!
See these other blog posts for handwriting and imaginative creative play.
Monster Postcard Center
Make your own pretend play mail center with these monster postcard templates! Designed for preschoolers and elementary-aged children, the printable set offers different ways to practice early writing and handwriting.
For preschoolers: Use the simple To and From cards for drawing, pre-writing, and pretend mail play.
For elementary students: Practice handwriting on primary-grade lines and review the parts of a letter.
For imaginative play: Add the postcards to a homemade mailbox and let children write and deliver mail to family and friends.
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