Free Ways to Learn About Community Helpers: Postal Workers

Are you exploring a community helper unit in your homeschool this year? These free ways to learn about community helpers and postal workers are a great place to start.

You may not want to start your lesson on postal workers with the fact that parents once mailed children through the postal service. However, that is a pretty funny fact, to begin with your kids, or at least a must-share.

A Brief History of Children Sent Through the Mail | Smithsonian Mag (This was crazy!)

After this cool little fact, which will definitely help them appreciate the long road trips, you can certainly move on to actually studying these public service workers.

Can you imagine life without mail carriers? I mean granted we may appreciate our Amazon mail carriers a little more than the postal workers but that just isn’t fair. Is it!?

Postal workers send you everything that is free. Everything you get from Amazon, you most likely paid for. So, boom – reasons postal workers are better than package carriers #1!

Explore these free ways to learn about community helpers: postal workers

1. Give a little history and explanation of who postal workers are and what they do:

• FREE Resources about the Post Office
• Printables about Community Helpers
• FREE Community Helpers Printables
• FREE Community Helpers Handwriting Practice

• FREE Kindergarten Mail Carrier Unit Study | Confession of a Homeschooler
• Preschool: Helpers – Mail Man Study Ideas and Learning | Simple Home Blessings
• Community Helper Unit | Turner Tots
• Post Office Preschool Unit | Lil Mama Bear
• Post Office Theme For Preschool |Preschool Plan It
• Mail carrier facts for kids | Kids.Kiddle

2. Show your kids some videos on the postal system and what postal workers do

• Video – All About the Post Office | PBS

3. Create a Dramatic Play Center – Post Office.

You may have everything you need totally free at home.

• Post Office Dramatic Play | Pocket of Preschool
• FREE Printable Play Set Post Office Play | Picklebums
• Post Office Dramatic Play Center | Pre-K Pages
• Fun Post Office Dramatic Play Area | Little Lifelong Learners
• Setting Up A Preschool Post Office! | Love Preschool
• Early Literacy Center- Mail Time Part 2 | Reading with Red
• Post Office Dramatic Play Center | Play to Learn Preschool

4. Postal Worker Crafts

Make some postal worker/post office crafts with things you, yes, already have at home!(Note: You may need a printer for some of these.)

• Mailman Paper Doll FREE Download | Education.com
• FREE Download Mailbox Craft | Education.com
• Mail Carrier Toilet Paper Tube Craft | Make Learning Fun
• Create a Mailbox from a Cardboard Box | iKat Bag
• Printable Mail Carrier Craft | Learn Create Love
• Mail Carrier Toilet Paper Tube Puppet | Make Learning Fun  
• Make A Mailbox Craft (Preschool) | Mrs Plemons Kindergarten

5. Post Office Activities

Play some games and do some hands-on activities all about the postal workers and the post office theme.

• Directional Art Mail Truck  | Make Learning Fun
• Bingo Marker Mail Carrier Pages | Make Learning Fun
• Mailbox Alphabet Game with FREE Printables | Totschooling

• Postman Games For Kids | Here Come the Girls
• Community Helpers FREE UNIT – Firefighter Labeling – Mailman Writing – Games | Keeping My Kinders Busy
• FREE Social Studies Mail Carrier Activity | OSEE’s Home Schooled Education
• Sort the Mail: Learning Math Through Pretend Play | Intentional by Grace
• Envelope Sorting Activity Station | Toddler Approved
• Number Letter Card FREE Activity | Teach with Me
• Post Office “I Spy” For Preschoolers | Simple Home Blessing
• 5 Hands-On Post Office Preschool Theme Unit Activities | Mommy is my Teacher

6. Plan a post office field trip!

The post office is a perfectly-perfect and free field trip for your kiddos. Your kids can meet a postal worker, look at stamps, count mail trucks, or tally the different size envelopes and their prices.

I would call ahead of time and arrange a tour. This is a great event to wrap up your lessons on postal workers.

There is no denying that postal workers are sometimes our most undervalued community helpers.

We understand firefighters fight fires, health workers keep us all healthy, and police officers keep us safe.

Postal workers have been a crucial part and source of communication for thousands of years.

For example, Egypt had a postal service around 2000 BC. The Chinese used riders on horseback to deliver mail around 1000 BC. 

I, for one, am grateful for the postal service. Now that the postal services are worldwide, we can even send things to each other across countries. Living in another country, I am super grateful for this service. 

Enjoy your postal worker unit and thank your postman today!