Why you need an address

Most kids learn their address by repeating it over and over and over without really understanding what it means or why they have to learn it.  I really wanted to make this concept a little more meaningful for my kiddos.

Earlier this year we did a great activity – you’ve probably seen it on Pinterest – Students use different sized circles to represent the planet, continent, country, state, city, and street that they live on.  This was our introduction to our addresses, but we hadn’t really revisited the concept.

This time around we drew pictures and wrote simple letters to our families, then we put them in envelopes, and talked about mailing our letters. I wrote their addresses on the envelopes in pencil and they traced over these in black pen.  We talked about how we had to write really nicely so that the mailman (mailwoman, mailperson, I finally decided on postal carrier) could read the address and deliver them to the correct house. Then each child got to like the envelope and put the stamp in the corner. This led to a discussion about stamps, and how they are different than stickers – though I definitely understand the confusion, a stamp would look just like a sticker to a five year old.

After they were signed, sealed, and stamped we walked to the nearest mailbox and each child dropped their letter in.  They thought that their letters would be waiting for them when they got home, so we had a short discussion about the steps that little letter would go through before it showed up at their house.

The parents loved getting mail from their children, and I know that the whole experience helped the children understand why they have an address and one of the reasons that they need to know their own address.  I was so impressed with their writing skills and how carefully they addressed their envelopes.  It was a great project that couldn’t have been easier and really met all of my objectives.