Our study of mail continued today as we collaborated on a plan to construct a mailbox for Mrs. Jackson. In small groups, the children looked through the photos of mailboxes that we had collected over the past few days. First, I asked the children to describe the various features that they noticed on each mailbox. It was interesting to see what stood out to them as they viewed the pictures. The level of detail in their observations was fascinating to me! Many of them pointed out that some mailboxes had locks for a key to open, while others noted whether or not the mailboxes had a “lid” on top. I had expected them to notice broader features like color or size, but instead, they honed in on these more fine details!

From this observation, we made a list of features that we would need to consider when creating a mailbox for Mrs. Jackson. Some of those deemed most important by the children included that:

• the box needs to say “MAIL” on it
• the box needs to have a lid at the top and the bottom
• the box needs to have a flag
• the box needs to have shapes on it

I am working on transcribing their full dialogue from this activity today and plan to have it posted to our documentation panel early next week. Their responses were all very thoughtful!

Beau and Elliana decided to draw what they think the mailbox should look like. We used their models as guides for us to develop a construction plan. Together, we ventured into the storage room to look at our cardboard box collection. After careful consideration, the children picked out two different boxes that they deemed best to transform into a mailbox. We brought these back to the classroom to work on.

While prepping the boxes for paint, Gwen and Elliana noticed that one of the boxes we chose was too tall for many of the children to reach the top of. To solve this, we decided to use a box cutter to shorten it. I asked them to measure the box, determine the best height, and draw a line so I would know where to cut. We compared each other’s heights to the height of the box so that everyone would be able to reach.

We ran out of time today, so we were unable to paint our box much to our disappointment. However, tomorrow we plan to get the box painted so that we can add features to it next week after it has dried!

We took a walk today to the Farmville Post Office, which is just mere steps away from our building. Ms. Hailey needed to retrieve the mail from her p.o. box, so it was the perfect opportunity for us to take a peek inside. The children eagerly pointed out the big blue drop box, which was very similar to the one that we found near the court house last week!

Inside the post office, the children enjoyed seeing the p.o. boxes and watching as the workers at the counter brought the customers their packages. We even took turns taking a peek inside the drop boxes!

This trip was very quick, so we are hoping to go back for a longer visit sometime soon where we can see some of the “behind-the-scenes” action at the post office. It will be interesting to see how the children incorporate what they saw today into their work and play in the coming days of our project!