Ramadan Craft # 7: Ramadan Mailbox Sorting Activity

Assalamu alaikum,

Here's a craft that brings back childhood memories. I don't know if you did this but we used to address letters to imaginary people and then "mail" our letters as part of our imaginary play. We used to be given old stationary supplies with which to produce our postal fun. I was reading a craft book and they had a similar craft that reminded me of our fun from childhood so I thought, why not share the same fun during Ramdan insha'Allah.

This craft is an adaptation of that with a slight modification or two. First, your child(ren) will be making Ramadan post cards to address and "mail" to family and friends and second, they will be sorting the postcards according to colour/shape or whatever idea you choose.

After you help your child make the mailboxes out of cereal boxes or shoe boxes insha'Allah, you will help your child cut out "postcards" of different colours or you can have some pre-cut and lined and that way your little one only needs to worry about addressing the postcards insha'Allah. Afterward, your little one can design his/her own Ramadan stamps and glue them to the postcards insha'Allah. When he/she is all done, have your child put the post cards in the correct "mailbox" according to colour or shape insha'Allah.

Here's what you'll need to make it insha'Allah and the directions follow insha'Allah:

(some items not shown)

1. 2-3 cereal boxes/shoe boxes
2. construction paper in different colours
3. ruler
4. marker/crayons/colour pencils
5. scissors
6. craft glue and a glue stick for your child insha'Allah
7. a half sheet of blank white computer paper

Here's how you make it insha'Allah:

Cover the boxes with construction paper. Each box should be one solid colour only (i.e. one box can be green, one blue, and one yellow).

When the glue has dried, use scissors or a box cutter to cut a rectangular hole in the front of each box. (I forgot to mention: cut a square hole in the back of the box to allow your infant/toddler to retrieve his/her mail in case they want to mail their postcards again insha'Allah! (smile))

Decorate your mailboxes with a nice Islamic design insha'Allah.

If you have pre-cut and pre-lined postcards (and even if your toddler makes his/her own), have your toddler decorate the front of the postcard with a nice Ramadan picture/greeting insha'Allah. Then help him/her address his/her postcards to family and friends insha'Allah.

Using the blank white computer paper, cut out small squares that are the size of a postage stamp insha'Allah. Cut enough so you have 1 stamp for each postcard insha'Allah.

Allow your child to design his/her own Ramdan postage stamp insha'Allah.

Using the glue stick, invite your child to affix the "stamp" to the postcard insha'Allah.

When all postcards are decorated, addressed and stamped, invite your child to put the postcards in the mailbox that matches the postcard (i.e. if your postcards are to be sorted by colour, invite your child to put all yellow postcards in the yellow mailbox insha'Allah, etc.).

My mailbox is dry now alhamdulillah (see the picture below) but for the Ramadan picture on the front of the postcard...well...I'm no artist as I think you've experienced in the past (smile) so I'll spare you that this time insha'Allah. But I'm sure your budding artists will produce mail worthy pictures that I could never manage.

We'd love to see (and post) pictures if you try this craft idea out at home insha'Allah.

Enjoy insha'Allah!