For Children

For Nursery and Reception (3-5 year olds)

Jobs

Introduction/Starters

Children have a wide range of knowledge about the concept of jobs and the world of work. These activities are aimed at building on previous knowledge as well as possibly introducing them to new occupations. Children will have an awareness of jobs such as teachers, construction workers (Bob the Builder), nurses and doctors, post people (Postman Pat), firefighters (Fireman Sam). We have chosen to highlight one particular job, to give some practical ideas of what you could do. These ideas could be changed and used with other occupations as required.

Writing Activities for work associated with the Post Office.

You can download templates in pdf format for the writing activities, if you wish.

Activity 1 and 2: Labels

(25 kb)

Using old envelopes, address letters to real or imaginary people - eg The School Secretary; The Queen; Miss R Riding Hood; Mr H Dumpty etc.

Make labels for parcels. The parcels could be old boxes and containers which the children could wrap up. This activity helps to develop their fine motor control, which helps with the control of their pencil.

	Activity 3: Items for the Post Office	(27 kb)
	Template for stamp design	(27 kb)

Set up a pretend Post Office, eg list of items for sale - stamps, envelopes, cards, TV Licence etc; collection times for letters; make your own stamps for sale.

Extension Activities - ideas for other occupations

• Teacher - children love to make lists of names and take the register. They like writing on chalk boards or white boards. They could pretend to mark work.
• Doctor - the children may have seen a doctor writing a prescription, so could pretend to write their own prescriptions for their dolls or teddies, or each other. They could make a name badge for the doctor, and could make charts for the end of the bed to indicate how the patient is doing.
• Hairdresser - make appointments in an appointment book. Write a list of what people have done to their hair - eg cut, shampoo, braiding. They could create their own pretend magazine for their customers to read while under the hairdryer.
• Builder - writing down what jobs need doing - don't forget to put the pencil behind your ear! Write down what you think you will need to get the job done, eg sand, cement, digger, bricks, windows...

What will my child have gained from this experience?

They will gain knowledge and understanding of the world of work, and how writing is a very big part of it. They will come to see that people write for many different reasons. They will use language and words in a variety of ways, and will meet many new words.