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• Barney - "Waiting for Mr. MacRooney"
  Robert and the other children are waiting for Mr. MacRooney, the mail carrier, to arrive. To pass the time, they learn about the post office, make cookies for Mr. MacRooney, and play a game.
• Reading Rainbow - "Hail to Mail"
  A certified letter is followed in a humorous journey to its intended recipient. The simple act of mailing a letter becomes a trip spanning the entire world in an effort to get the mail on time. LeVar takes a trip behind the scenes to a postal service where viewers are introduced to a dedicated staff who sort and deliver mail. Letter writing is introduced as a basic communication that brings people closer together, and a young stamp collector shares his enthusiasm for stamps.

Do in Class

• Arthur: Mailing Postcards - Create postcards, dictate messages and mail them to family and friends. Describe what happens to mail after you put it in a mailbox.
• Arthur: Post Office - Decorate personal mailboxes for a home or class post office.
• Dragon Tales: Make and Send a Postcard - Create a postcard to send to a friend or loved one to describe a fun activity that you wish that person could have shared. Draw a picture of yourself enjoying the trip or activity, and have an adult help you mail it.
• George Shrinks: Feeling Safe - Help children learn their phone number and address. (Section 4)
• George Shrinks: A Postcard to My Friend - Design a postcard and learn how the post office functions. (Section 4)
• George Shrinks: Return to Sender - Set up a letter writing center and post office in your classroom. (Section 4)
• Reading Rainbow: Hail to Mail - Try these creative ways to send a letter to someone.

Play Online

• American Experience: Wayback - Keep in Touch! - Take an interactive quiz about long distance communication.
• Arthur: Letters To... - Write to Arthur and his friends using an online form letter.

Read

• The Great Pig Search
  By Eileen Christelow
  Published September 2001 by Clarion
  Bert and Ethel's pigs escape from the back of their truck. A few weeks later they receive a postcard from Florida with a one-word message: OINK. When Bert and Ethel decide to take a bus to Florida, Ethel wants to sun on the beach. Bert wants to search for his pigs. After all, he raised the ungrateful swine. Poor Bert lands in jail when he attacks an innocent woman with a bow in her hair. Young readers will have fun seeing what Bert and Ethel miss.
• Mailbox Magic
  By Nancy Poydar
  Published September 2000 by Holiday House
  Mail comes every day but not for Will. He writes himself a letter, but when the postman delivers it, he knows what it is. It's not the same. After Will discovers that the tops of three boxes of Magic Charms will pay for a personalized cereal bowl, he starts eating. This picture book is great fun for children 4-8 or anyone else who doesn't get mail. Bills don't count.

*As most PBS children's programs offer one year extended taping rights for teachers, please feel free to tape them now and save them for use in your classroom during the school year.