Why Delivery Service works

Use Delivery Service as a practical way to explore role, sequence, and believable pretend cause-and-effect. Run a delivery service where each parcel has a destination, route and handoff that must stay matched from pickup to delivery. Keep the first round centered on the move from having the child assign a destination label to each parcel to having them pick up one parcel and read or remember its destination.

Set up — Assign a destination label to each parcel

Prepare household items before the child is asked to assign a destination label to each parcel. If the child is unsure how to assign a destination label to each parcel, simplify the setup before introducing the request to pick up one parcel and read or remember its destination. Keep props ordinary and safe, and do not copy real hazardous, medical, or emergency procedures during both of those opening steps.

Step 2 — Pick up one parcel and read or remember its destination

Use the result of asking the child to pick up one parcel and read or remember its destination as a clue for the next decision. Do not move on to choose the route to that destination until this step has a clear purpose.

Step 3 — Choose the route to that destination

Ask the child to choose the route to that destination. Compare what happens with the earlier step to pick up one parcel and read or remember its destination, then continue by asking them to deliver the parcel and confirm it matches the sign once the difference is clear.

Step 4 — Deliver the parcel and confirm it matches the sign

Let the child deliver the parcel and confirm it matches the sign and treat the result as information rather than simple repetition. If it is unclear, repeat that action before asking them to return to the depot and choose the next parcel.

Step 5 — Return to the depot and choose the next parcel

One careful attempt to return to the depot and choose the next parcel is enough at this stage. Before the child tries to return to the depot and choose the next parcel, ask them to show or describe what differed from when they had to deliver the parcel and confirm it matches the sign.

What to notice before Return to the depot and choose the next…

The activity is working when the child uses what happened while trying to choose the route to that destination to make sense of the request to deliver the parcel and confirm it matches the sign. That is where whether the next pretend action follows from what the characters just did becomes visible.

Make Choose the route to that destination easier or harder

An easier round can stop after the child has tried to pick up one parcel and read or remember its destination; in that version, use one role, one place, and one short problem. For more challenge, add a second responsibility, clue, customer, or consequence that must be handled in order while keeping the path to return to the depot and choose the next parcel recognizable.

Finish after Return to the depot and choose the next…

Return to the depot and choose the next parcel. A brief look back at the result is enough before ending the session. Browse the activity search for a different mechanic, or use the activity generator.