Community Helpers Theme
~ Pre-K & Preschool theme ideas for learning about our community: community helpers and places ~
Sections for this Theme:
Books
View Community Helper Books & Classroom Resources Amazon Store here.
Fairy Tale: Little Red Hen
Neighborhood
Construction
Hospital
Post Office
Fire Station
Police
Teachers
Bakery/Restaurant
More
Rhymes
Rub a Dub Dub Nursery Rhyme
Doctor Foster Nursery Rhyme
Doctor Foster
Went to Gloucester
In a shower of rain.
He stepped in a puddle,
Right up to his middle,
And never went there again!
Note: Gloucester is a two-syllable word (Glouce-ster), and is pronounced “Gloster”, rhyming with Foster.
Songs
Construction Activities
Play Dough Construction
[Fine Motor Skills]
Wooden craft sticks can be added to the play dough for children to construct houses and other buildings.
Tool Grid Game
[Math]
To play a grid game, children roll a game die, identify the numeral and count out that amount of manipulatives. Each manipulative is placed over one picture in the grid. Children play until the whole grid is full. This grid game uses metal nuts for manipulatives. (The game in the photo was made using stickers bought at Michaels.)
Tool Grid Game 10 Spaces
Tool Grid Game 20 Spaces
Counters: Metal Nuts
Block-Building Art
[Literacy]
Children glue pieces of paper “blocks” onto their page to build something (house, school, skyscraper, church, etc.) The children’s names and what they built are written on each page.
Block Game
[Math]
Children take turns rolling the die, and counting out that amount of blocks from the pile. As they take the blocks from the pile, they construct a tower. After all the blocks are gone, we compare the towers to see whose is the tallest.
Construction Worker Prop Box
[Dramatic Play Center]
Tools, Belt, Hat, Toolbox, Orange vests, Blueprints, Safety glasses
Doctors/ Health Care Activities
Doctor Foster Nursery Rhyme
Doctor Foster
Went to Gloucester
In a shower of rain.
He stepped in a puddle,
Right up to his middle,
And never went there again!
Note: Gloucester is a two-syllable word (Glouce-ster), and is pronounced “Gloster”, rhyming with Foster.
Stethoscope
[Science]
We use a paper cup with the bottom cut out. Children press the big end of the cup to the heart area of a friend’s chest, and press an ear against the small end. (Works best if you don’t hold onto the cup.)
Health Care Prop Box
[Dramatic Play Center]
Doctor’s or Nurse’s Coat, Scrub shirt, Stethoscope, Cloth bandage wraps, X-rays, Empty medicine bottles, Shot syringes (without needle), Bandaids
Post Office Activities
Post Office
[Literacy, Social Skills]
A small post office is set up at the table with paper, envelopes, and stickers. A poster shows the cost of each item (pennies taped beside each item). Children have to count out the correct amount of pennies to “buy” the materials they want to use. Children “write” a letter to someone using the materials they buy.
Post Office Prop Box
[Dramatic Play Center]
All size envelopes, Bubble mailers, Stamps (canceled), Priority mail envelopes, Cardboard boxes, Packaging tape, Tube mailer, Mailbox, Paper, Pens
Firefighter Activities
Stop, Drop & Roll
[Safety, Large Motor]
Paint red “flames” onto an adult size (Large or X-Large) white T-shirt. Choose a child to put on the T-shirt over their clothing and have the child practice “stop, drop, and roll”. When they have gotten the pretend flames out, they take off the shirt to show that the flames are gone. Make sure each child has a turn.
Stay Low & Go
[Safety, Large Motor]
A white sheet is used for the pretend smoke. My assistant and I hold the sheet low near the floor, and the children practice “stay low and go” by crawling underneath the sheet.
Firetruck Stamping Game
[Math, Literacy]
Write a letter or numeral on each firetruck, and make a copy for each child. Children will draw a number or letter card from a stack (or roll a die), find that letter/numeral on their mat, and stamp it out. You can use rubber stamps or bingo dot markers. As an alternative, you can have children draw an “X” over the firetruck if stamps or bingo dot markers are not available.
Firetruck Game Printable
Firefighter Prop Box
[Dramatic Play Center]
Fire hats, Black boots, Oxygen tanks (made from 2 liter bottles), Raincoat, Short pieces of hose, Hand bell, First Aid kit
Police Officer Activities
Police Officers: License Plate Game
[Literacy]
Each child has a turn to be the “driver”. A piece of paper with a letter written on it is clipped to the driver’s back (we used the beginning letters of the children’s names). The child drives around the table, and parks in his seat. Children find the letter among a small set of foam letters (only the necessary letters, not the whole alphabet).
Police Officers: Fingerprints
[Science]
Each child’s hand is traced on a sheet of paper. Children color heavily with a pencil on an index card to make a layer of graphite; they rub a fingertip on the graphite; stick clear tape on that fingertip and press; pull the tape off and stick to the finger on the hand outline. We look at the fingerprints with a magnifying glass, and talk about ways police detectives use fingerprints.
Police Officer Prop Box
[Dramatic Play Center]
Walkie-talkies, Blue shirts, Notepads, Pens, Badge, Hat
Bakery and Restaurant Activities
Restaurant Menus
[Fine Motor Skills]
Children make a restaurant menu by cutting pictures of food from grocery store sale folders from the newspaper and glue the pictures onto file folders. Each child makes up a name for their restaurant, which is written on the front of the menu. These menus are used in the children’s pretend play restaurants.
Creating a Bakery
[Fine Motor Skills, Art]
Children made their own bakery in the classroom by making cookies, cakes, cupcakes, bread, cinnamon rolls, and other bakery foods with Model Magic. The Model Magic was painted after it dries, and the children’s bakery foods were placed on display using trays. Children also made a sign for the bakery, and had a cash register with paper for writing receipts, and small bakery bags for their purchases.
Play Dough Bakery
[Fine Motor Skills]
Add bowls, spoons, plastic knives, cookie cutters, muffin tins, mini bread loaf pans, small cookie sheets, spatulas, rolling pins, and pots and pans to the play dough area. I also have a George Foreman playdough grill and a baking rack from a real toaster that were donated to me.
Play Dough Cookies
[Math, Fine Motor Skills]
Write numbers on paper circles and attach them to a cookie sheet with clear contact paper. Children make cookies with play dough, count out the correct amount of chocolate chips (brown beads), and place them on a number on the cookie sheet.
Lemon Pie
[Cooking]
Children pretend to be chefs. Ingredients/Materials: Mini graham cracker pie crust, whipped topping, frozen lemonade concentrate, sweetened condensed milk, spoons, disposable bowls Put one spoonful of whipped topping, one spoon of frozen lemonade concentrate, one spoon of sweetened condensed milk into a bowl, and mix. Scoop the mixture into the piecrust.
Mini Pizzas
[Cooking]
These are made by spreading Ragu Pizza Quick sauce on an English muffin half, then adding shredded mozarella cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or less). You can also use a toaster.
Cake Decorating
[Cooking]
Children can help mix the cake batter and scoop the batter into individual cake baking pans. Bake them according to the directions on the package. Children choose a color for their icing and stir a few drops of food coloring into the icing. They decorate their own cake with icing, sprinkles, and squeeze tubes of decorating frosting.
Bakery Prop Box
[Dramatic Play Center]
Rolling pins, Aprons, Oven mitts, Cupcake tins, Cake pans, Mixing bowls, Hand held manual mixers, Measuring cups, Cookie sheets, Paper cupcake cups, Measuring spoons, Spatulas, Wooden mixing spoons, Dishcloths, Towels, Empty food containers, Empty milk cartons
Restaurant Prop Box
[Dramatic Play Center]
Menus, Table cloth, Serving plate, Cloth napkins, Silverware, Dishes, Aprons, Play food, Notepads, Pens, Silk flower centerpieces, Play credit cards, Play checks, Chef hat, Place mats, Serving tray
More Activities
Our Town Class Book
[Literacy]
We make a list of places in our community. Each child chooses one place to draw and tell about. (Examples: zoo, art museum, fire station, gas station, mall, grocery store.) I include photos whenever possible. The pages are put together to make a class book. To make our class books, I use “presentation book covers” from an office supply store or Walmart. It has a sturdy plastic cover with a clear insert, and the pages are also clear inserts. I just slip in a page for the front cover, and slip in the children’s pages inside. These can be reused.
Story Retelling
[Literacy]
Choose a community helpers themed book that you would consider good literature (good characters, plot, beginning, middle, end, etc.) Show the book to the children and tell them to think about what happened in the story, and the people (characters) and places they saw in the story. Think about what each character said. Give each child a piece of paper and ask them to draw something they remember from the story. Remind them that this should not be a picture of their cat or their friends, but only pictures of things from the book. After each child has illustrated the story, have them retell the story in their own words. Either record each child with a voice recorder or write their dictation on the page.
United Streaming Videos
[Technology]
“Going to School is Your Job” “Where We Live, Work, and Play: Public Places” “Where We Live, Work, and Play: Businesses” “The Paperboy”
Printables
Directions for printables are given in the Activities section above.
Tool Grid Game 10 Spaces
Tool Grid Game 20 Spaces
Firetruck Game Printable
Community Helper Cards (Illustrations)
Community Helper Cards (Photographic)
Community Helper Bingo (Illustrations)
Community Helper Bingo (Photographic)
Links
- Community Theme Links: my bookmarks at del.icio.us
- “Stores” Project: project approach-style activities we did in my classroom one year
- Post Office Dramatic Play: My Teachers.net Gazette Article
- Community Helpers @ Pre-KPages.com
- People, Occupations, and Community @ Enchanted Learning
