Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Helpers in My Community by Bobbie Kalman

Reading Center for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Fill your preschool reading center not only with books about community helpers, but also with books about families and preschool classes. Families and preschool classes are community groups, too. Every one is a helper within these community groups.

Snack for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Serve your preschoolers snacks for the Community Helpers theme in brown paper lunch bags. Serve them healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables, reminding them of how important it is for community helpers to keep their bodies healthy so that they can perform their jobs well.

Concepts for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Letter: Hh for helper
Number: 6
Shape: rectangle, like many community helper name tags
Color: white

Fine Motor Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Operation: Bring in an Operation game. Let your students hone their fine motor skills by using the game's small tweezers to try to retrieve parts from the "patient."

Gross Motor Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Lead your preschool students in pantomime actions of community helpers. For example, have your class imitate you pretending to hoe a garden or ride a tractor like a farmer would. Pantomime a firefighter using a fire hose to put out a fire in a high rise building! Pantomime a life guard swimming out to rescue someone. The list of ideas is endless! Ask your preschool students to make suggestions of community helpers to pantomime.

Art Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Let your students choose what medium (crayons, markers, paints) they wish to use to produce self-portraits of themselves as community helpers.

Songs/Finger Plays for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Several rhymes and finger plays about community helpers can be found here.

Pre-math Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

Make your own flannel board set of community helpers. Make up to twelve flannel pieces representing each occupation that you are highlighting. Have your students take turns rolling two dice. Have your students count the number rolled on the dice. Now choose a community helper from the flannel board set, such as a doctor. If your preschool student rolled a 6, have him count out six doctor flannel pieces to place on the flannel board. This activity not only reinforces counting abilities, but also helps your preschool students to learn the names and general appearances (i.e. uniforms) of community helpers.

Pre-writing Center Activities for Preschool Lesson Plan: Community Helpers

For younger students, provide sheets of paper with the letters H and h lightly printed on them. Have the children trace the letters. Do the same with the number 6.

For older students, provide an example of the letters H and h and the number 6. Have the students practice writing the letters and number freehand.