To Serve and Protect

The kids are really loving our Community Helpers unit! Karol asked me this morning, "Who do we get to be today?" I told her a clue was at her table and this is what she found:

A Police Officer "catching" a robber. I used this for cutting practice, but it would also be good for tracing.

Once they all figured out we were going to do "police work" they began a conversation that led to "bad guys" and action heroes. It was just too cute! After our morning meeting we sat down at the Car Carpet to watch the show Calliou the Police Officer (click here to see the video). It was a great way to open a new discussion about ways Police Officers can help us and not just catch the "bad guys".

For our lesson I made a list of how Police Officers help us. The kids answered things like helping us across the street, being a signal when the lights do not work and as someone safe to go to for help. I also incorporated some Stranger Danger awareness. Baylee and Devynn performed a short skit as a stranger trying to lure a kid walking home from school alone into a car.  Baylee (the stranger) asked Devynn (the kid) to help her find her puppy. We then discussed all the things the kids  should and should not do in this situation. The students also pointed out all the right things Devynn did.

The Skit

I followed up with reading this book, Stay Away from Strangers and reminding them to call 911

We made Police badges:

And made a Finger Print safety card (parents you are encouraged to complete the information on this card and keep it with your child's vital records):

Our morning recess was welcomed after such a busy start! My oldest daughter Baylee is an enthusiast

volleyball player. She was excited the kids wanted to learn some basic skills. They all took turns bumping the ball back and forth. 

It was then back to the grind with reading groups and centers.

Kinder Prep group reviewing the Mm chant we learned last week.

Their job was to fill in the missing M's and trace all other m's.

More Mm sorting

Kids working on M for marshmallow.

More 911 dialing practice. I promise I keep stressing this is ONLY for emergencies!

Reading some of the literature I introduced earlier in class.

Since I have been doing most of the blogs during nap time we have not finished all of today's activities. Later we are doing a blue collage and looking at our fingerprints with a magnifying glass. The older girls are also going to attempt to teach the kids how to play Clue Jr.  I will try to remember to add those pictures later!

***** Thank you Maggie for sending in boxes today! *****

Is there a Doctor in the House?

Day 2 of Community Helpers was focused on Doctors and Nurses.  Since many of the kids in this group are not here on Mondays we did a short introduction to Who are the People in your Neighborhood from Sesame Street circa 1977. There were several versions of this song on You Tube with Bob McGrath and the kids were absolutely transfixed. 

Community Helper puzzle match at centers today

Afterwards we began our lesson on Doctors and Nurses. The kids were all eager to share their own experiences, many of them recalling when they get shots at the doctor's office. I explained how doctor's help us when we are sick and help us from getting sick. Nurses have an important job too by checking our temperatures, weight and often they are the  ones that administer the dreadful needle into the arm or thigh. 

While browsing for ideas on this lesson I found this super fun doctors bag on preschooleducation.com. I was so excited for the kids to make their own doctor's bags today!

The outside of their bag

Inside their bags: q-tips, cottonball, band aid, gauze, "medicine" (we discussed that medicine is not CANDY!), tongue  and a compressor

Joey making his bag

Ellie and Trent gluing pieces onto their bag with Devynn's help

Finishing up the inside

When we were finished making the bags all the kids were able to dress up as doctors/ nurses. I set a Hospital (using the sign we learned about from last week's lesson) and even had nap mats out for gurnies. I think this was their favorite part! They all got into the role and did a great job making everyone "better".

DBP Staff

Had to take ...

just a few pictures...

so at least everyone is looking at the camera in 1!

 The Desert Blossoms Hospital:

Break room where Dr. Trynnity and Dr. Athena are busy matching all the medical cards.

We had some more Mm work mixed into to today's lessons. Here is our M sort of uppercase and lowercase M's.

 And making our M is for marshmallows. YUM! We had to set some aside for snack too.  It was another busy day. Can not wait for our adventures tomorrow!

Community Helpers: Firefighters & Fire Safety

This week we started our Community Helpers unit. We started off by discussing what a Community Helper is.

"It's your mom and dad!" Karol.

"Yea, it's your mom and dad." Athena in agreement.

"They can be. Let's think of who helps us..."Ms. Jaymee. 

"A police officer?" Abby.

"YES! A police officer. What else?" Ms. Jaymee

So began our list of  Who are the people in your neighborhood. Afterwards we watched a video on Community Helpers. Our first helper we looked at was a firefighter.  The gear they wear, equipment they use, the trucks they drive and of course what to expect if there is a fire.

Our first lesson was on fire itself. There are 3 things that fire needs to burn:

1. Heat

2. Air

3.  Fuel

I demonstrated each of these by using 3 small birthday candles to show the 3 things that fire needs to burn and how to put out a fire safely. I emphasized that children do not play with matches, lighters or with a lit fire.

Part 1: Heat
I lit the first candle and then sprayed it with a water bottle to show that if we remove the heat, the flame went out.

Part 2: Air
Next I lit the second candle and placed a glass over the top to show that if you take away the air the flame will also go out.

Part 3: Fuel
Finally, the 3rd candle I lit was allowed to burn until the wax was all gone to show that if you remove the ‘fuel’ the fire will go out.


Fireman Gear:
Next we made fireman hats. The kids painted their hats red (our sight word this week). 

Stop-Drop-Roll:
One of the most well known fire safety actions is the “Stop-Drop-Roll”. We did this several times, rolling around our classroom to put out our pretend flames.

Evacuation Plan:
Once we were done practicing our stop, drop and roll, we discussed making an evacuation plan. I did this for DBP,  but it is very important that each family take the time to make their own evacuation plan with a meeting spot. I showed them how to check their door for heat before opening it, then discussed how smoke rises. When evacuating your home they should stay as low to the ground as possible. Baylee and Devynn help me with this part by using a sheet (pretending it was smoke) and the kids had to crawl as low and as fast as they could. 

Fire Drill:
We went over our evacuation plan and had our first fire drill. I rang a bell in the classroom and the kids had to drop what they were doing and line up. We left out the front door today and met on the small bridge over the wash that is a few doors down from the house. We’ll do these randomly from here on out so the kids can practice leaving out different exits but always meeting in the SAME spot!

For fun we listened to a book about Firefighters and learned a new song called Hurry Hurry Fire Truck.  You can click here to see the Barney version of this song on YouTube. The kids loved this song!

Dialing 911:
Our last lesson to wrap up the day included how to dial 911. I took an old phone and passed it around for each child to practice the numbers and what to say:
"HELP! Fire!" 
We then colored a 911 coloring page that they can hang up in their room or on your fridge.  Once again I told the kids they should only dial this number if there is a real fire or an emergency!


These lessons should not stop here. Please continue to talk with your children at home about fire safety and what to do if there is a fire. It is important for older children to learn their phone numbers and their home address (these will be future goals!) I hope they all learned a little bit today, it could one day save a life.

Stop! Drop! Roll!

DBP Fire safety awareness day