Community Helpers Preschool & Kindergarten Unit Study

“If there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood,

Who you gonna call?…

If there’s somethin’ weird and it don’t look good,

Who you gonna call?…”

– Ghostbusters, 1984

Our children are still too young to watch this classic film. However, I look forward to the day we can all enjoy it together. In fact, the fond childhood memories I have come flooding back to me as our kids enjoy the resources and materials associated with this community helpers preschool and kindergarten unit study.

Laughing along with my family at the comedic talents of Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Harold Ramis, as they work together to save their loved ones and community made for great times growing up. Join us as we explore some positive role models in this unit.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Amazon links are not affiliate links. You can read my full affiliate disclosure.

Free Pre-K & Kindergarten Homeschool Course

Would you like to learn more about how to homeschool your preschooler or kindergartener the Montessori way?

This 8-week course will provide parents and caregivers with a no-nonsense approach to homeschooling. You will learn how to homeschool using hands-on, child-centered, and diverse learning experiences.

This course covers ALL the relevant subjects. You'll receive information and insight that will help you identify what is best for your child. You'll also be introduced to plenty of free resources along the way.

Most importantly, you will walk away with the tools and resources you need to confidently begin your own homeschooling journey.

More on the primary homeschool course.

Free NBA Basketball Players Three-Part Cards

Grab your FREE three-part cards to go with your favorite players. Learning to read has never been more fun than with materials your kids are interested in.

These 3-part cards are designed to be used with a collection of NBA action figures or with your favorite books.

Match the action figures to the picture cards for object-to-picture matching.

With 10 different players to explore, there's plenty of opportunities to learn more about the NBA and your favorite sports heroes. Players include Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Luka Dončić, Ja Morant, Trae Young, Tyrese Haliburton, and Bam Adebayo.

To use these NBA player cards as 3-part cards, print 2 copies and cut the labels off one of the copies. The youngest of kids can match the picture cards. As kids are mastering letter recognition and letter sounds, they can practice matching the label as well.

Any letter sounds that vary from your typical language lessons present great learning opportunities for kids.

Community Helpers Preschool & Kindergarten Unit Study

Whether we are in a season of celebrations or we're going about our daily routines, we give thanks for all we have while lending support to those in need. We're also grateful for all the folx who work every day in service of others and their communities.  Moreover, many of these folx consistently work through the holidays, offering their time and talents to others.

This Practical Life unit is heavy on imaginative play with some printables to reinforce content and explore additional topics. In addition, we have a great selection of books with real images and some with lovely illustrations.  This unit also includes several field trip suggestions. It's a great way to add to the real-world learning experiences that kids enjoy. We have had an awesome time learning about community helpers throughout this unit study. 

Community Helper Books for Preschool and Kindergarten

• Community Helpers at the Hospital
• Whose Hands Are These?
• Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do
• Mechanics (Community Helpers)
• Park Rangers (Community Helpers)
• Librarians (Community Helpers)
• Police Officers (Community Helpers)
• Teachers (Community Helpers)
• Garbage Collectors (Community Helpers)
• Someone Builds the Dream

These books serve as excellent examples of different helper professions for kids. They can explore as many as they're interested in to learn how these positive role models help their community.

More Community Helpers and Day In the Life Books

• A Day in the Life of a Farmer
• Community Helpers from A to Z
• A Day in the Life of a Firefighter
• Dentists Help
• Veterinarians Help

Examples of Community Helpers: Books on Relevant People

• Maria Montessori (Little People, BIG DREAMS)
• Jane Goodall (Little People, BIG DREAMS)
• Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine
• We Are Water Protectors

These books provide examples for kids of positive role models in science, education, math, tribal sovereignty, and eco-activism.

Imaginative Play

• Multicultural Community Helpers Peg People
• Automoblox Mini Police/Fire/Rescue Vehicles
• Grimm’s Fire Stacker
• Bulldozer
• Grimm’s Waves Stacker
• Nic and Glueckskaefer Fir Tree Stacker
• Cotton Face Masks
• Medical Kit
• Chef Hat
• Child’s Rolling Pin {Similar}
• Curious Chef 3-piece knife set
• Learning Tower
• Whistle
• Terra Wooden Barn
• Schleich Animals
• Safari Ltd Trees TOOB – seen in our Tree Unit Study
• Medical/Surgical Scrubs

Many of these affordable imaginative play items are things we already owned. If your kids participate in practical life activities around the house such as cooking and cleaning, feel free to get creative with those resources.

Kindness Themed Preschool Printable Activities

• Kindness Preschool Pack

These kindness-themed printables provide children with examples of how everyone can pitch in and support each other and the whole community. It covers various subjects, such as colors, counting, listening skills, and rhythm. You can see these in more depth in grace and courtesy.

Examples of Community Helpers: Professions Printable Activities

• Driver and Transportation Matching (FREE)
• Match the Tools (FREE)

These free matching printables will help kids match professions to the vehicles they drive as well as the tools they use for work.

Community Helpers: Inventors Printable Activities

• Inventions and Inventors Unit

This inventions and inventors unit is an incredible resource for preschool through elementary ages. There are three-part cards and descriptions of the inventors and their inventions. Some have illustrations on them and some use real-life images.

Younger children can match the images or the labels using the three-part cards, practice their tracing skills, or complete the treasure hunt. Older kids may want to read the description cards, complete the story prompts, and choose a topic for independent research.

Get 16% off your purchase from Montessorikiwi here.

Relevant Field Trips

• Pediatrician or Hospital
• Police Station
• Ranger Station
• City Hall
• Fire Station
• School
• Post Office
• Museum
• Cultural Center

Taking a field trip is a great way for kids to meet various community helpers and explore their professions. We've listed a few for you but feel free to get creative here. The sky's the limit.

State and Local Resources

The Oregon Office of Emergency Management distributes these free resources that we collected from a local Disaster Preparedness workshop.  The Emergency Go-Kit Passport is really exciting for our children. As a matter of fact, they were awarded a Certificate of Preparedness signed by the Governor of Oregon upon completion of the passport.  We worked on this activity on and off for about a year. As a result, we were excited to finish it and receive our certificates.

Check out the state and local resources where you live to find out what's available for learning more about community helpers.

Community Helpers Unit Study Summary

We hope you enjoyed seeing how we explore community helpers and positive role models. May this serve as a useful resource when planning your own homeschool experiences.

What do your kids like most when learning about Community Helpers? Also, what else would you include with this unit study? Let me know.

More Unit Studies

• Montessori Solar System
• Bee Unit
• Geology & Paleontology Unit
• Antarctica Unit
• Oceania and Coral Reef Unit

Thanks for stopping by!

- Kristin