Know Your Community Helpers

Six people who help us, each drawn large in their own box with the job name printed in capitals underneath: a doctor, a teacher, a firefighter, a police officer, a farmer and a nurse. Your child names each helper, says how that person helps us, then colors them in.

Young children notice uniforms and tools well before they understand what a job involves. Linking a stethoscope, a fire helmet or a pitchfork to a named helper builds vocabulary, and explaining what each person does is good practice in speaking in whole sentences.

Keep the talk concrete. Ask where you might see each helper, such as at the clinic, the fire station or the farm, and let your child point to the clue in the picture that gave the job away.