Community Helpers

COMMUNITY HELPERS

Do you know the community helpers in your neighborhood?  This article is dedicated to the special men and women who better our lives and are a part of our world.  Get ready to move and meet the community helpers in your neighborhood.  Do not forget to have fun!

Plumber’s Knot

With your students stand in a circle, each putting in first their left hand and grasping that of someone else’ hand , then doing the same with the right, making sure that they are holding two different people's hands.  Challenge them to undo themselves into a circle.

Assembly Line Workers

Materials: Tray

                 Various items such as a ball, Frisbee, and beanbag

First, talk about assembly lines and what they are.  Why are they used?  Gather some stuff and go outside for a "game."  Pretend that you are in the factory building a new contraption.  You have to have a tray first, a Frisbee goes on top of the tray, the ball goes in the Frisbee, etc... 

Mail carrier, Mailman: Where is the Mail? 

Materials: letter

Get an envelope and write on it to make it look like a letter.  Choose one child to be the mail carrier.  He or she must figure out which child has the "mail.”  Have the children sit and in a circle and pick one person who must hide it behind his back.  Have the mail carrier close his eyes while standing in the circle.  All of the children must keep their hands behind their back as well.  The children say "Mail carrier , Mail carrier, where's the mail?”  The mail carrier opens his eyes ands gets three chances to pick which child is hiding.  If he guesses the right person he must run around the circle with the letter person chasing him.  The mailman must get to the other person’s place first or he will be the mail carrier for the next game.  After two times being the mail carrier another person is chosen.

Police officer:  Red Light, Green Light

Two lines are established at opposite ends of the playing area.  One line is the goal line; the other is the starting line.  One player is “IT”" and stands on the goal line and closes his eyes.  When he calls “green light,” players move toward him.  When he calls "red light," he opens his eyes and all of the players must stop moving.  Any player who is caught in motion must return to the starting line.  Players can continue moving if any color other than "red light" is called.  The suspense of the game occurs as the players wonder what color will be called and if they are free to move.  The first player to reach the goal wins.  The last one to reach the goal is “IT” for the next game

 Train Conductor

Everyone chooses a major city like Chicago, New York City, etc.  They are train passengers.  If conductor calls out their city, they are to exchange places with another player before the conductor can take their seat. 

Dental Health Relay

Materials:

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Cup

Water

Towel

Mouth rinse

Dental floss

Directions

Students form two equal lines.  On the signal, the first student runs to the 

Supply box, gets a toothbrush, and lays it on the picture of the teeth.  

Then he tags the next student.  That student goes to the box and gets the 

Toothpaste and the event continue in the same way with all tooth items.    

The team that gets all the supplies first wins the event!

 Doctor:  Healthy Bone Relay

Materials:

Plastic eggs or Hard-boiled eggs

Two large spoons

Divide students into two teams.  Each team is given an egg, a large spoon, 

Then, they will walk their egg to the other end of the field then back, and hand it to their teammate.  The relay continues until all the students have taken their egg on a ride. 

Theater Popcorn Popper

Materials: parachute and balls of various sizes

Start with everybody holding the chute stretched out.  Throw as many soft balls as you can find on to the chute.  Then see how quickly you can bounce them off with out letting go of the chute.  For a variation of this game, try small sponges, balloons, or beanbags.  

Hypothesize which balls come off the chute first and why.

Waiter, Waiter Game

Materials:

Tray

Various plastic foods

Students will form four equal lines.  On go the first student and their friend in each line will walk with their lunch tray to the center circle of plastic foods.  They will choose a food from the Food Guide Pyramid.  After choosing their food and placing it on the tray, they hand the tray to the second student and buddy. The event continues in this way until the team has a food from each group on the Food Guide Pyramid.  If a student drops a food, that food must be returned to the circle.  The first team to complete the balance sits down.  They are the winner.

Helping the Harvest: A Gardener’s Day

Materials:

Hoe

Cardboard Flower

Watering Can

Fertilizer Bucket

Spray Can

Basket

Bicycle, tricycle, or scooter

Teams are made up of six members.  Each team needs a hoe, cardboard flowers, a watering can, a fertilizer buckets, and spray can, a basket and a tricycle.  (You can also use pictures or word to represent the various parts of the relay).  Each child takes in order the planter, then the hoe, the flowers, a watering can, fertilizer, and then the bicycle and comes back with the flowers planted and grown.

Career of Choice Imaginary Shoes

Have kids act out what they would do if they were in particular shoes.  Some 

Shoes ideas can be ice skates, snowshoes, skis, tap shoes, ballet toe shoes, 

Boots such as a cowboy, astronaut, and child in the snow.  So get out and get some exercise as you learn more about your community helpers.

References:

Assembly Line Workers

http://www.imaginedreambelieve.com/CommunityHelpers.html

Fit 4 Fun Kids Fitness

http://worknotes.com/IL/Chicago/Fit4FunKidsFitness/

Knots

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3209/Skills1.html#Dodge