Social Studies/Language Arts: Who Are Our Helpers?

Encourage children to learn more about the helpers in their own lives with this activity. With a disposable or inexpensive camera, children can take turns photographing school helpers, asking each to give a safety tip related to his or her work. (Record the helpers' names in order, along with their safety tips.) Have children work together to create a display with the photos, some cutting out star-shaped backgrounds to frame them, others writing out the safety tips like captions.

Movement: Pantomime Time

Copy children's safety tips on cards. (Add pictures too.) Let children take turns pretending to be Gloria, pantomiming tips for the audience. Who can guess the tip?

Social Skills: Puppets Solve Problems

Officer Buckle's buddy is Gloria. And even though they're friends, they had a problem to work' out. Talk about what happened (Gloria was getting all the attention and Officer Buckle's feelings were hurt). Ask: “How did they handle it?” Then let children practice solving their own interpersonal problems.

1. Print friendship problems on cards. For example: Two friends are playing a game, and each one wants to go first.
2. Have children make simple stick puppets, taping pictures they draw or cut out to craft sticks or straws.
3. Let children take turns using the puppets to dramatize problems. Encourage them to experiment with different ways to solve the problems. Which ones do they think work best? Why?