Homeschool Co-op Class: Community Helpers

My kids & I have been excited to join a homeschool co-op after our move here to New Hampshire in 2021. We didn't have the same community when we lived in Maryland although some of our closest friends at church were also homeschooling families. So, when we were told about this opportunity, we were quick to join!

Our group has a wide range of ages & lots of very creative, talented moms (& some dads) who teach classes. We tend to have so many wonderful options for the older kids, but the preschoolers would have no or few choices. So, when our fearless leader asked for class suggestions for this term, I did a quick search & found some really great ideas.

One of those ideas was a class about Community Helpers, which I thought would be so fun for my little guys & their friends. I thought back to my time as a substitute in some Montessori classrooms & remembered how the students had a lot of opportunity to move around to different stations, including dramatic play areas & simple educational activities. I am definitely not a Montessori expert, but I wanted to pattern this class after those ideas.

It was really hard to narrow down the helpers we would learn about. I wanted to focus on people these kids would actually see on a regular basis. (We live in small towns in NH, so I didn't want to talk about city bus drivers or other occupations that are mostly located in big cities.) But I also wanted to take advantage of freebies that I found on Pinterest.

Without further babbling on, I'll get to the stuff you clicked on this link for...

Community Helpers Class Structure

• Read a book about the week's community helper - Mostly, I borrowed from our local library (which doesn't have much of a selection), so I'm sure you could find some great ones in your local library, too. We had a few books of our own that we brought in, too.
• Activity - After reading a book, kids get the wiggles, so I tried to find a movement activity or a craft that was easy to put together.
• Open stations - The kids then had the rest of the time to play at any station they would like. I always tried to have a dramatic play station. Sometimes, we had a sensory station. I also found lots of printable items through Pinterest to use for these stations.

Community Helpers

If you want to start the class off with a quick introduction to community helpers & what they do, reading Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do is such a fun book.

Community Helper #1 - Mail Carrier

One of the most regularly-seen community helpers for most kids is the mail carrier, so that's where we started.

Mail Carrier Picture Books

Delivering Your Mail: A Book About Mail Carriers by Ann Owen

The Jolly Postman: Or Other People's Letters by Allan Ahlberg

Mail Carrier Activities & Stations

• Using a cardboard box (this will be a recurring theme in this post), I made a pretend mailbox. The children enjoyed imagining that they were sending mail & then seeing the mail carrier come pick it up. I didn't get a picture but I followed ideas found here: https://littleredwindow.com/diy-cardboard-mailbox/
• We also had a toy mail bag lying around that we brought in. The kids enjoyed the chance to dress up. Here are similar ones:
• Mail Carrier Costume
• Mail Costume with Vest
• Back at the post office, we sorted mail. I brought in envelopes, magazines, & small boxes for the kids to sort.

Community Helper #2 - Car Mechanic

Another integral part of every community are the people who help keep our cars in good shape! It's hard to find books on this profession that are intended for kids. I wish I would have thought to ask around for someone who knew a mechanic who could come in with some tools to show the kids.

Car Mechanic Picture Books

Mechanics by Cari Meister

Car Science: An Under-the-Hood, Behind-the-Dash Look at How Cars Work by Richard Hammond

Car Mechanic Activities

• Another cardboard box craft: I made a couple cars & even a car wash for the kids to enjoy. I got the idea from here.
• We brought in toy tools (& a few real ones!) for the kids to use to "repair" the cars.
• We made cars out of paper using a printable similar to the one found here.

Community Helper #3 - Veterinarian

This was an opportunity to bring in their stuffed animal friends for a quick check-up! Keeping with the idea that I wanted to highlight people these kids might see fairly regularly, we learned about veterinarians next! We read a book to start & then had various stations around for giving check-ups to everyone's stuffed animals.

Veterinarian Books

Biscuit Visits the Doctor by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

A Day in the Life of a Veterinarian by Heather Adamson

Veterinarian Activities

• I used the printable check-up form from this website.
• I also grabbed an animal movement game from this page to get the wiggles out. There's a similar one here, too!
• Making pet collars is another fun activity that you could add here.

Community Helper #4 - Farmer

Living in NH, we are surrounded by a strong farming community. I can think of far fewer families in our co-op who do not harvest something from their land (maple sap for syrup, vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, etc.) than those who don't. Farmers seemed like the next logical community helpers to highlight. We timed this to when starting seed for their gardens would make sense. We did just that & the kids enjoyed getting dirty.

Farmer Books

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Farming by Gail Gibbons

Farmer Activities

• We used the animal movement game from vet week since many of those animals are found on farms.
• We planted seeds. I bought containers similar to these & I picked seeds based on our agricultural zone. I tried to have a mix of veggies & flowers & herbs, hoping the other moms would forgive me for sending their kids home with a cup of dirt!
• I really wanted to make butter in class, but I wasn't sure about dairy allergies, so I skipped it. It would be a great thing to add, especially getting cream from a local farm.

Community Helper #5 - Forest Ranger

I waited until we had some warmer days because I wanted to be able to take the kids on a nature walk. Our co-op took place at a church that also had a wonderful walking trail around the perimeter. We enjoyed looking for signs of spring & animal tracks.

Forest Ranger Books

If I Were a Park Ranger by Catherine Stier

The Golden Glow by Benjamin Fluow

Forest Ranger Activities

• I made these vests out of paper bags using the tutorial from this website. The kids got a chance to decorate them.
• Every kid went home with this booklet with animal tracks to find in their own yards. We practiced on our nature walk, too!
• The nature walk was fun that day. Luckily, we had an extra mom who could walk with us & help wrangle these little people. (Homeschoolers don't get drilled on walking in straight lines. Funny how that never seems to come up!)

Community Helpers - Baker/Nail Care Technician/Construction Worker

After getting feedback from some of the moms who were helping in this class, we decided to get a bunch of favorites done in one week. We had a baking station, a nail painting station, & a construction site.

General Community Helper Books

The Berenstain Bears: Jobs Around Town by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Whose Tools Are These? by Sharon Katz Cooper

General Community Helper Activities

• One of my friends brought in large pieces of cardboard where she had traced hands for the "Nail Salon." We used washable paint & small paintbrushes to decorate the manicures.
• Another station used large cardboard blocks for building. We also had a few play tools & costume pieces available.
• I made a sensory bin like this one for another of my co-op classes, so we used that for another construction station. I had to do a bit of vacuuming after class, but the kids had fun!
• I can't find the exact activities we used for baking, but this blog has some great options!

Community Helper - Emergency Workers

One of the moms in co-op was an EMT & so was her husband. So, I asked her if she could help me out. After a bit of miscommunication, we made a call & the local fire department brought their truck for the kids to climb all over. This was a favorite moment for sure!

Emergency Worker Books

The Berenstain Bears Visit the Firehouse by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Police Officers on Patrol by Kersten Hamilton

Emergency Worker Activities

• We read a book about all the ways emergency workers help our community.
• Most of the time was taken when our firefighter friends pulled their truck up outside & let the kids climb all over that very expensive fire engine!

It's now been 2 years since I put this little class together. I hope that you found some helpful resources for your own homeschool co-op class!

Here's a link to the section of my Pinterest board for this class!

Cheering you on!

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