A community helpers unit study is popular at the beginning of the school year for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Labor Day and September 11 Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance are also great reasons to focus on community helpers at the start of the school year. Today, I want to share some Montessori-friendly community helper resources for home or classroom.
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Montessori-Friendly Community Helper Activities (Many with Free Printables)
Free Police Printables and Montessori-Inspired Police Activities
Free Fire Safety Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fire Safety Activities
Free Ambulance Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ambulance Activities
Free Construction Printables and Montessori-Inspired Construction Activities
Free Construction Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
Free Construction Vehicle Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
Free Construction Vehicle Printables and Montessori-Inspired Construction Vehicle Activities
Free Medical Worker Printables and Montessori-Inspired Medical Worker Activities
Free Doctor and Nurse Do-a-Dot Printables (Montessori-Inspired Phonics Instant Download)
Free Medical Worker Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
Free Dental Health Printables and Montessori-Inspired Dental Health Activities
Free Dentist Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
Free Dental Health Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
Community Helpers Activity Trays and Sensory Tubs
Montessori-Inspired Activities with Community Helper Figures and Free Printables
“Look for the Helpers” Mister Rogers Word Art Freebie
Free Disaster Preparedness Songs for Kids
Free 911 Songs for Kids {Non-Scary Emergency Preparedness}
Are Dramatic Play Community Helper Activities Montessori Friendly?
Dramatic play can be a point of controversy in Montessori education. While you will usually see dramatic play activities in a traditional preschool, you typically won’t see dramatic play activities in a Montessori school because of the emphasis on reality in Montessori preschool education.
It’s important to realize that a Montessori-friendly home is different from a Montessori classroom. Your children are at home for many hours a day compared with a few hours in a Montessori classroom. Most Montessori-friendly homes and Montessori homeschools allow dramatic play … even homes and homeschools of Montessori-trained teachers.
I didn’t have dramatic play activities in my Montessori classroom, but I didn’t worry about my children doing dramatic play activities at home. My son’s Halloween costumes during his toddler and preschool years were even career-based. (See “Homeschool Halloween: Non-Scary Halloween Traditions.”)
Some Montessori-Friendly Community Helper Books and Resources
Books with photographs or realistic drawings are especially Montessori friendly, although there are many fun books that use fanciful drawings to teach about community helpers.
Community Helpers from A to Z emphasizes uppercase letters (whereas lowercase letters are emphasized in Montessori education) and some of the careers in the book (EMTs and utility workers) start with long vowel sounds. Still, I think the book gives a good overview of community helpers. I like that it uses photographs.
A Day in the Life Community Helpers series uses photographs, too, and is an interesting introduction to community helpers for young children.
The Safari Ltd. People TOOB can be used for many Montessori-inspired activities, especially activities focusing on vocabulary and matching. You’ll find some of those activities in the Pinterest board below.
Community Helpers Books for Kids
Community Helpers Unit Study Pinterest Board
Community Helpers Unit Study Pinterest Board
I have a Community Helpers Unit Study Pinterest Board with community helpers activities of all kinds. Most of these are Montessori friendly, although some use dramatic play. Use your home or school philosophy about dramatic play to decide if you want to include dramatic play activities.
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