COMMUNITY HELPERS WEEK "Handcuffs, Sirens, and Lights--Oh My!!"

Today we continued our weekly theme of "Community Helpers" by focusing on our local law enforcement. We listened to the story of Little Red Riding Hood and then discussed how her whole dilemma could have been avoided if she had followed the rules her mother had given her and not paused in her journey to grandmother's house to talk to strangers. This timeless story led into our discussion about personal safety. And who better to help teach the point than a couple of deputies from the county Sheriff's department. I have connections. Good connections, mind you. OK. So, Deputies Todd and John are the fathers of two of my preschoolers. It is fabulous to have such willing parents to come and share a day with us in their line of work.




For a child, law enforcement officers are somewhere on the pedestal of idols. And like most kids, ours were fascinated by the cars, the sirens, lights, handcuffs, and....the caged backseat. Some were very eager to take the wheel and push a few buttons along the way.







Here's Cody waiting patiently for his turn in the car. Finding a seat was a little difficult with 11 other takers.





Funnily enough, none were too excited to relinquish their seats. And for as hard and uncomfortable they appeared to be...that was kind of surprising.

Each of the little ones were made Junior Deputies and given a gold badge. With two officers in tow, we were able to have four sets of handcuffs moving around the table for everyone to see. I think the handcuffs are the epitomized symbol of what the children associate law enforcement with. They deal with the "bad guys".

But we also learned that law enforcement officers deal with the the "good guys" as well. Besides protecting and serving the community, they help educate the us about how to be good citizens, enforce the laws that keep us safe, and can help when we are in distress or lost.

Just as they have a job to do, so do we. We can be good citizens and make sure that we wear our helmets when we are riding our bikes. We learned that we are supposed to be in a booster seat until we are 8 years old. We learned that we should always wear our seat belts. And when we are walking near streets or roads, looking both ways before we cross the road is a MUST!!

Our preschoolers loved having their special visitors in class today. Everyone was on their best behavior and were amazingly compliant and excited to have their pictures taken. We appreciate all those men and women who have made it their career to serve and protect our communities. Community helpers are awesome and we loved learning more about them!!

(Deputy Todd, Sini, Alayna, Ben, Blina, Lilly, Zachary, Ben, Trianna, Courtney, Abby, Josh, Trevor, Cody, Deputy John)

Sidelines: We learned about Letter C and how it is a special letter that makes 2 different sounds. We glued Cheerios onto big C's for our books because they are circles, crunchy, and cereal. Because of the field trip to the fire station on Thursday, the writing practice sheets are in their back packs. Just have them trace over the letters and return on Tuesday with the other homework. They are doing great and I love how they are getting into the routine and loving preschool!!