Kindergarten Community Helper Discovery Days
This week in January was an exciting one for Kindergarten students at Detroit Prep! As part of our expedition unit, Myself and My Community, community helpers from the local Detroit area visited classrooms to teach students about their roles and responsibilities. In preparation for this special week, Kindergarten students generated thoughtful questions to ask each guest in order to learn more about their work. Some of the most popular questions included, “What tools do you use to do your job?” and “How do you help the community?”
Our first guest was Lauren Fisher, a Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. She spoke with kindergartners about how she helps new moms and dads feed their babies. Ms. Fisher showed students how much milk babies need when they are first born, demonstrated how babies are fed, and explained how she uses a scale to weigh babies and make sure they are growing healthy and strong.
Next, Niel Smith, a Detroit firefighter and paramedic, entered the room with over ten tools that he uses in his job. This was exciting, to say the least! He showed Kindergarten students how he puts on his gear, explained the many tools he uses as a paramedic, and shared how firefighters and paramedics work as a team to put out fires and help community members when they are in need.
Dr. Erin Miller came to share how she helps families as a primary care physician. She brought her stethoscope, flashlight, and pulse oximeter. Students engaged in hands-on learning as they “practiced” using these important tools that Dr. Miller uses daily.
To round out our week of learning about community helpers, Kindergarten students learned from two important Detroit Prep community helpers: Ms. Mallory and Mr. Chad. Mr. Chad shared the many hats he wears as the Director of Operations and Facilities at Detroit Prep. Some of these include food ordering and preparation, communicating with vendors, coordinating events, and transportation. In total, he shared about eight different hats he wears!
Ms. Mallory, the Director of Upper School, shared the many tools she uses, such as keys, a whistle, a walkie-talkie, and a computer. She also shared that her favorite part of the school day is Morning Crew, and her favorite part of her job is planning fun events like the upper school party and graduation.
After learning about each community helper, Kindergarten students recorded their learning by writing about what they learned from each guest. They will use the information gained during Community Helper Discovery Days to continue exploring community helpers throughout the rest of their expedition unit.
