Community Helpers

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fun spring break. I am so excited to get back into action, I missed your kiddos :)

This post is all about our wrap up of Community Helpers. From taking a field trip to the grocery store, post office and fire department, to making our mural of Estacada with Larry Verdoorn it was a fun filled week!

 

Walking Field Trip

To start off our walking field trip we began with Thriftway. We got to see in the back stock room, see all the varying departments of the store and the students even got to check out their own goodie bag of items! The students had so much fun and it was a great connection to think about all the community helpers who make a grocery store possible. For example the farmers, bakers, grocers etc.

Students get to see the back storage room in Thriftway.

Then we went off to see the Fire Department. The Fire Chief began by talking with the students about fire safety, the kids knew so much already! Then the kids got to see where the fire fighters sleep when they stay at the fire station. Then students got to see the fire truck and go inside, and see a firefighter put on all of his tools! The students loved getting to see him on with his mask! Finally we got a special visit from the fire dog! It was a great visit.

Students getting to see where Fire Fighters sleep.

Watching Fire Fighter Cody put on his suit.

A student takes photos on the iPad to document our trip.

A special guest visited us at the Fire Station!

To finish off our field trip we went to the Post Office. Inside we got to see the behind the scenes look at the post office boxes, how they sort mail and packages and finally we got to see the lift where mail workers bring in crates of packages off of mail trucks. The students were so excited to see all the packages and hear how much mail goes through everyday!

Getting to see the behind the scenes mail sorting.

The lift where mail carriers get packages off of trucks.

The field trip was such a great chance for our class to see community helpers in action and see the variation in helpers. From a Fire Fighter to a Post Office worker students truly got to see why every job is important to our community.

Estacada Mural

To finish off our study of the community we worked with artist in residence Larry Verdoorn to construct a map of Estacada. Students got the chance to help paint the background of the mural, construct the roads and they also got to make the buildings and trees with the papers we painted a few weeks ago. It was wonderful to hear the kids exclaim "Oh yeah we have to put in City Hall we saw that when we walked to the Fire Station," or "Don't forget the bank by the Post Office!" I loved hearing students make connections to the community based on what we saw on our walking tour. The students did a truly wonderful job and I can't wait to find the perfect place to hang it in our school for everyone to admire!

Larry Verdoorn shows students how to make their houses.

A student uses a picture on an iPad to design her building.

A student recreates a business by looking at a photo on the iPad.

A student working on constructing their house.

The finished mural!

It is hard to believe that we only have 9 weeks left in school! While there are so few weeks left they are truly jam packed with fun experiences and learning for your children. Keep checking back here for updates on the amazing adventures we are having :)

Smiles,

Miss Adams