Inspire your preschool students to help others by introducing them to adults who dedicate their lives to helping others. Invite local community helpers to visit your classroom. Firefighters, doctors, emergency medical personnel and police officers are all good choices. Ask your guests to talk to the class about how they help people everyday, and to bring along some tools of their trade to show to students. Provide props in the dramatic play area so that your students can continue the theme and pretend to be the community helpers they learn about.
During circle time, read students a story about helping others. Ask students to think of the different ways they can help other people. Provide prompts to get students thinking. For example, say, "What are some things you can do to help your mom at home?" or "How can we help visitors to our school?" List the different ideas students come up with for helping others, and hang the list in the classroom. Challenge students to help one person each day. When you see students helping one another, recognize and reward them.
Teach your preschool students about helping others with a hands-on activity. Plan a school cleanup to keep the school looking nice for all students. Plan to spend the day outside picking up litter from the playground and school entrance. Provide gloves for students to protect their hands, and give students trash bags or buckets to collect litter. Expand the activity by asking family members to help.
Collect money in your classroom to help others in your community. Ask students to bring in clear jars for collecting coins. Let students ask for donations from teachers and parents. Use the coins collected for counting games in your classroom. If possible, set up a collection center outside the school or local business. Encourage students to create posters to advertise the event.