Talking about community helpers encourages children to appreciate all the helpers around them. Bring in story books and pictures of community helpers such as firefighters, police officers and EMTs (emergency medical technicians). Talk with students about these jobs and why they are important. Teaching children about these jobs should make preschoolers respect these people. Help students make thank-you cards to send to a local fire house or police station. Ask students to help you create a list of other jobs where they can help other people.
Assigning each student a classroom job not only teaches her about helping, but it helps you keep order in your classroom as well. Create a list of jobs that children can perform. Children can help pass out napkins at snack time, sweep the floor or keep the art shelves neat. Create a chart that keeps track of which child has each job, then hold a meeting with the class to explain the jobs. Rotate jobs once a week. Children will feel proud to have their own jobs and be helping out their community.
Teach children about helping and teamwork at the same time. Pair students up and assign them a simple task. For instance, place pillows on the floor and ask children to cross the room without stepping on the pillows. Blindfold one child from each pair and explain that the second child must help her partner accomplish the task. She might hold his hand to guide him across the room or verbally guide him around the pillows. Switch blindfolds and repeat. Ask children to guess what would have happened if they didn't have a friend helping them.
Celebrate the helpful spirit of your students by creating an "I Can Help" wall. Ask each child to think of a time when he helped someone else. Give some examples, such as helping parents fold laundry or helping cheer up a sad friend. Pass out paper and art supplies and ask children to create pictures showing these moments, then hang the finished pictures on a bulletin board or wall. Seeing the ways their peers were helpful can inspire children to follow suit.