Hold a presentation with a handful of community helpers, such as a local policewoman, a baker from the local grocery store and a nurse at a nearby children's hospital. Similar to a "Career Day," have each person explain the job he performs, a memorable experience and why he chose to enter that profession. Allow your students to ask questions at the end of each presentation. Lead a short reflection, then ask each student to pick a speaker to write a "Thank You" card for. Preschoolers will have limited writing ability and should be expected to write no more than two or three simple sentences. Allow students to illustrate the card as well, then send these cards to the speakers.
This activity can be held after the presentation or as a stand-alone lesson. Provide a short video or lesson on community helpers, stating different available positions in the community and asking students what jobs their family and family friends perform in the community. Next, ask each child to draw and write a short description of what he wants to be when he grows up and list three reasons why.
Make a list of community helpers on the board, such as astronaut, teacher, postman, policeman, firefighter, farmer, librarian and doctor. Let the class make the list themselves if they can think of enough professions for the activity. Next, ask preschoolers to come up to the board to say and write a word that corresponds to that profession. For example, a preschooler that comes up to write for "Firefighter" could put "Brave." Help the preschooler write the word if she does not know the proper spelling. Create word webs for each profession on the board so that preschoolers can see the appropriate spellings.
For this activity, use wide-ruled paper with a blank area at the top for illustration. Arrange preschoolers into groups and assign a teen or adult moderator to each group. Together, each group will create a story about a community helper. For example, a story about a community firefighter could involve getting a young boy's cat out of a tree. The moderator will help to transcribe the story unless the preschoolers can form enough words to communicate the message. Afterward, the team can illustrate the story. Each team will share its story with the class.