Community Helpers

2 min Magic Box hook

The box is light, and something inside it slides from end to end. Whole class chants:

Shake it — a soft rubbery slither. Sniff it. Peek in, and pull your head back as if it might be alive.

Hands on chests. “Doctor!”

4 min Teach · Doctor

The stethoscope goes round the circle, ten seconds each — every child listens to their own heart. Say it while they listen:

Littles listen and say the one word: “Doctor!” Bigs take the whole frame: “This is a doctor.” “The doctor helps me.”

Then teddy is poorly. Teddy gets checked — heart, tummy, one bandaged arm — and every step is narrated out loud so the words land on a real action.

Teacher fails: put the stethoscope on backwards, ear-pieces on your chest, listening plate at your ear, and nod wisely. “Mmm. Very healthy.” Wait.

Chinese moment: lay the 医 card beside the stethoscope and say 医生 once. Then teach one whole sentence: 谢谢你！ — because that is what you say to a helper, and it is the sentence of the entire week.

3 min Song · Who Helps You? — chorus + Monday verse

The one song of the week — same chorus every circle, one new verse each morning, the whole thing on Friday. Chords and the full sheet are on the Song tab. Three chords only: C, F and G7.

3 min Game · Doctor, doctor

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” Teddy lies in the middle of the circle with the bandage beside him.

The doctor listens to teddy's heart, then the class asks together: “Are you better?” Teddy nods. Everybody claps and says “Thank you, doctor!”

Six or seven children get a turn; each one gets the stethoscope, the bandage and the whole class thanking them by name.

Let the doctor bandage teddy's arm slowly, badly, and all by themselves. Nobody helps, nobody tidies it. The bandage going round and round is the fine-motor work, and it walks straight onto Tray 3 afterwards.

1 min Close

Hands flat on chests, feeling for the heartbeat. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? Doctor Ted (Andrea Beaty) — a bear who appoints himself doctor and diagnoses the whole school. They will want to be Ted for the rest of the week.

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box is big and it will not shut properly. Hold it up so they can see the lid lifting. Chant:

Shake it — one heavy hollow knock. Sniff it, and pull a face: “…smoky.”

Siren arm, round and round. “Firefighter!”

4 min Teach · Firefighter

Everybody stands. The whole class becomes the fire engine, with the actions:

Littles do the siren arm and shout “Firefighter!” Bigs owe you the sentence: “This is a firefighter.” “The firefighter helps me.”

Then the helmet goes round the circle. Every child wears it for five seconds, and while it is on their head the class asks them: “Who are you?” — and they answer.

Teacher fails: point the hose at your own face and squint. “Right — where is this fire?” Turn slowly round the whole circle, hose still aimed at yourself. Wait.

Chinese moment: the 火 card goes down beside yesterday's 医 — and it looks like a fire, so let them tell you that. Say 消防员 once, and 谢谢你！again. No drilling.

3 min Song · Who Helps You? — chorus + Tuesday verse

Sing “wee-oo, wee-oo” as loudly as they like, then drop the last line to a whisper. The volume swing is what makes the two-year-olds join in; the words come later.

3 min Game · Fire, fire!

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” The paper flames are up on the wall at child height. The hose is the only prop.

Three children at a time carry the real hose to the wall and “put out” one flame each — SSSSSHHH — then take that flame off the wall and bring it back. Everybody else sprays from where they sit and counts the flames down out loud.

The wall is empty in about six turns; everybody has held the hose once.

Say it clearly, once, at the end, and never as a scary story: a real fire is not a game — we walk out, and we find a grown-up. Then straight back into the song.

1 min Close

Helmets off, hands ready. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? Firefighter Ted (Andrea Beaty) — yesterday's bear, new job. They will spot him before you turn the first page.

2 min Magic Box hook

Today the box is tiny, and it rattles like one hard sweet. Chant, shake it twice, hold it right up to your ear and listen.

One short blast. Everybody freezes. Then: “Police!”

4 min Teach · Police

Stand tall. Everybody copies the whole thing, twice:

Littles say the one word with the flat palm: “Police!” or “Stop!” Bigs: “This is a police officer.” “The police officer helps me.”

Then the two paddles, held up one at a time in silence, and the class supplies the word. Swap fast. Swap slow. Hold the red one for an unreasonably long time and watch them wobble.

Teacher fails: hold up the green paddle and shout “STOP!” with total confidence. Then the red one: “GO!” Keep going until they are climbing over each other to correct you.

Chinese moment: the 警 card joins the row — 医 · 火 · 警. Say 警察 once, and add 停 (stop) and 走 (go) with the two paddles. One touch each, then move on.

3 min Song · Who Helps You? — chorus + Wednesday verse

Sing “Stop!” and “Go!” spoken and sharp, not sung — a half-second of silence before each one. By Friday they shout both words before you get there.

3 min Game · Stop and go

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” Everybody stands in a wide ring with room to walk. You hold the whistle and the two paddles.

Round and round the ring. Then hand the whistle and the paddles to one child and let them run it while you walk with the class and get caught moving on purpose.

Four or five children get to be the officer. Littles just stop and go with the group; that is the whole skill.

Silence is the game. The moment you start narrating (“stop… now go…”) they listen to your voice instead of watching the signal — and the whole point of the exercise walks out of the door.

1 min Close

Flat palms up, held still. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? Officer Buckle and Gloria (Peggy Rathmann) — too long to finish in three minutes, so read only the safety-tip pages and save the dog for tomorrow.

2 min Magic Box hook

The box is flat and wide today, and something rolls inside it when you tip it. Chant, then tip it slowly from side to side and let them hear it roll.

Both hands on an imaginary wheel. “Bus!”

4 min Teach · Bus

You are the driver. Everybody steers with you:

Littles steer and say “Bus!” Bigs: “This is a bus driver.” “The bus driver helps me.” “The bus takes me to school.”

Then go round the circle with a real question: how do YOU come to school? Bus, car, bike, walk, scooter, grandma's arms. Count each answer out loud on your fingers — it is real data about real children and they are gripped by it.

Teacher fails: put the steering wheel flat on your head like a hat and announce, delighted, “Right — I am driving the bus.” Steer with your ears. Wait.

Chinese moment: the 车 card goes down — 医 · 火 · 警 · 车 in a row now; point along and let them read the pictures. Say 司机 once, then count the class onto the bus in Chinese: 一个人, 两个人, 三个人…

3 min Song · Who Helps You? — chorus + Thursday verse

Sing this one swaying side to side, all of you, like a bus going round a corner. Lean hard on “round and round” and half of them fall over. That is the point.

3 min Game · Drive the bus

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” The chairs are in pairs like bus seats; the steering wheel sits on the front one.

Call four stops — the shop, the park, the hospital, school. Children get on and off at their stop and say where they are going. Littles just get on and off with the group and say “Bus!” Bigs: “I get off at the park.”

Swap the driver every stop; the old driver hands the wheel over and says “Thank you, driver!”

Call hospital as one of the stops and let the class wave at Monday's doctor as they pass. Threading the week's helpers through today's game costs nothing and does half of Friday's review for you.

1 min Close

Everybody steering, still in their seats. Whisper → normal → shout:

Got 3 spare minutes? The Wheels on the Bus — sing it, don't read it, and let the “driver” from the game do all the actions at the front.

2 min Magic Box hook

The box comes out fat and bulging and will not shut at all.

Pull each prop out and hold it up in complete silence. They will supply the word before you can.

The stethoscope → “Doctor!”  The helmet → “Firefighter!”  The whistle → “Police!”  The steering wheel → “Bus!”

Last of all, the basket of hats. Tip it out in the middle of the circle. Hands out, waving: “HELP!”

4 min Teach · Help, then the whole week

Everybody stands. We tell the whole week with our bodies, twice — slow, then fast:

Littles do the five gestures and shout the five words. Bigs owe you a whole sentence each: “This is a firefighter.” “The firefighter helps me.” “Thank you!”

Then the real question, one child at a time, right round the circle: “Who helps YOU?” Mum, dad, teacher, grandma, my big sister — every answer is right, and the answer is almost never a uniform.

Teacher fails: put the fire helmet on and announce “I am the doctor.” Listen to teddy's heart through the helmet. Nod. Wait for the roar.

Chinese moment: the 帮 card finishes the row — 医 · 火 · 警 · 车 · 帮, the whole week on the mat. Say the five jobs once each — 医生 · 消防员 · 警察 · 司机 · 老师 — then everybody bows and says 谢谢你！ together. Next Monday is 大雪, the heavy-snow term; tell them it is coming and leave it there.

3 min Song · Who Helps You? — Friday verse, then the WHOLE song

The finale: chorus → Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday → chorus, everybody in a helper hat. They learned it one verse a morning without ever noticing, and this run-through is the review of the entire week.

3 min Game · Hat quick-fire

“One, two, three — eyes on me!” All five hats in a heap in the middle. You kneel beside them.

They shout the helper. Fire helmet → “Firefighter!” Police cap → “Police!” Bigs get the sentence in before the next hat lands: “The police officer helps me.”

Go faster and faster, then hand the hats to a Big and let them run it while you sit in the circle and get it wrong on purpose. Finish with every child wearing one hat for the song.

Last round, put a hat on a child instead of yourself and ask the class “Who helps us?” — and let them answer with that child's name. That is the sentence you actually want them leaving with.

1 min Close + awards

Every child gets a “You are a STAR!” award to take home. Then, all in their hats, with all five gestures:

Got 3 spare minutes? Whose Hat Is This? (Sharon Katz Cooper) — one hat per page, and by page three they are answering it before you ask.

The three chords

Tempo: bright and marching, like a fire engine on its way — this is a going-somewhere song, not a lullaby. Three chords only this week — C, F and G7 — and all five verses are just C and G7, so once you can change C → G7 → C you can play every verse in the book. Chant it without the uke first; add the chords once they know the actions.

Chorus — sing it every single day

Sing the chorus twice each time. The actions are the whole point — a two-year-old who steers a wheel, makes a siren arm and bows at the end has understood the week, whether or not a single word comes out.

One verse a day — every verse is just C and G7

The build: each day sing chorus → today's verse → chorus. By Friday they know five verses without ever “learning” the song — and Friday's finale, sung with every child in a helper hat, doubles as your review of the whole week.

If you're brand new to ukulele

Practice this loop for five minutes tonight: C (4 strums) → F (4 strums) → C → G7 → C. That is the entire chorus, and the verses need only two of those three. C is one finger, F is two, G7 is three — learn them in that order and stop when your hand complains. If your fingers get stuck, put the uke down and do the finger-play instead: the class will not notice, and the actions carry the meaning either way.