Community Helper Headbands

Have crayons, scissors, glue and a stapler ready, and size each band to the child's head yourself. Children can wear their hats for a community helpers parade or for pretend play at a dress-up station.

A cover and 5 pages, one headband per page: firefighter, police officer, chef, nurse and construction worker. Each page has a hat to color plus strips A and B with glue ends. The steps on every page say to color the hat and the two strips, cut them out on the dashed lines, and glue the end of each strip to the back of the hat. Step 4 reads: An adult fits the band around your head, staples the two loose ends together and trims any extra.

Yes. We made it for Preschool to Kindergarten community helpers, and it works the same at home or at school. Families print it for one child and keep it where they will use it every day. Teachers print a copy per student or one for the whole room, whichever the day needs.

Pick one setting, such as the fire station, post office or doctor's office, print its signs, labels and cutouts, and add a few real props. The badges and the job application form let children choose a role and take turns.

The Community Helper Counting to 10 Clip Cards have an answer key. The rest are open activities, signs and crafts.