Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Kindergarten Students Learn about Community Helpers

BCS kindergarten students recently learned about community helpers as part of their social studies curriculum.

Kinder classes learned how police officers keep citizens safe by making sure everyone follows the law. The students explored the different tools police officers use in their work, drew pictures of the officers with these special tools, and wrote short pieces about police work.  In addition, students became familiar with important signs such as: “BIKE XING” and “POISON”.

The students were most excited to make police badges and hats and to attend “Kindergarten Police Academy,” where they had special police work to do - fingerprinting! As they took their own fingerprints, they practiced the names of each finger and learned that each fingerprint is unique. They also learned a fun trick to help them
remember which hand is their left and which is their right.


On a field trip to the Los Altos Fire Station, students met local firefighters, learned how they help the community, toured their living quarters, and, best of all, sat in a fire truck!  The kindergartners loved watching their teacher, Ms. Lunsford, try on 90 lbs. of firefighter gear and try to swing an ax while wearing this heavy uniform. Upon returning from the trip the students wrote letters to the firefighters, sharing their favorite part of the visit and thanking them for allowing the class to visit.


Dr. Manche, ophthalmologist and kinder dad, came to class to talk to the students about being a doctor. Dr. Manche shared a model of an eye and let students try on special 3-D glasses and look at pictures. He talked about why he wears special gear to perform surgery, and provided hair nets, masks, and goggles for the entire class.  Much to their delight, Dr. Manche also presented every student with a bouncy eyeball! The students loved having Dr. Manche as a special visitor.