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Community Helpers theme for 3 and 4 year olds: a week of activities

A community helpers theme lesson plan for 3 and 4 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (ten to fifteen minutes, with a child holding the book), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

A day of the community helpers theme with 3 and 4 year olds

  1. Arrival, sign-in, and a job from the helper chart.
  2. Circle (ten to fifteen minutes): calendar, “Who helps us in our town?”, sing “the muffin man”, then The Red Bus.
  3. Centers, with the craft at one table: helper hat.
  4. Letter H: trace it once, then hunt for H around the room.
  5. Snack: English Muffin Pizzas, with children pouring and counting.
  6. Outside: mail carrier.
  7. Rest, then a longer read-aloud.

Community Helpers circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “Who helps us in our town?”
  4. Sing: The Muffin Man.
  5. Read: The Red Bus (level 1).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Community Helpers theme books

  • The Red Bus (level 1, free on peabody.kids): A bus driver who picks everyone up.
  • Stop, Bus! (level 2, free on peabody.kids): A bus, a dog and a kind stop.
  • Dex on the Bus (level 3, free on peabody.kids): Riding the bus and going places.
  • The Big Truck (level 2, free on peabody.kids): A truck and a team who work together.

Community Helpers craft: Helper hat

You need (4): paper strip headband, crayons, a paper badge shape, tape.

  1. Choose a helper: baker, driver, doctor or mail carrier.
  2. Draw that helper's picture on the badge.
  3. Tape the badge to the headband and wear it.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Community Helpers song: The Muffin Man

The words

Oh, do you know the muffin man, The muffin man, the muffin man? Oh, do you know the muffin man Who lives on Drury Lane?

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Community Helpers snack

English Muffin Pizzas from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Letter H activities

HhH is for helper. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace H and h once, then find H in the room and in the book.

Outside activity: Mail carrier

Give each child a paper letter to deliver to a numbered cone or a friend's cubby.

Community Helpers theme for toddlersCommunity Helpers theme for 2 year oldsCommunity Helpers theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30