U is for Uniforms: Themed Activities

U is for Umbrellas, Unicorns, Ukuleles, Uniforms and so much more!  

Today I chose to focus on Uniforms.  Who wears them?  Some schools have uniforms and there is an active debate about the pros and cons of that.  Some workplaces have "loose uniforms" which may be you can wear any style but only if the items are black or white or any colour but only pants and polo shirts.  However, for today I am focusing on the uniforms associated with our community helpers: Police, Firefighters, Doctors, Dentists, Nurses, Bakers, Construction workers, Farmers, Postal workers, and so on.

1. Dress up and pretend to be people in various professions.  Be construction workers or librarians or pilots for a day.  Get out the appropriate tools of the trade as part of the dramatic play experience.

2. Create a prop for a profession as part of art time.  Create a first aid kit with band-aids.  Get out a foam cupcake and glue on sprinkles on top.  Make a card and decorate the envelope to post it to a friend.  Make a paper airplane.  The possibilities are endless.

3.  Explore the world and why these positions are so important to us.  Use a spray bottle with water in it to put out pretend fires in the garden.  Walk to the mailbox to send the letter and talk about how it will get from the mailbox to the recipient.  Look at the bus route on a map and see how far the bus driver can take you on his route.  Ask a child what book they would read to others if they were a librarian.

4.  Get same size cut outs of people in different professions.  Stabilize them with cardstock then laminate them before cutting them in halves or thirds.  Now it is a puzzle.  You can try to match the correct uniforms/pieces together or you can have fun mixing and matching them.  Ask the question, "If the police officer was wearing a scrub top, would that work well for his job? Is it all just fashion?"

5. Thank these people in uniform for their service to you the next time you see them.  It can be a verbal thanks, a written note or a personal gesture.  What construction worker wouldn't be moved by a child handing them over a toy hammer and thanking them for building well?  What dentist would smile when receiving a child drawn picture of a tooth fairy or of the dentist along with a word of thanks for making their smile brighter?

6.  Discover how people in uniforms use math and science to demonstrate the value of these skills in every day life.  A seamstress uses a measuring tape, a nurse measures out proper doses of medications, a builder calculates the right angles for a structure, a waiter counts money and so forth.

7.  Read books about people in uniforms.  One of my favourites is called Leif Likes to Play.  Jobs People Do, Postman Pat, Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do, Thank you Helpers, My Neighbourhood and Whose Hands are These? are some other selections.

                        I am sure there are many more ideas to go along with U is for Uniforms.  

                    On the day of this post, it is the 20th anniversary of the events of September 11.  

                  We remember all the lives lost that day and all the people impacted by the events.  

                     We also want to thank those men and women in uniform who served that day.  

             Furthermore, we thank all our community helpers for their service day in and day out. 

           It is appreciated.  We all need each other to do our part make this world the best it can be.



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