The post Community Helpers Bilingual Activities for Preschoolers in English and Spanish was originally published on Spanish4Kiddos - Educational Resources and Bilingual Content.
Teaching preschoolers about community helpers is a fantastic way to connect children to their community while building foundational skills in math, reading, and language development. Community helpers as a preschool topic emphasizes various core standards such as social communication, cognitive development, and language skills.
In this blog post, you’ll find fun ways to use the community helper topic as part your lesson in English and Spanish.
Why Teach Community Helpers in English and Spanish?
Community helpers—like firefighters, doctors, teachers, and mail carriers—play an essential role in children’s lives. Teaching about their importance in a bilingual setting not only enriches kids’ understanding of the world but also boosts their skills in two languages.
Research shows that early bilingual learning sharpens cognitive abilities and prepares young learners for academic success.
By combining hands-on, interactive play with English and Spanish vocabulary, you can make learning fun while fostering language skills, creativity, and critical thinking.
Bilingual Learning Activities for Preschoolers
Objective: Teach vocabulary in English and Spanish while building word recognition and matching skills.
Supplies:
- FREE community helpers printables (find the free printables at the end of this post)
- Optional: Construction paper, safety scissors, or glue
Instructions:
- Use the printable flashcards featuring community helpers such as firefighter/bombero, teacher/maestra, doctor/doctora.
- Show the image of each helper and say their name in English and then in Spanish.
- Turn it into a matching game: print two sets and have the student match the helper to their tools. For example, you can use a firetruck and match a firefighter.
Counting and Sorting Game: “The Nurse’s Clinic”
Objective: Practice counting in both languages while teaching about nurses (enfermeras/os) and doctors (doctores).
Supplies:
- Plastic or bandages (cut pieces from construction paper or use the cut out from the printable)
- Small containers labeled 1-10 in both English and Spanish such as “One/Uno”
Instructions:
- Pretend the children are nurses or doctors at a clinic.
- Tell them to count the bandages in English as they place them into the containers (e.g., “Count five bandages and place them here”). Then, repeat in Spanish.
- Enrichment: “Can you count backwards from 5?” or “Sort the bandages by color or shape!”
This activity strengthens counting, sorting, and fine motor skills while reinforcing bilingual numbers and colors.
Letter Writing and Delivery Game: “The Post Office Adventure”
Objective: Foster literacy in English and Spanish through letter writing and role play.
Supplies:
- Letter templates with prompts in both English and Spanish.
- Writing tools such as pencils or crayons
- Envelopes of various sizes
- Optional: stamps
Instructions:
- Writing Letters: Encourage the children to write or “draw” short letters. For emergent writers, you can have them trace community helper names (e.g., policía / police officer).
- Mail Delivery: Set up a mini post office where students take turns being the mail carrier/cartero.
- Have them “deliver” letters to classmates or boxes labeled with recipients’ names in English and Spanish.
Not only does this activity strengthen writing skills, but it also develops motor skills as kids deliver the pretend mail.
Bilingual Community Helper Bingo Game
Objective: Build listening, vocabulary, and concentration skills.
Supplies:
- Bingo cards with pictures of community helpers and their tools in English and Spanish.
- FREE bingo card printables
Instructions:
- Print and distribute Bingo cards to students. Call out helper names or tools randomly in either English or Spanish.
- Students will listen carefully, mark their cards, and shout “Bingo” when they match a row, column, or diagonal.
This is a fun way to reinforce vocabulary while keeping kids engaged!
Community Helpers Bilingual Sample Lesson
Develop your students’ understanding of the community helpers and languages skills with this sample lesson. The lesson plan emphasizes using these tips to navigate activities, reading, and math tasks throughout a lesson.
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