This activity will give you an opportunity to let the children talk about and play about their parents and their parents' work.

Materials:

• Books or pictures showing various jobs and occupations
• Construction paper
• Crayons

Directions:

To begin, talk with the children about their parents (or guardians) occupations. Explain that sometimes parents have mixed feelings about their jobs -- they want to go to work, but they also want to be with their children. Mention that working is one of the ways that parents show they care about their children. (Reassure children who have parents that are not working that their parents show they care about them in other ways.)

Talk about your job as a teacher and how working is a way that you show you care for yourself or your family. Then show the children books or pictures of people working at various occupations.

Encourage children to use construction paper and crayons to make a picture of themselves and their parents, either at home or at work. Invite the children to show their pictures to the class and describe them.

After the children show their pictures, you can give them a chance to pretend about the jobs their parents do. Before they play, help the children gather or make props for creative play. (For example, you might put together a medical play box, a restaurant kit, or a box containing office supplies.)

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