"What are some road safety rules?” asked Katie, an AmeriCorps Safe Family Member. “Wear a helmet, make sure you have a night light on your bike, and stay on the right side of the road,” yelled a student. Wow these students really know a lot about road safety. From hearing that first kid’s response at the Kids Safety Zone showed me I would be shocked more about what other students already knew.
I knew the load of information Red Cross AmeriCorps Safe Family members were going to share that day would never be forgotten.
As we pulled up to the elementary school with the AmeriCorps team and I walked through the halls, we entered into a room that the team set up for kindergarteners through sixth graders. The team was setting up five different stations for the AmeriCorps service project: Kids Safety Zone.
Having the group of kids rotate to each station, I knew it would be interesting to watch. AmeriCorps set up stations so all the kids could get a hands-on interactive experience and learn helpful information all at once. From 9a.m. to 2:15p.m. the students’ excitement and thrill to learn more never faded away.
Students waved their hands frantically to answer a question or to volunteer in acting out a scenario. They bounced from table to table and interacted the entire seven minutes they had at each station. I tried to figure out how learning could be so fun and then a light bulb clicked in my head: interact and engage the students and you cannot go wrong with teaching.The five stations the students rotated to throughout the day were healthy living, stranger danger, first aid for you, road safety, and home safety. At the “health living” station one of the members discussed having a proper diet, knowing the proper techniques for chocking, and what it means to wash your hands thoroughly. The members at the “stranger danger” station taught how you should communicate with strangers (what to say and what not to say). At the “first aid for you” station how to control bleeding, what’s an emergency, calling 911, and an emergency action plan was taught. At the “road safety” station the AmeriCorps team member talked about how one stays safe when riding a bike or walking. The last station was about how to stay safe in your own home based on having fire alarms and avoiding dangerous fires in the house with electrical appliances and outlets.
Overall the students enjoyed themselves with the interactive stations. They were able to interact and learn about safety and healthy tips. AmeriCorps members also took a lot from teaching a wide age range of students because the members had to change how they presented the information every time groups rotated. Before each class left the room the teachers were given FACT (First Aid for Children Today) booklets to pass out to their students.
This event also showed me that elementary students will take away a lot from what they learn if you make it engaging and relate the activities to them so they can make connections of what they’re learning.
To learn more about the Red Cross AmeriCorps program or to join the team visit this link: http://bit.ly/nG0ydw.
Story and Video Written By: Rachel Moten
