The children and educators created a large wall map of their local community. There were many conversations about how the children travelled safely around town, where they walked and whose hand they held. Pedestrian signs and symbols, including the Kids and Traffic ‘Hold my hand’ gate sign image, added to the map was a great way to start conversations about the importance of always holding a grown-up’s hand and finding safe places to cross the road.
Using their community map as inspiration, and including places in Brewarrina, the educators and children worked with Kids and Traffic to develop their own community specific ‘Here we go walking holding hands’ book. This resource added relevance and meaning to pedestrian safety messages for children, educators and families. While using the resource educators were able to emphasise the importance of always holding a grown-up’s hand and children enthusiastically talked about their walking journeys.
Many children catch the preschool bus and educators use the time of the bus as a real life opportunity to talk with children about passenger safety. Educators ensure children are buckled up safely, and emphasise the importance of being buckled up in their car seats no matter where they are going, whether they are awake or asleep and no matter what vehicle they are in. Educators also share these passenger messages with families through conversations and positive modelling as children are collected and dropped off each day.
Kids and Traffic, together with educators, created a Gainmara Birrilee Preschool bus prop and used the children’s drawings as the characters travelling in the bus. These used along with the community map allowed children to dramatise their safe journeys to and from preschool, and educators were able to highlight the importance of always buckling up safely.
