Field trip around Naperville helps kindergartners find their place in their community

Six-year-old Nolan Reid sat near the front of the adult-sized theater seats of the Naperville City Council chambers, his back pressed into the seat and his feet dangling but not hitting the floor.

He was in the presence of the mayor, whom some of his fellow Brookdale Elementary School kindergartners likened to the president. It was a big setting for little people, but when Mayor George Pradel asked whether the children knew what his job was, Nolan knew the answer.

"You take care of the community," Nolan said.

Nolan's reply tickled Pradel, who's been caring for the city for 20 years as mayor following 30 years as a police officer. The answer also pleased Brookdale's kindergarten teachers, who'd spent the past few weeks teaching the children about their community, their place in it, and the people who make it special.

Brookdale's four kindergarten classes met Pradel on a field trip to downtown Naperville designed to help the children make real-world connections to their lessons.

To get a sense of their place in the world, the kindergartners had started by talking about the Earth. Then they learned about continents, countries, states and towns before memorizing their addresses and discussing their own town.

"At this age, kids are naturally very curious how it all fits together. They love to think about their place in the world and on a map," teacher Betsy Cunningham said. "I think it's important to use this natural curiosity as a springboard for some real in-depth learning."

As the teachers and students talked about their town, they took note of the features communities share such as schools, libraries, parks and emergency services, as well as the "community helpers" such as librarians, doctors and firefighters. And they talked about what makes Naperville special - features like the Riverwalk and the Millennium Carillon.

The field trip to downtown Naperville put the kids in the heart of their city, giving them time to explore the Riverwalk and talk to community helpers like Pradel and Liz Londe, a children's services associate at the Nichols Library who led a special story time for the Brookdale visitors.

After meeting with the mayor, small groups of children with parent volunteers used maps of the Riverwalk to navigate to 15 points of interest, such as the Dick Tracy statue, Veterans Plaza, the Dandelion Fountain, Centennial Beach and the carillon.

Reading the map took skills the kids had honed in class, and at each stop parents read a paragraph prepared by the teachers to explain the significance of what the children were seeing.

Even after they'd spent a sunny Friday outside exploring some of Naperville's unique features, it was the visit with the mayor that still had the kindergartners buzzing at the end of the day - and not just because he'd treated them each to an official Mayor Pradel trading card.

"I learned a lot about the mayor," kindergartner Molly Schalk said. "He is very busy making our community a better place."

Pradel told the children that they, too, are community helpers who have a big role in the city, and though they're young, they can make a difference at home, at school and in their neighborhood. His message made an impression on the Brookdale students.

"It's really, really important to help our community to be good and fun," kindergartner Sean Krueger said. "(We can help) by not littering and being nice."

Those are some big thoughts from some little people. But, of course, it's exactly what the teachers were hoping the 5- and 6-year-olds would remember from their downtown adventure.

"The goal from the field trip was to instill a feeling of community pride in our students," Cunningham said. "I believe that pride builds good citizens, which is always our ultimate goal as educators."