Six preschool children of the Cake Community kindergarten SBI have been taking the pedestrian license these days. Traffic educator Gabi Meister came with her traffic guard. Leon, Jacob, Amelia, Sam, Luca and Johanna joined with zeal in the important topic of traffic education. Preschoolers are already brought along many personal experience on the subject of traffic safety. Gabi Meister first set up a crosswalk dummy and practiced safely crossing the road in this way in the multipurpose room. The next step was to “unveil” a traffic light and compare the difference between driver and pedestrian traffic light. Numerous situations of road traffic from the perspective of the children were discussed in detail. So everyone agreed that the ball game should take place better in the garden and not or on the street. Like a mantra, the road crossing at the zebra crossing was practiced: “Look to the left, look to the right and then to the left again, eyes open – that brings it”. Important: The outstretched arm, clearly visible to the driver, as a begging barrier. The children had quickly internalized this. Thus one could finally go outside.
Dressed in safety vests, the preschool children, accompanied by Gabi Meister and an educator, marched in the direction of school. The drivers stopped in exemplary fashion and friendly at the zebra crossing and let the children cross the street. “Unfortunately, this is not always the case,” said Gabi Meister. She and her two colleagues, Ina Maier and Eva Braun, experience it again and again that cars do not stop to let the practicing children cross the street. Recently, a child was being outraged because the hurrying postman was too slow.
The boys and girls always wear safety vests with reflective tapes are easy to recognize, especially as they usually form a group. Children dealing with traffic safety are often hesitant and anxious and want to do everything right on the day of training. That can take a few seconds. In there, the traffic was low and so kept the children calm and mastered their task effortlessly.
Another problem sees Gabi master parking in the five meter security area before and after the zebra crossing. This should be kept free. Because children are not naturally as recognizable as adults. On the way between kindergarten and crosswalk many street signs which made of reflective materials were discussed. The sidewalk was consistently cut, even if a parking lot had to be bypassed. The children knew exactly that the emergency vehicles of the police, the fire department, ambulances, the THW and ambulance cars are allowed to pass everywhere. They have to be careful when they hear the siren. An electrically powered car rushed quietly past the children’s group and was an instructive example of not relying on hearing alone.
After returning to kindergarten, the six new “traffic experts” received their pedestrian license. As youngest road users, they will soon be able to apply their new knowledge on their way to school. Gabi Meister was very satisfied. “You only exist once,” she told the children to use what they had learned. That shone on the future first graders.