Series of Themed Play - Firetrucks & Fire Safety

Hi there! We are back with our Themed Play Series. So far, we have looked at pets (puppies) and construction trucks. Now we will be playing with our fire fighter toys. These toys are accompanied with a Little Fire Engine story book. I have decided to accompany reading resources to go along with our Themed Series Play, after all it is mainly focused on language and speech development. Here we go...

© Everything Family Guide

• Sit with your child to push and pull the firetruck towards each other. Say: "Push" or "Pull".
• Ask him/her to call the emergency service using a toy phone. Say: "Dial 911". Now ask him/her to be the 911 operator, while you report the fire. Say: "There is a fire at my place. Please help me".
• Teach him/her to say their name and street address (i.e. "Sara Parker, 21 Jump Street, my house is on fire"). Now pretend to call 911 again and say his name, address and state the emergency.
• Pretend that something is on fire in the house. Tell your child to drive the fire truck to the burning spot by making siren noises. Say: "Nee-nah, Nee-nah!" and drive the truck fast. This sound is called a "Siren" and it alerts everyone that a fire engine is coming.
• Upon arrival at the scene of the pretend fire, put out the fire by making spraying noises. Say: "Splash, Splash, Splatter, Splatter".
• Rescue a plush cat, or other toy things like animals or people.
• Talk about volunteering and how most firefighters are volunteers. Say: "Helping the community", "volunteer". A volunteer is someone who helps others out of kindness and an act of good will.
• Talk about a fire fighter's job and what they do? A firefighters job is a job of Honor: he or she is the "rescuer". They are brave and kind people who help others in need by putting out the fire, giving medical attention to victims, and saving people from dangerous locations.
• Visit a fire station by calling them in advance to see if you can book a visit on "International Firefighter Day" or any regular day when they accept visits from outsiders.
• Talk about a fire emergency truck and some of the parts that are used during an emergency. Point to the parts of the truck as you say: "hose", "ladder", "water pump", "foam", "tools' box", "traffic cones", "water tank", "walkie-talkies", "fire blankets", "first aid kits", and "gas masks with an oxygen tanks".
• Talk about the use of a fire hydrant and how firetrucks rely on them to put out the fire. Visit the nearest fire hydrant on your street. Say: "Fire hydrant", "Connect the hose to the fire hydrant".
• Talk about a firefighters' uniform and what does it consist of? Say: "helmet", "boots", "gloves", "pants" and "coat". These things are fire-proof and they help keep a fire fighter safe from heat or fire.
• Talk about Smoke Alarms in the home and their important role of informing you with a loud beeping sound that there may be a fire or smoke. Check to see if your alarm had a new battery and do a smoke alarm test to see that it works.
• Talk about safety when exiting the home, if there is a large visible fire in your home. Talk about escaping from the nearest exit like a door. Talk about toxic smoke and how it can make people unconscious. Say: Walk as far away from the building as you can to stay safe and NEVER go back inside. Say: "Escape", "Exit", "Go outside and Stay outside".
• Teach and practise the actions: "Stop, Drop and Roll". Demonatrate: stop what you are doing, drop on the floor and roll from side to side. Tell your child that this is what you do if your clothes catch on fire.
• Ask: "What is fire?" Say words like "Smoke", "Fire", "Flames", "Toxic", "Burn", "Hot", "Dangerous", "Heat".
• Go online and learn more about fire and fire safety with Sparky the Fire Dog.
• Read about firefighters, fire safety:
1. Stop, Drop, and Roll: A Jessica Worries Book: Fire Safety by Margery Cuyler 
2. The Firefighters by Sue Whiting
3. Miss Mingo and the Fire Drill by Jamie Harper
4. Arthur's Fire Drill by Marc Brown
5. My Mom is a Firefighter by Lois G. Grambling

Fire Safety is a very important topic for your child to know and learn. You can teach your child about this topic through play and repeat over a period of time for effectiveness learning.

Have fun playing,

Annie