Fire safety

[jec]

Not sure if everyone has seen Sparky.org ~ check this one out!
They have a lot of great ideas to teach kids about hot and cold and fire safety which is part of our circle time.
I wrote to their legal deptartment and they allowed me to use links to their web site on mine to direct parents. They forwarded me TONS of things to do with the kids- songs in circle time and activities. They have a preschool program 'learn not to burn' they give you to teach them.

Check into it. My families are now planning their own fire escape plan.
Something to remind the parents about and teach the kids!

[jec]

I took one of their activities on their site sparky.org that you can print off.
I cut the items out and got them laminated and then the kids could put the items on the COLD or HOT card. Very cool

[Inspired by Reggio]

Oh I love Sparky ... when I worked in a centre we use to have him and the fire department come out at least once a year ... the kids were 'enthralled' cause the animated 'Sparky puppet' seems real to them then!

Wish they would come out for 'home childcare' but you need to have a certain number of kids to make it worth while my 5 cannot compete with the 150 a centre has :rolleyes:

[jec]

That would be awesome wouldn't it!
I am constantly trying to update and keep my web site with not only my own info but info that parents and use.
Part of my trying to show people what we aren't just a baby sitting service....hate that! But if you write to thier legal dept they can send you lots of stuff to use and it's awesome. Not as cool as a visit from Sparky himself but we took a picture of our dog with a fire hat on from our dress up trunk and he is our fire mascott-lol!!

[Momof4]

I have a 911/Safety theme once a year and throughout the year I talk about the smoke alarm and what we would do and where we would go if we had to go outside because of a fire in our house. The older children made a booklet last fall in page protectors where they pasted fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, firefighters, etc. on different pages and they took them home. So I hope the parents took that and taught them about their homes, but I'm not going to preach to them at all.

[jec]

I dont`thinkg the stuff that offer isn`t what I would call preaching but more fun ways of learning and bringing it up every so often in circle time to remember what to do when there is a fire. The songs are cute and catchy. It`s not something I`m doing with them every day, just something to pick up like you did once a year or so to talk about it again. Check out the site- they have a lot to offer :)

[jec]

I thought to share as my friends and daycare families all don`t have escape plans and or practice it with their kids...having it present in the playroom is something I feel is important and not given enough time with families.

[Momof4]

Oh no, sorry, I meant I'm not going to preach to the parents to teach their children safety, because they SHOULD be doing that. The children learn from me daily about safety. Even when we are walking down the street I don't even have to tell the older ones to run and hold the stroller when we get close to a road or stop at a laneway before crossing it every time. I taught these children safety rules of all kind, probably more than the parents have taught them, but that's our secret!

[jec]

No worries ..I remember learning about all of this in school too!
I`m a new provider with only 2 years under my belt and a real eager beaver by some in definition :laugh:

[Inspired by Reggio]

I thought to share as my friends and daycare families all don`t have escape plans and or practice it with their kids...

We have one of these with all the exit plans on it and I do monthly emergency drills with the kids so they know where to go and what to do in an emergency - practice makes perfect and helps you realize that something you have in a written plan might not be practical when implemented...I am always tweaking mine a bit each year as new kids pose new observations ;)

[mamaof4]

My husband is a firefighter and loves doing child education (probably why we have 5 of our own!) But if you call your local fire department they may be willing to send a truck and some guys out to let kids play.

[Momof4]

Really, that would be fantastic! We have a firehouse a few blocks away and we walked up there a couple of years ago and the firefighters were wonderful with the children, let them in the truck showed them the equipment and the truck and slid down the pole. That was my favourite part, hee! But when I called the office to try to arrange a visit I got all kinds of runaround. So I recommend just going over and if they are not busy they will probably welcome you in. We're going over again this summer.

[mom-in-alberta]

Wow, I never thought of just calling and asking if they could show up!! Will have to try that... :)