We took the Tods to the local Firestation last week...it's our big summer excursion to venture into the community and learn about all things Firetruck!
It is a funny experience to behold. We talk about going to the Firestation a few weeks before, look at pictures and books about what we might see, and get prepared for the event.
We gathered the kids up in 5 wagons and headed out. The Firefighters are always so kind (and not quite sure what to do with all the little 1 and 2 year olds staring back at them).....we sat in the grass as they pulled the Firetruck out and let us climb inside:
They let the toddlers spray some water from a mini hose and touch the big wheels:
In the meantime, one of the guys got dressed in full 'I'm coming to rescue you from this burning building' gear. This is where it got interesting...
A few kids were amazed and excited at this....the rest were terrified! Ahhh! 7 to 8 wee little tikes clutching their teachers shirts like they were going out of style. The firefighter got down low to everyone's level and let them touch the gear (if they wanted to), let them see that it was a friendly face under the mask. Although a little sad and scary for a few, we cherish this experience for little people to meet and see a real firefighter in person. To have that experience in a casual and controlled environment to recall and have a frame of reference to remember what a firefighter is. We hope that, should the ever be in a real fire and need to be rescued, it would not be the first time to see this larger than life figure before them.
He took all his gear off at the end to show them that he was still just a person...then he slid down the fire pole....weeeeee!
We extended the curriculum this week to talk more about what we learned and saw. We printed the pictures from our trip for them to look at, added some firefighter related book into the mix and then I made this:
He he he...Firefighter paper doll. We will talk about what firefighters wear to rescue people and let the kids help get him ready for his job.
If you have kids or care for kids, I highly recommend stopping in to your local Firestation for a tour. As long and they are not called out to save someone in the world, they are very happy to show you a Firetruck and let the kids touch some gear...they often have some stickers and plastic hats to give away too! You can always call ahead to ask about their policies or schedule just to make sure! Do it, it's a blast and quite educational!
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