One of the things we’re doing this year for Kindergarten is a Community Helper Theme each week. We started off learning about Fire Fighters, fires, and fire safety.
We talked about firemen and the equipment they use, and what to expect if they are ever in a fire. After our little schpeel on safety we did an experiment to show how fire works.
Since this is an important topic we did it as a group. Our first activity was a lesson on fire itself.
There are three things that fire needs to burn:
- Heat
- Air
- Fuel
Demonstration:
As a demonstration, we lit 3 small birthday candles to show the 3 things that fire needs to burn and how to put out a fire safely. For this demonstration you will need:
- 3 small candles
- 1 spray bottle filled with water
- 1 metal tray
- 3 clumps of play-doh or clay
- 1 drinking glass or jar
- Matches or a lighter
- A fire extinguisher (We did NOT use the fire extinguisher, I just showed it to them so they know how it works, and to check them regularly)
Demonstration 1: Heat
We sprayed the first one with a water bottle to show that if we remove the heat, the flame went out. We also discussed how if there is a fire on the stove top that involves oil, water will not work but will instead create larger flames. We talked about fire fighters, hoses, and hydrants. I also told them how we do not to park near a fire hydrant in the event a fire crew needs access to it.
Demonstration 2: Air
Next we placed a glass over the top of the 2nd candle to show that if you take away the air the flame will also go out. Again, I used the fire on the stove top with oil example to show that the best way to put out an oil fire is to cover it with a metal lid.
The kids were excited to see that after just a few seconds the flame indeed went out!
Demonstration 3: Fuel
Finally, the 3rd candle was allowed to burn until the wax was all gone to show that if you remove the ‘fuel’ the fire will go out. I didn’t actually let this burn down as we were out of clay and had to use our Educational Insights Play Foam. I wasn’t sure about the fire-proof capabilities of this so just to be safe we blew it out.
Stop-Drop-Roll:
One of the most well known fire safety actions is the “Stop-Drop-Roll”. We practiced this several times, rolling around to put out our pretend flames.
Evacuation Plan:
Once we were done with our fire demonstration, we drew up an evacuation plan for our home and made a meeting spot. Since everyone’s house is different, you’ll need to draw up your own plan. Make it simple, too many rules will complicate it for little guys. We showed them how to check their door for heat before opening it, then discussed how smoke rises. When evacuating your home, they should cover their mouths with a damp rag and crawl out if necessary.
Fire Drill:
Once we went over our evacuation plan a few times, I sent all the kids to their rooms to play. I set off the fire alarm in the house and they were all instructed on how to get out of the house and to their meeting spot safely.
We repeated the fire drill a couple times that day, then again later when Dad got home. We’ll do these randomly from here on out so the kids can practice. My oldest doesn’t like the sound, but I explained that practice is what will save her life if there is a fire.
Tip from the trenches: Make sure you have some extra 9-volt batteries on hand before you do this, apparently setting off your fire alarm several times in one day really takes the juice out of your alarms, we replace batteries in 3 of them the next day!
Visit a fire station:
If possible, take a trip to your local Fire Station. It’s great for the kids to see a firefighter, their equipment, and the station. The firefighters will normally show the kids how they get dressed in all their gear which is great. This helps get rid of some of the fear kids can experience if they see a fully dressed firefighter come into their house. Some kids are so afraid of the scary man that they don’t scream for help.
Hope you enjoy our Kindergarten Fire Safety Unit!
Please do not leave your children with the impression that they should try to put out a fire by themseves. They are WAY too young to do that, and the consequences of them trying could be tragic. They should be taught to yell to warn others that there is a fire and to immediately get out of the house.
Kelly:
Absolutely agree! I did want to teach them about fire, how it burns and what it needs to burn as a science type lesson. But for safety we did teach them not to do that themselves, but to get out of the house etc…via the fire drills…
Hey Erica! Thank you so much for sharing! I have been so encouraged by your blog as a new homeschooler and am so thankful. I am wondering f you are going to put your other Community Helper theme ideas up her through th year?
Of course! Police Officers are coming next ;o)
I just want to let you know what my husband learned at fire figther 1. He’s a volunteer firefighter in our town. He learned that most kids found in their bedroom are in hampers.. After he told me that, I removed all hampers from the kids room.. We had a serious talk with the kids about where to stand if they can’t get out of their bedrooms.
Good to know! Although our hampers are small little buckets, I doubt they could fit in LOL! But that is a good thing to know!
Love the look on Tinker Bell’s face in pic #1. Priceless!
I’ve been thinking about doing fire drills and a unit on fire safety. Thanks for some great additions!
Jennifer
we also did the fire experiment last week. my boys loved spraying candles out with a water bottle. 😉
Hi Erica,
This is my first time posting a comment but I’ve been happy to browse through your blog for a month now. I also homeschool my four wonderful children. Your unit study on fire safety mentioned things that I have over looked when teaching my kids. Thanks to your ideas we had our fire safety lesson yesterday and it went great! We even had role play as they pretended to call 911 in the event I couldn’t make the call. I pretended to answer the call. It was a great way to have my kids say their address well. Later that day while they were playing I surprised them as I called out and said “Fire Drill” I told them where in the house the pretend fire was and asked which way we should exit our house. We all evacuated the house quickly and headed together to our safe meeting place (which we learned that morning) our neighbors front porch. : )
Thanks for sharing your ideas and things that work for you and your family. It’s been very helpful!
~Maribel
Thank you so much for sharing this! We did this activity this week after visiting a fire station. My son loved it so much that he insisted we do it 3 or 4 times.
Here is our blog post about it:
http://gettinskooled.blogspot.com/2012/03/fire-safety-trip-to-fire-station.html
Thanks again, so much, for the idea and the thorough explanation!
Leslie
Hello Erica, I happened upon your blog this afternoon. I am a Deputy Fire Marshal and Fire and Life Safety Educator. I have been teaching preschool fire safety for over 25 years. Your demonstration is a good visual for the fire triangle – fuel, heat, oxygen. I have some suggestions for your fire safety lessons. For your very yougest children, make sure they understand that nobody touches anything that makes a fire except adults. A great number of very young children who are injured by fire are injured by fires they have started themselves. Everybody in the family should sleep with their bedroom doors closed. If you are trapped in the bedroom, keep the door closed, place a towel or rug against the bottom of the door and go to the window. Never open the window until you have closed the door. Remember, the fire needs air to burn. Also, everybody in the family should keep a flashlight next to their bed for emergencies. I wish all parents would be so pro-active when thinking about their family’s safety. If I can be any help with information or resources, let me know.
Thank you for this unit. We use Connections Academy (which is based off Calvert). Our social studies this week is fire safety; other than providing a blurb on talking to the kids about fire safety, the book really doesn’t offer a plan on teaching this.