Little Firefighter Unit

If you've seen ANY of my pictures on Facebook or Instagram lately or my Honestly Hawley posts, I'm certain that you've noticed that I live with a fireman.  Yep, I do. His name is FIREMAN DUTCH (and yes, this is how he introduces himself to friends, family, & even strangers.  Ellis even refers to him as this now lol).  So when I find something we like I capitalize on that to make learning fun & enjoyable (for everyone lol).  If you want to do a small topical unit on firefighters with your little one, it is a great opportunity to talk about fire safety (how to avoid it & what to do in case of an emergency, & what firefighters look like to prevent fear, etc.) Here are some resources that FIREMAN DUTCH would suggest to you:

FIELD TRIP!!! The easiest, & probably most important, objective to a lesson on firefighters would be "Stop, Drop, and Roll" and "When smoke goes UP, we go DOWN".  Additionally, I would recommend visiting your local station so that your child knows what firetrucks looks like in person (they are bigger & louder than toys) and meet the fire fighters, so that, heaven forbid, anything terrible happen you want your child to see a fire fighter as someone that is trying to help and not scary.  We've been a couple times to our fire station (Thank you Mr. Ben!) and we always check them out at parades & the grocery store.

Our Favorite Firetruck Activities: I knew that my littles LOVED firetrucks so I really used that as a medium for learning.  This past fall I used firetrucks as we learned the letters L (ladder), T (truck), and F (fire).  I could use one topic for several letters & it provided a lot for us to talk about & really use those letters in learning & play.

Firefighter Play Dough People (FREE Printable)- I laminated mine & Dutch plays with these after breakfast some mornings.

Create-A-Scene Firefighter- We have several versions of these play sets and not only are they fun and let my kids work on creativity, but they are also helpful in that one child can play with it while I work on something with another child.  Lots of fun in general, but with a firefighter theme Dutch is all-in!

Fire Fighter Printable- I love this pack & I have printed it several times.  It has so many great topics to teach with a fire fighter theme (numbers, counting, letter recognition, sight words, phonics, patterns, shapes, handwriting, etc).  We use these a lot with our dot markers.  Get a packet here!

The following are a list of manipulatives & hands-on activities we have used to talk about firetrucks:

Stacking emergency vehicles ~ Lunchbox ~ Megaphone & Helmet ~ Dry erase & tape workbook

Our Favorite Firetruck Books: I have said it before, and I will say it again, I will NEVER stop buying books.  In my opinion, there is no such thing as too many books when you're trying hard to help your children develop a passion for reading and learning.  In this case, less is not more ;-)

A Day At The Fire Station ~ The Fire Engine Book ~ Smokey The Fireman

Big Red Fire Engine ~ How Can I Help? God's Calling for Kids

The Fire House Book ~ You Can Be Anything! ~ Muddle & Match Jobs

I'm Brave! ~ Big Frank's Fire Truck

Mickey & Minnie Storybook Collection

Little Critter Fall Storybook Collection (or just the single story here)

Firefighters to the Rescue! ~ Curious George and the Firefighters 
Sesame Street: A Visit to the Firehouse

Ready, Set Rescue! ~ Noisy Fire Truck

Fire! Fire! ~ Firefighters ~ Emergency!

Our Favorite Firetruck Toys- If you know  me at all, or you have followed LTWH for a while, you know that I will always pick a wooden toy without lights or sound every. single. time.  I can't resist the opportunity to invite the imagination to play & I love to watch it blossom.  This wooden fire station was a hit as a Christmas gift. 
I'm sure y'all saw this set back in October from Halloween, well we're still wearing this set on the reg around there lol



Santa brought this firetruck, and it actually got stuck in the chimney because it was so big! Can you believe that?! ;-) HUGE hit in our house Christmas morning.  This was the "Major Award" in our house this Christmas (name that movie!!)
We also have been playing with these smaller trucks:
 Wooden firetruck with firefighters ~ Green Toys Firetruck ~ Lock & Key Emergency Vehicles
Between field trips, activities, manipulatives, books, & play we have learned so much and developed such an appreciation for firefighters.  It's no wonder our oldest has renamed himself FIREMAN DUTCH lol  I hope I've given you a lot of ideas on things that you could use for a unit on fire fighters with your little ones!  If you come across something that I need to bring into our classroom *PLEASE*  let me know.  I know a little boy, I mean firefighter, that would love it!