10 Easy Fire Safety Crafts to Teach Preschoolers about Fire Prevention
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As a preschool teacher or parent, it is important to teach children about fire safety and prevention. However, traditional methods of teaching can be boring and unengaging for young children. That’s where fire safety crafts come in – they provide a fun and interactive way for children to learn about fire safety while also fostering creativity and imagination. In this blog post, we have compiled a list of 10 easy fire safety crafts that you can do with your preschoolers.
These crafts are simple and require minimal materials, making them perfect for both classroom and home settings. By incorporating these crafts into your teaching or parenting, you can help your children understand the importance of fire safety and prevention in a fun and engaging way. Let’s get started!
Since we planned a nature hike last week, I decided to postpone our fire safety fun until this week. It was actually pretty good because I was able to incorporate our “orange” with it.
Create a Firefighter Hat
Creating a firefighter hat is a simple yet fun way to teach preschoolers about fire safety and prevention. All you need is some red construction paper, scissors, glue, and a black marker.
First, cut the construction paper into a long strip that will fit around the child’s head. Then, cut out a large circle from the construction paper to make the hat’s brim. Glue the circle onto one end of the strip.
Next, cut out a smaller circle from the red construction paper and glue it onto the opposite end of the strip to make the hat’s top.
Finally, use the black marker to draw a badge on the front of the hat and write “Firefighter” in bold letters across the badge.
This simple craft not only teaches children about fire prevention but also encourages them to role-play as firefighters, helping to instill a sense of responsibility and bravery in them.
Draw & Color a Fire Escape Plan
Teaching young children about fire safety is crucial in ensuring their safety and well-being. One way to help them understand the importance of fire prevention is to encourage them to draw and color a fire escape plan. This activity is not only fun but also informative, as it helps children visualize the steps they need to take in case of a fire emergency.
To get started, provide the children with paper and crayons or markers. Explain to them the importance of having a fire escape plan and how it can help them stay safe in case of a fire. Show them examples of fire escape plans and discuss the different components, such as the exits, meeting points, and emergency numbers.
Encourage the children to use their imaginations and creativity to draw their own fire escape plans. They can draw a floor plan of their house or classroom and mark the exits with arrows. They can also draw a meeting point outside their home or classroom, such as a tree or a neighbor’s house.
As the children draw and color their fire escape plans, you can discuss fire safety tips and reinforce the importance of practicing fire drills with their families. Once the children have completed their fire escape plans, display them in a visible area to remind them of the importance of fire safety.
The first thing we did on Tuesday was to introduce the smoke alarm and fire extinguisher. I have a smoke detector that I bring to the opening with me and ask the children if they know what it is; some do and some don’t. Then comes the tricky part. I push the button so that they can hear what the alarm sounds like. Some of them do NOT like this at all, but I feel it’s important for them to hear how loud it would sound and what type of sound it makes.
We then talked about what we should do if we hear the smoke detector. Their response was, “Get out!” (They’re so smart!) This is when we do our fire escape plan. Again, another tricky aspect. I have had a few children over the years actually think we were escaping a real fire and became frightened. I try to make sure they understand what we are doing, but there are usually a few that are still skeptical. Especially when we are traveling through parts of the church we have never been to before–we have lots of ways to escape.
After, our fire escape drills we have a scavenger hunt. We travel through the church complex looking for smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. This is fun. They get so excited when they find one.
Our Pre-K teacher also came up with a fun water table activity. She made flames out of foam and taped them to the water table. The children used spray bottles to put the flames out with water.
Make a Fire Truck Craft
Making a fire truck craft is not only a fun activity for preschoolers, but it is also a great way to teach them about fire prevention. To make a fire truck craft, you will need some basic craft supplies such as construction paper, scissors, glue, and markers.
Start by asking the children to draw the outline of a fire truck on a piece of construction paper. They can then cut it out using scissors. Next, they can add details such as wheels, windows, and doors using markers. For added effect, you can also provide them with some shiny foil or glitter to make the lights and sirens on the truck stand out.
As the children are making the fire truck craft, you can talk to them about the role of fire trucks and firefighters in preventing and putting out fires. You can explain to them that fire trucks carry important equipment such as hoses, ladders, and axes that are used to rescue people and put out fires. You can also emphasize the importance of calling 911 in case of an emergency and following fire safety rules such as not playing with matches or lighters.
The activity I did this week incorporated our color orange. I gave the children some paper and put some yellow and red paint on it and let them create some orange flames finger paint style. Then on Thursday, we added our shape fire truck.
Gluing on our fire truck was our first experience with something other than a glue stick–sorry Mom and Dad. I hope their pictures have dried.
I am lucky enough to have a couple of parents from the local fire department in my class this year. They are going to bring an ambulance and fire gear to the school the last week of October. They are also going to allow the children to get up close and personal with it so that they can be comfortable and unafraid–I thank them tremendously.
Make a Fire Safety Poster
Making a fire safety poster can be an engaging and educational activity for preschoolers. Start by gathering some craft materials such as colorful paper, markers, stickers, and glue. Then, talk to the children about the importance of fire safety and what they should do in case of a fire emergency. Encourage them to come up with their own ideas and designs for the poster, maybe by drawing or cutting out pictures of firefighters, fire trucks, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers.
You can also write important fire safety messages such as “Stop, Drop, and Roll,” “Get Low and Go,” and “Call 911” on the poster. Remind the children to use bright colors and bold letters to make their posters stand out. Once everyone has finished their posters, hang them up in the classroom or around the school to promote fire safety awareness. This activity not only teaches preschoolers about fire prevention but also helps them develop their creativity and communication skills.
Fire Prevention
This week we are devoting a lot of time to fire prevention because it is Fire Prevention Week. Unfortunately, with only having two days at school, we don’t get to get into as much detail as I would like, but we try.
We began by introducing the children to a smoke detector–what’s the sound it makes, what does it look like, where can we find one, and what should we do when we hear it? These are some questions that I posed to the children. I had a smoke detector there and we took a look at it. Then we pressed the button and heard the very loud noise it made. I was amazed and happy that many children did know when you hear the smoke detector, you get out. So after we heard the sound, we had a fire drill. I pushed the button, the children stopped what they were doing, we lined up, and found our way out of the building. We actually did two fire drills to find two different ways out.
After the fire drill, we took a walk through the church complex to find all the smoke detectors we could–it was great fun and they found quite a few. We also looked for fire extinguishers–probably one of the hardest words they have been introduced to yet–but again, their excitement when finding one was great.
We also talked about who we call when we suspect there is a fire–those wonderful firefighters. How do the firefighters get to a fire? They get to ride that exciting fire truck, so that was our craft for the day.
It is a very basic fire truck made out of shapes. Because we have not done a lot of formal scissor skills, I have all the pieces cut out for the children already. I also have the lines drawn on the ladder and a preprinted firefighter to put in the cab.