Five Alarm Field Trip

Yesterday, the Sunflowers walked to the park to meet firefighters Casey and Danny, and take a tour of their fire engine. The firefighters were positively dreamy great with the kids, and taught us all some important lessons in fire safety as it pertains to the preschool set. Most of these items were things that (I'm ashamed to admit) I had never thought about teaching my three year-old, so I'll jot 'em down here so you can share them with your own kids:

1) KNOW YOUR HOME ADDRESS - It's important for kids to be able to tell rescue workers where to go in case of an emergency.

2) IDENTIFY THE SOUND OF A SMOKE ALARM - Kids should be able to identify the sound of a smoke alarm and know that it means to evacuate the house. Fire fighter Casey asked if anyone's smoke detector had gone off when their parents were cooking. I will not tell you which children raised their hands.

3) CHOOSE A MEETING PLACE - When the alarm sounds, know where to safely meet up with your family (usually the front yard).

4) LET THE PROFESSIONALS RESCUE YOUR PETS - Kids should know not to stay inside (or run back into) a burning house for the sake of the family pet - let the firefighters rescue the animals when they arrive on scene. Ciaran told us his cat Al is so speedy he'll never need to be rescued, so that's a relief.

5) KNOW HOW TO DIAL 9-1-1- but only in emergencies.

6) FIREMEN ARE LIKE SUPERHEROES IN COSTUME - One of the firefighters put on his whole uniform so the kids would know what firefighters look like when they come to help you. Apparently, they've had trouble with kids thinking they're scary, loud and monster-like, and running away from help instead of toward it. The firefighters stressed that they're like superheroes - they wear funny costumes that make them look different, but they're always there to help.

Important things to review with your kiddos when you have a chance.

-Brooke

P.S. Y'all, it was so darn cold on this trip, I can't even tell you. We were all huddling together for warmth, and I was second-guessing my decision to leave Alabama and marry a furry mountain man.  It might be a good idea to leave an extra jacket on your child's hook at school in case of a sudden change in weather. 

P.P.S. I know the elementary kids are under-represented in terms of photos on this blog and on Shutterfly, but despite what my skeptical boss might tell you, I do have a full-time job and can't go on all the field trips. The Shutterfly site is set up so anyone can add photos to those albums. If you take pictures of a Sunflower Montessori event, you should feel free to contribute to the photo library.