For the week before Z’s birthday party I knew he would be focused on one thing: firetrucks and firefighters. We have been planning a firetruck/firefighter themed bday party for awhile now. Even though we had to downsize it to mostly close family we knew it would still be a special day for him. So firetrucks and fire safety it was.

We did a sensory bin of water beads and red measuring cups with a few small firetrucks. Z loved the water beads, pretending he was putting out fires with the trucks.

We did a few worksheet and paper activities including sorting different sized fire extinguishers from small to big, he is still learning what middle means.

Z enjoyed a number puzzle which when put in the right order from 1-10 showed a picture of a firetruck. He also had fun practicing his pen skills “shooting” water from the hose to the fire, and practicing his scissors skills helping the firetrucks get from one location to another.

He is also doing a great job learning patterns.

We also got out a toy firemen belt and learned about the equipment firemen use. Z  read several book (repeatedly) and watched shows on firehouses, the routine of firemen while on duty, and the different vehicles and tools firefighters use to fight fires.

For craft time he decided not to paint, so he instead helped me put together table decorations for his birthday party: black beans to represent coal in the bottom of clear buckets-then layers of tissue paper to look like a fire with a LED candle in the middle.

What surprised me the most was how well he focused when we talked about fire safety. He actually was excited to explain to both sets of grandparents-separately about the topic while giving them a tour of our house.

I showed Z where our the fire alarms were, why and when they go off, and what they sounds like. I then explained how to stay low when there is smoke and that the best way to get out of the house may be windows (we have some low enough that he knows how to  get out on his own). We talked about how once everyone is safely out of the house we can call for help.

We learned a poem that explained how to stop drop and roll that Z still enjoys singing even now. We also used our pop up tunnel to practice crawling through smoke.  Z is still really enjoying putting on his firetruck hat, giving other hats to us, and using his firetruck and other toys to pretend to put out fires all over the house.