Stop…Drop…Roll

Today was all about Fire Safety! The kids have been looking forward to it since I told them Tuesday they were coming!

Firefighters Frank, and Adam were so good to come directly to our preschool and teach the kids some of the important essentials of Fire Safety!

The first thing the kids asked to see was, The Hose…

Then Firefighter Adam showed us some of the other important tools on the Fire Truck…

He talked to us about the importance of having an ABC Fire Extinguisher. He told the kids to ask their parents if they had one in their homes. If they didn’t, he told them that it is really important that we get one.

Did the know the red bottle is called an ABC Extinguisher {to put out the 3 different types of tire. A, B, C}, and the chrome extinguisher is called a Can, and it contains water.

I don’t remember what this tool was called, but it is to poke through a ceiling, and the hook will pull some of it down so they can see what they are working with.

Firefighter Frank showed us the “Jaws of Life” and explained that sometimes when they are trying to rescue them they will have to use really noisy equipment, but they they are just trying to help, and not to be scarred.

After the kids looked at the truck then Firefighter Frank came in the house and talked to us about some of the important things to remember:

• Stop, Drop and Roll if your clothes are on fire.
• Fall & Crawl to get out of the house as fast as possible
• If you are trapped, and can’t get out-it is really important to stay where you are, and scream for HELP and make lots and lots of noise.
• Call 9-1-1 if you see that yours or someone else’s house in on fire.
• To not be scared if they hear lots of banging noises, the fireman are trying to put out the fire, and get you out of danger.
• The first places a fireman will look for you is in your bedroom, or the bathroom tub.
• Have a plan. Planning how your family will get out in case of a fire, and where you will meet together-could just save your life.
• Before you open a door, you need to feel it with the back of your hand. If it is HOT, DO NOT open the door. Stay where you are, fall and crawl, and make lots and lots of noise.

Soon Adam came to join us in the house…

in all of his fire fighting gear. He wanted the kids to see that even with all of this scary looking stuff on, it was still him underneath it, and that they don’t need to be scared. They are there to help. The kids got to try some of the heavy equipment on…

Emma with the oxygen mask…

Bridger with the helmet…

Deegan with the helmet…

Addi with the helmet…

Emma with the helmet…

(Taylor didn’t want to try it on)

THANKS SO MUCH to Adam & Frank for taking time out of there busy days to teach our class. We sure appreciate everything you did today, and what you do everyday!!!

STOP…DROP…ROLL…

 

This class is made up of the BEST Fire Chief a station could ask for…

Please continue to talk to your little ones about Fire Safety. Make a plan, and get your home a fire extinguisher! That’s what Firefighter Adam gave to the kids are “homework.”  What a great day today was!!!

Alphabet Review, Site Words, and more…

Today I decided that I would do and uppercase/lowercase letter matching activity. What I did was print out all of the uppercase letters on a single paper. Then I cut out all of the lowercase letters and they had to glue the lowercase letters next to the proper uppercase letters. They all did pretty well for the most part. There are some of these “tricky” letters that they struggled with a little bit. Like p,b,q, d or u,n, l,or t. to name a few. So this might be a good activity to do with them, or let them do when they are board at home. If you want me to email you a PDF format of this simple activity, then let me know and I will be glad to {leave a comment, or email me at parkfamily@live.com}.

They all light up when they get it right. Makes me smile from ear to ear!!!

     

Then it was on to site words. We did a review/lesson of the words that we have been practicing; of, play, it, he, you, in, I, to, have, and, a, said, is, the, for and that. For the most part your child knows these words.They may need a little encouragement from time to time, or sounding out words like “that.” I will continue to review these. We will start doing some reading in the next coming weeks using these words. Simple sentences like  “I have a jump rope,” he said, are some examples. This sentence is made up 5 site words. For “jump” and “rope” we will sound these words out.

After all of the learning they were just “starving,” so it was time for another snack! Ham & cheese sandwiches hit the spot.

It really was a great day! Thanks for having such smart little kiddos!

9-1-1, site words, and Names

It makes me happy when I see that a concepts I have been teaching your kids this year is starting to make since to them. One of the concepts that have been a little challenging for them to completely understand is “yesterday” and “tomorrow.” I am so happy to say that I think they have it down {for the most part.}

Today is…Tuesday

Yesterday was… Monday

Tomorrow is… Wednesday

After our regular morning routine, today we focused on 9-1-1. Teaching young children how to properly call 9-1-1 for help in am emergency is invaluable. Many lives have been saved because a child was taught how and when to make that important call.
I ordered this learning resource and was excited when it arrived. It is everything that I thought it would be and more. The kids loved the little movie narrated by Cell Phone Sally.  In the movie they learned about the different types of phones:

1. Corded Landline Phones: These phones have cords that looks like a tail and attaches to the wall, or sits on a desk. Some have a curly cord that attaches the handset to the phone. To call 9-11- from one of these phone they just need to pick it up, wait for a dial tone, and push 9-1-1.
2. Cordless Landline Phones: These phones have no curly cords, and can be taken all over the house. These phones may not work if the power is out. To call 9-1-1 on the phones, press ON or TALK button, listen for a dial tone, and then push 9-1-1. PLEASE make sure your child knows which button is ON or TALK.
3. Cell Phones: There are many variations of cell phones. To call for help, push the 9 button, then the 1 button, and 1 again, then press the SEND button. Explain to them that the SEND button or ON button may simply be a green icon. PLEASE show your child the send button on your cell phone. It may save your life.
4. Kid-Friendly Phones: These phones have a special 9-1-1 button for emergencies. Just hold it down and it dials 9-1-1 automatically.
5. Payphone: They learned that they do not need money to call 9-1-1 from a payphone. The 9-1-1 call taker will know exactly where they are when you place a call on a payphone. Just pick up the phone and listen for a dial tone, and press 9-1-1.

Along with how to call on the different types of phones, they learned when to call 9-1-1 for help. We discussed what is a true emergency. When something serious happens and help is needed from the police, fire fighters, or paramedics, such as a fire, car accident or a burglar. It was also important to discuss what is NOT an emergency. Examples we discussed {as well as the movie} are boy chasing his dog in field, child with dripping ice cream, bike with a flat tire, water overflowing in the bathtub, or children fighting over a toy.
They learned that when they call 9-1-1 they need to:

• tell the operator where help is needed
• tell the operator what’s wrong, or what the emergency is
• tell them their name
• tell them their phone number
• remain call
• stay on the phone until the operator says it’s okay to hang up
• speak loud and clearly when they ask questions

The movie has a cute little catchy song. We learned the chorus of it today:

“You don’t have to worry just pick up the phone, press 9 -1-1 and your never along. Getting help is easily done, as easy as 9-1-1.”

After we were done with our Safety Lesson, it was on to our site words. Over the last month I have been introducing some of them to the kids. I haven’t spend a great deal of time focusing on them yet, but have explained that the letters we are learning form words. Today we focused on HAVE and HE. We also reviewed the other words that I have introduce; a, and, for, have, he, I, in, is, it, of, play, said, that, the, to and you. Look at them writing the words…

Such SMART little cookies. I love watching them learn and experience something new. Makes me happy!!!
My little sister registered her little boy for Kindergarten yesterday. As we were discussing it she mentioned that as they were doing the “skills test” that he was asked to write his name. This I expected. But, they told him that only the 1st letter of his name should be capitalized, and the others should be lowercase {and the same instruction was given for his last name}. So today we focused on writing their names “properly.” This will be a little bit of a challenge as they are in a habit of writing mainly with uppercase letters. Check out how well they did though…

Today was a FANTASTIC day. Please continue to work with your little ones on the things we did today.

G is for Groundhog

I was so excited for Groundhogs Day this year.Not because it is a holiday that I look forward to, but because I had some fun things planned for the kids. BUT… have it as it may, 2 of my kids came down with a cruddy cold, and we had to cancel preschool that day. So the following week I decided that we would still highlight the little groundhog.

• If the groundhog sees his shadow winter will last another 6 weeks.
• If he doesn’t see his shadow, then spring is on his way.
• Punxsutawney’s most famous groundhog Phil predicted an early spring.
• This is his 125th annual weather prediction.
• Phil has seen his shadow 98 times, and hasn’t seen it just just 16 times since 1887.

I am so impressed with the way all 5 of them are learning. They have overcome some of the hurdles that they had in front of them when we first started this school year.

For a craft today what better then a groundhog that comes out of his hole and can or can not see his shadow!!!

Meet my little groundhog… Isn’t he just so darn cute!

What is it about kids and painting that makes them so excited? They all love it so much. So this project was a huge hit, even if the only colors they used were brown & green.

Happy Groundhog Day! I hope Phil is right, and spring is on it’s way.

{In out neck of the woods, it doesn’t seem to promising}

S is for SNAKE

Slimy…Slithery…Scary…Sneaky little SNAKES!!! That is what we talked about today! I do not like snakes…not one little bit! BUT today, snakes were  fun, exciting, and even soooooooo  cute! 

First though, writing the letter S, and s. The kids thought this was pretty fun, and enjoyed the little chant we sang while they were learning how to write them.

Start at the top, top, top,

Loop to the left,

Loop to the right,

Loop to the left,

Then stop, stop, stop!!!

 

We are so glad that Miss Jessica {Deegan’s Mom} could come and help us today. We had a big project that would require an extra set of big hands. THANKS so much to her.

For our Arts & Crafts today we make SNAKES out of old ties. They turned out so cute! See for yourselves…

Here we are stuffing and filling our snakes. This is the part where an extra set of hands came in very handy.  

It was a lot of work, but the finished project was worth all of the stuffing, and fluffing of these stinkin’ cute snakes!

SSSSSSSSSSSS  is for SNAKE!!!