Firefighters: Love to Learn About Community Helpers
with Free Printables

Firefighters put their lives on the line for us each and every day. It is essential that we teach our children about the sacrifices they make to help others.

Schedule a visit to the fire station. Call first to see if they welcome visitors and what a good time would be to stop by. If the first station you call doesn’t welcome visitors, then try another one. I know there are many stations that would love to have you visit. One thing to ask, is if someone would be willing to put on a full set of fire gear. It is very important for children to know what a firefighter might look like if one would have to save them from a fire. Children need to be taught not to run and hide from them but to go to them.

I like to start my learning activities with a book and I recommend you do the same. There are a few listed below in the Story Time section. If you have another book, that you really like, please share it with me.

Below you will also find a craft and some ideas for pretend play. Be sure to enjoy this time of exploration and learning with your child.

Content:

Playtime
Fun Sheet
Craft
Story Time
Videos
Related Posts
Acknowledgements

Playtime

Does your child have a fire station or fire truck to play with? I love the Fisher Price Rescue Heroes. They were very popular with my preschool classes. I just scored several of them at a Goodwill Store. You would have thought I won the lottery. Playmobil was another things my preschoolers loved. They have a fire station and fire trucks.

Dress up is a fun way to explore the world of firefighters. Dress up is fun for boys and girls alike. I like to look for costumes after Halloween. That’s when they are really inexpensive.

DIY Firefighter Costume Idea

I originally found this adorable D.I.Y. Firefighter costume on Parties for Pennies, but I recently discovered that the blog has gone out of business and is no longer online. I still want to share the picture here so you can get an idea of something you could create on your own.

If I remember correctly, she used a pair of black sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt for the base of the costume. Yellow duct tape was added to the pant legs for the reflective stripes and possibly used to make the suspenders as well. I’ve purchased firefighter hats like these at Dollar Tree in the past, which makes the costume both easy and inexpensive.

I don’t recall exactly how she made the hose, but it looks like something you could easily adapt with simple craft supplies. If you have creative ideas for making one, I’d love for you to share them in the comments!

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Fun Sheet

I have created a fun sheet to do with your child. Have your child color the firefighter and then color only the items that the firefighter would use. Don’t color the items that the firefighter would not use. Click on the picture to get the downloadable fun sheet.

The fun sheet is a great way for your child to develop their fine motor skills, as they color. They will learn to follow directions and will also reinforce what they have learned about firefighters.

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Craft

Fire Truck Shape Craft

Materials Needed:

Fire Truck template
Crayons, markers or paint
Paint brushes
Scissors
Glue stick
Optional:
magnets
lamination

Instructions:

I have given you several free downloadable templates to use with this craft. I had so many different ideas of things you could do, I just had to include it all.

First of all, you can use it as a simple craft.

1. Print the fire truck with no color
2. Print the fire truck shapes (with no words and no color)
3. Let your child color or paint the pieces.
4. Cut out the pieces. (either they can do this or you can, depending on where your child is developmentally)
5. Glue the pieces to the fire truck.

* Another option would be to print the truck shapes with color and cut them out. Then let your child glue those shapes on.
** You could also cut the shapes out of construction paper and let your child glue them to the fire truck.

Another way to play with this is to make a puzzle out of it.

1. Print the fire truck with color.
2. Print the fire truck shapes with color.
3. Laminate both sheets. (I get my laminating done at a nearby teacher’s store)
4. Cut out the fire truck shapes.
5. Add magnets to the back of the fire truck picture and to each of the pieces.
6. Now your child can do the “puzzle” on a cookie sheet.

*You could also print the fire truck with no color for some extra puzzle fun.

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Story Time

DK Readers: Jobs People Do — A Day in a Life of a Firefighter (Level 1: Beginning to Read) by Linda Hayward
Reading Level: Ages 5 – 7 yrs old

Follow Rob Green as he goes through his day as a firefighter. Rob will have to be away from his family for a full day (24 hours). This book covers a couple of duties that Rob might have that I haven’t seen covered in other firefighter books. It explains that the firemen have to inspect restaurants and stores to make sure they are safe and have the simple fire equipment they need to keep customers safe. It also talks about a class having a field trip to the fire station. The firemen will also get to go put a fire out. Rob even sleeps at the firestation. This will be a fun way for your child to learn about firemen and the jobs they have to perform.

A Day in the Life of a Firefighter (Kids’ Career Library) by Mary Bowman-Kruhm and Claudine G. Wirths
Reading Level: Ages 5 and up

If your child is looking for a little more information about firefighters and not just a simple introduction, this would be the book to go to. This book explains the responsibilities of firefighters and the equipment they need but with a little more detail than some other books. If you have an inquisitive child that loves to sit and listen, I would recommend this book.

A Day with Firefighters by Jan Kottke
Reading Level: Ages 2 – 6 yrs old

This is a great book to introduce your little one to the responsibilities of firefighters. It has very simple text but covers the basic information your child will need. The illustrations are actual pictures of firefighters on the job. On another note, I was surprised when I picked up this book at the library. It came in a plastic bag with some paperwork and a DVD. I thought it was a movie of the book but that’s not what it was as all. It was actually a video of someone using American Sign Language to share the book with deaf children. It turns out there is an organization called The Shared Reading Project. The video is to help parents be able to effectively share books with their deaf child so they can become lifelong readers. You can search your library’s website for The Shared Reading Project and you will find several titles to choose from.

Fighting Fires: See More Readers Level 1 by Seymour Simon
Reading Level: Ages 3 to 7 yrs old

If you have a child that is really interested in different types of trucks then he/she will love this book. It doesn’t just talk about fire trucks in general but names and gives you pictures of the different types of fire trucks and the special job each of them does. I especially like the fact that the book explains how people used to pass buckets of water by hand to put out fires. This book impressed me because it covers fire fighting from a different angle than most books.

Fire Fighter! (DK Readers) – Level 2 by Angela Royston
Reading Level: Ages 6 – 8 yrs old

Your child will enjoy the excitement in this book as the firefighters do their jobs. It starts out as a quiet day in the firehouse. Your child will get to see the different things found in the firehouse. Then the alarm goes off and they head to a fire. They are worried that a child might be trapped in the burning house. Your child will get to hear about the different things a firefighter might experience while searching through a burning house for a trapped person. There are several different side notes and pictures of the equipment the firefighters use. This is a very sweet and informative book.

Firefighter (Benchmark Rebus) by Dana Meachen Rau
Reading Level: Ages 2 to 6 years old

I love the books by Dana Meachen Rau that are put out by Benchmark Rebus. They are so simple and easy to understand. I like the fact that they use pictures instead of words as part of the text. It will make your little one proud that they are helping with the story. In this book we learn about the many things that firefighters do and the equipment they use. This is a very cute book to introduce the job of firefighters to your child.

Fire Fighters (Community Helpers) by Dee Ready
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up

This is a great book to introduce your child to the responsibilities of a fire fighter. The illustrations are actual pictures of fire fighters doing their many jobs. The text is simple; just a few clear sentences to each illustration. Once you share this book with your child, they will have a better understanding of what fire fighters do and the things they need to perform their jobs.

  Firefighters (Neighborhood Helpers) by Cecilia Minden
Reading Level: Ages 5 and up

A little girl, named Elizabeth, believes she may want to be a firefighter when she grows up. She wants to learn all she can about being a firefighter. You will find a lot of information in this book about what firefighters do and the equipment they use. It even talks about some of the education they need. Although there is a lot of text in this book it is broken down into subtopics so if your child has a short attention span or just needs a break, it is easy to stop and start up again. There is a lot of additional information along the sides of the pages too. If I had a child that was really interested in firefighters I would definitely share this book with them.

  Fire Fighters: A to Z (Community Helpers) by Jean Johnson
Reading Level: Ages 5 to 8 yrs old

Every letter of the alphabet represents something a firefighter uses or does. There are a lot of wonderful pictures of firemen at work. The illustrations are in black and white but they are still very interesting. There is quite a bit of information about firefighters including an extra section in the back called “More About Fire Fighters”. I would recommend this book whether learning about firefighters or just wanting to reinforce alphabet recognition.

I’m Going to Be a Fire Fighter by Edith Kunhardt
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up

This story is about three little girls whose daddy is a firefighter. They get to go to work with him one day and they share all the things that their daddy does on the job. You will see some of the tools he uses and the many different aspects of his job. The illustrations are actual photographs of the firefighter at work and with his family. This is a fun way to learn about firefighters.

  I Want To Be A Firefighter by Dan Liebman
Reading Level: Ages 3 – 7 yrs old

This book has wonderful photos of firefighters at work. The text is simple which makes it nice for a younger child. Although the text is simple there is plenty of information to help your little one learn about firefighters. Not only does this book talk about building fires but it also talks about forest fires and fires on boats. You child will learn a lot from this simple but informative book.

  I Want to Be a Firefighter by Stephanie Maze
Reading Level: Ages 8 yrs old and up

This book is for a little older child. There is plenty of text and a lot of pictures describing the life and job of a firefighter. Your child will learn about the different places firefighters are needed, such as in urban areas or out in the brush putting out wildfires. Your child will also learn about the different kinds of training that a firefighter needs. There are a lot of interesting pictures of firefighters in action. If your child is a little older and interested in firefighters this will be a great book for them.

Uncle Rocky, Fireman by James Burd Brewster
Reading Level: Ages 3 and up

Uncle Rocky, Fireman is actually a series of books about Rocky Hill and his fire station. As of this moment, I have only read the first book but I can’t wait to get hold of more of the series. I love the use of sound words such as vroom, vroom and clang, clang, clang. Children love making noises and this story definitely encourages that. I love that the author uses technical terms without making the story difficult to follow. Your child will learn new words like turnout coat and smoke inhalation. I hope you enjoy following the adventures of Uncle Rocky as much as I did.

  We Need Fire Fighters (Helpers in Our Community) by Lola M. Schaefer
Reading Level: Ages 3 and up

This is a simple little book that makes a great introduction to fire fighters. There is just one sentence per page. Each page shows a picture and explains something about fire fighters. You get information about the jobs they do and the things they need to carry out their work.

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Videos

Fireman Sam – distributed by Lionsgate
Recommended for ages 3 to 6 yrs old Fireman Sam is a British animated children’s show. It is about Fireman Sam, the other firemen at his fire station and the townspeople of Pontypandy. Each episode deals with some aspect of a fireman’s job. The ones I watched covered things like forest fires, a fire because of paper close to the stove and fire prevention. I believe your child will enjoy these videos and learn a lot about being safe with fires while having fun at the same time.

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Related Posts

Community Helpers – Overview
Doctors: Love to Learn About Community Helpers
Dentists: Love to Learn About Community Helpers
Police Officers: Love to Learn About Community Helpers

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Acknowledgements

Some of the images for the Fun Sheet were created by Charlotte’s Clips
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Charlottes-Clips-4150

Some of the images for the Fun Sheet were created by Whimsy Clips
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whimsy-Clips

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