Kiptown Firehouse • Standards • Books • Websites • Off-Screen Activities

The Kiptown Firehouse combines skills from all four of the previous locations, providing a variety of activities to practice and reinforce learning. At the Kiptown Firehouse, children practice problem-solving, testing predictions, following directions, and sorting skills.

 

Standards

Firehouse Main Screen

Standard: Social-Emotional Strand 4: Approaches to Learning Concept 1: Curiosity The child is inquisitive about new experiences. b. Shows interest in learning new things and trying new experiences. Back to top

Firehouse Activity 1

The child practices sorting items.

Standard: Mathematics Strand 5: Stucture and Logic Concept 1: Logic and Reasoning The child recognizes and describes relationships among/between objects relative to their observable attributes. a. Matches and sorts objects by one attribute (e.g. size, color, shape, use) Back to top

Firehouse Activity 2

The child practices following directions.

Standard: Language and Literacy Strand 1: Oral Language Development Concept 1: Listening and Understanding The child listens with understanding to directions, stories, and conversations. b. Follows directions that involve      • One step Back to top

Firehouse Activity 3

The child practices testing predictions.

Standard: Science Strand 1: Inquiry Concept 2: Investigation (Scientific Testing) The child tests predictions through exploration and experimentation. b. Tests predictions through active experimentations Back to top

Firehouse Activity 4

The child practices problem solving.

Standard: Social Emotional Strand 4: Approaches to Learning Concept 5: Problem-solving The child demonstrates the ability to seek solutions to problems. b. Recognizes problems Back to top

Books

Books Bridwell, Norman. Clifford The Firehouse Dog. New York, 1994: Scholastic, Inc.

Gibbons, Gail. Fire! Fire! New York: Harper Collins, 1987.

Hilton, Dayna. Sparkles, The Fire Safety Dog. Clarksville, AR: Firehouse Dog Publishing, 2008.

Massie, Diane Redfield. The Baby Beebee Bird. New York: Harper Collins, 1978.

Murphy, Stuart J. 3 Little Firefighters (Mathstart Series). New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Petrosino, Tamara. Cat Show (All Aboard Math Reader) New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 2003.

Rockwell, Anne. Fire Engines. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1986.

Simon, Norma. FireFighters. New York: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1998.

Wells, Rosemary. Bunny Cakes. New York: Hyperion Books, 1997.

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Websites

• PBS Kids Between the Lions “Anywhere Games”

• Starfall.com: Every Day is Earth Day

• PBS Kids Sprout “Firehouse Safety”

• BBC Tikkabilla

• Sparky the Firedog

• PBS Kids Arthur: “Fire Safety”

• Sesame Street Workshop Elmo’s Fire Safety Game

• Arizona Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting

• Scholastic, Inc. Building Language for Literacy

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Off-Screen Activities

Silly Sassy Dress Up Time!

The skill of learning to follow directions is an important one. You can play a fun and silly dress up game with children to reinforce this skill. Collect an assortment of clothing and place it in a pile in the center of the floor. Include items such as hats, glasses, necklaces, socks, shoes, ties, ribbons, sweaters, shirts, coats, shorts, pants, bathing suits, and goggles. You can also include costumes or props in the pile. Give children one step directions such as, “Put the green hat on your head,” or “Put the purple striped socks on your feet.” Variations on the dress up game include having several children take turns giving and receiving directions, giving tokens for each direction followed correctly and switching roles when the number ten is achieved, taking pictures of the silly costumes the children have created, and involving other family members in the dress up game.

Sort It Out!

Practice sorting skills with your child as you perform your daily tasks. Ask your child to help you sort the laundry. First, sort by color. Make distinct piles as you sort. For example, you might say, “Put all the red clothes here in this pile. Now put all the blue clothes in this pile.” Then, change the attribute you are sorting by. Ask your child to sort the clothes by the person they belong to. For example, you might say, “Put all your clothes in this basket” or “Put your brother’s clothes in this basket.”

Have your child brainstorm additional ideas about how to sort things. You might do this with groceries, toys, shoes, etc. For example, when you are finished grocery shopping, unpack the items and spread them out on the table. Ask your child how you might sort the items. You might begin by saying, “Let’s place all the fruit here on this side of the table. What else can we sort by?”

What Do You Think Will Happen?

Inquiry is an important science skill that children can develop as they observe the world around them. Look for examples in daily activities that help children predict, explore, and experiment. Fill a cup with water so that is almost completely full and begin pouring more water into it. As you begin, ask your child, “What do you think will happen?” Make a prediction. Let’s experiment and see what happens.” Then test the prediction by pouring the water into the cup until it overflows. Use the words, predict, explore and experiment as you encourage your child’s inquiries. You might conduct experiments at the park, as you add weight to one side of a see saw. Or you might investigate what would happen as you slide flat rocks and round rocks down an incline, and ask your child to make predictions and experiment with additional rocks.

The Mixed Up Kitchen: Find a Problem and Solve It!

Role-playing is a great activity to engage your child in active learning experiences. To encourage children to recognize problems and seek solutions, create a series of problems for your child to solve in your kitchen. Tell the child that he or she is going to act like a detective and solve problems. Begin by blocking the path to the sink with a chair or end table. Put milk out on the counter. Put cereal bowls and glasses upside down on the kitchen table. Tape the door to the refrigerator closed. Place a pair of socks in the sink. Tell your child that he or she is going to have to find the problems in the mixed up kitchen and solve them. You can vary this game by changing locations in the house, or going outside and creating problems. You can also have the child design problems for you to solve.

Firehouse Theme Birthday Party

As a final activity to support what your child has learned in the Kiptown Firehouse, you may wish to host a birthday party with a firehouse theme. Involve your child in the planning. For example, you might ask, “What are some of the things you learned about firefighters in the Kiptown Firehouse?” and talk about different ideas and concepts. A great way to begin is by designing firehouse invitations. You may wish to trace the drawings from the Kiptown Firehouse printables. You can have your child write names on the invitations and color them. Decorating a fire truck cake is easy to do by using licorice ropes for hoses, black licorice or pretzel rods for ladders, M & Ms for the instrument panel, and gum drops or jelly beans for the lights and sirens.

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