Petco was so fun, and they were so crazy excited about the fish! They seriously would have been thrilled, had that been the whole field trip! We also saw lizards, frogs, turtles, and tarantulas, and even got to pet the bearded dragon lizard. We also got to pet a ferret, and they loved how wiggly and cute he was, and he enjoyed sniffing all of us! We then watched the birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rats, and mice before looking at the cats before we left. They were all so well-behaved and we had so much fun!
The fire station was awesome too. The guys at South Davis Metro Fire here in Bountiful did such a good job with the kids. We watched a cartoon about fire safety and getting out of your house, then got our tour. We got to watch a fireman slide down the pole too. We got to check out the big truck and they let us touch everything, which we did! Everyone who wanted got a turn to "drive" the truck, and we got a group pic in the front. We even saw a fireman coming back from a job, still all dressed up in his gear. It was a little scary, but he was so nice. We each got a hat and a badge and it was so great!
We had such a short time after snack for free play before large group, and here's a few things we did:
Fire Station dramatic play
I got all the pictures from a training on dramatic play years ago and they were great. The kids loved the pictures of the real fires. I helped the kids the first day with the different roles like home owner, fire fighter/chief, and dispatcher. They were so cute as they'd call each other to tell the dispatcher their house was on fire, tell them which house, then the fire fighter kids would come spray it out. A simple thing like pictures of houses with house numbers, and the papers that matched them for the dispatcher were so great for their play and for extended math and literacy in the center. I helped them read the numbers, and fine the house and circle it on the paper so the fire fighters knew where to go. They have great imaginations and it was a great time for me to talk to them about calling 911, knowing your house number, and knowing that fire fighters will keep you safe and help you. Since at 3 years old, kids rarely know their phone numbers and addresses (and as many pointed out, don't know the passwords to unlock their parents' phones) we talked about how grown ups would help us get out of the house and call 911 because we always have someone older watching and taking care of us. This was a fun center and they loved it and spent most of their time playing here, especially right after being at the fire station. We even had a few fires in the igloo that they had to run over and put out.
Puzzles
We had 2 different fire truck floor puzzles and several community helper puzzles. They are getting better and better at figuring out how to put them together, and we always get a group helping, so we are learning to cooperate too.
Playdough
Just a favorite that's always asked for and played with almost daily.
Large Group
We read about heroes in our community and how "every day" people, like our neighbors, can be heroes. We talked about different jobs that people have and what they do to help us.
We read about a girl who wants to be a fire fighter like her dad.
We made patterns with community helpers' hats.
We practiced fire safety by learning to not play with anything that lights on fire, and to crawl low on the ground to get out of a fire. We practiced crawling to the door to get out of school if there were ever a fire, and I reassured them (over and over) I would always take care of them and we would be safe if something like that happened, as long as they listened and obeyed.
They had so many questions and concerns about getting out of their houses in a fire, like they saw in the video at the fire station, and I just reassured them their parents would always take care of them. It made me realize how important it is to have a plan in place and let them know what you'd do to get out of your house if you had a fire. It took me back to my own elementary school days and learning to have a family plan and being so scared! I encourage you all to talk to your kids about it and develop a family plan. We're going to be doing that here. It's about time I listen to the great advice from those fire fighters!
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