Field Trip to the Fire Station 2012

Last week we attended a field trip to the local fire department with our local homeschool group. The kids had a blast! 

We split up into four rotations. The first rotation took us in this room where the kids drew a floorplan of their house, chose a "meeting spot" outside in case of a fire, and drew their escape plan. I honestly never thought of having them do this and it was eye opening to see how far the kids would have to go to a door they can open. Next step is to get rope ladders! Although I do admit telling my 2 year old to go to the mailbox in case of a fire sounded rather scary. Ya know, the get saved from the fire but hit by the car kind. ;)

Of course when they asked for volunteers to demonstrate "stop, drop, cover, and roll" J was all over it. Love her!

Second rotation brought us outside to use a fire hose. They absolutely loved it!

 Rotation #3 brought us to a demonstration of a fire suit. E got chosen to try it on. She said it was quite heavy! After that all the kids got to try on the heavy fire hat. We ended this rotation with a viewing of the 9/11 memorial, a piece of the floor of the Twin Tower. Being so close to 9/11 it was a great introduction to the day for E.

 Our last rotation was exploring the fire truck. I would say this was a highlight but it seems everything was!

 And these are the days I am so very grateful for homeschooling. Learning is about touching, feeling, and experiencing. Love it!