Fire Prevention Week

*This post is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association and Sparky the Fire Dog® 

Good Morning and Happy Weekend!  Did you know that October 4-10 is Fire Prevention Week?  It's vital that we as educators teach our students about fire prevention and fire safety.  When children are informed on this topic, they know what to expect and what action to take should they ever face a real fire.  

In the past, I've shown my students videos about fire safety, had discussions and did a few activities.  I recently took some time to check out two great websites, Sparky.org and SparkySchoolhouse.org, both of which are loaded with Fire Prevention resources.  Sparky is a website that was created for parents and their children.  Sparky Schoolhouse was created specifically for educators.  Both sites feature content appropriate for grades k-5, but specifically focuses on grades k-2.  I'll share what I liked about both below.

Sparky

The first thing I noticed about the Sparky website was the ability to filter material by grade level.  Once filtered by first grade, I checked out some fire safety videos.  I watched one on safety in the kitchen as well as one called "I Spy Fire Safety."  I found the videos to be age-appropriate, relevant, and short/to the point.  The images in the video are clear and visually appealing.

Sparky also has a large "activities" section, which contains printables such as mazes, coloring pages, bookmarks, and more.  

I checked out the "firetrucks" section of the website.  This is where kids can explore different fire trucks, as well as their parts.

There is a games/app section on the website, and a link for downloading the Sparky's Fun House app.  This app is fantastic for anytime, but is especially great during Fire Prevention Week!

Sparky Schoolhouse

Again, the ease of sorting content by grade level was fantastic.  I began with that and then checked out some of the printable lessons.  The first lesson I came across was called "Learn Not to Burn."  It's a 78-page PDF full of 6 fire safety lessons, activities, and home connections.  This is a great resource to use during Fire Prevention Week.  

If you've been around my blog for a bit, you know that I LOVE children's books!  I found a great read aloud called Sparky the Fire Dog.  I also found a printable story map to go with it.  This will be perfect, as we are currently working on story elements in class!  

There are many videos to choose from on Sparky Schoolhouse.  I like how the videos combine real people, cartoons, images, and characters in costume.  The variety keeps kids engaged.  

I am so happy that I came across both Sparky and Sparky Schoolhouse.  I will definitely be upping my Fire Prevention/Fire Safety game with some of the cool resources I found!  I hope you'll take some time to check out both sites as well.  

Stay safe!

Megan