Tot School- f is for firetrucks & footballs!

Jonathan is 29 Months

We started looking at the letter "f" by reading about firetrucks and footballs. Jonathan is really interested in both things that move and any kind of sport, so he had a lot of fun this week!

Bible 


We haven't worked on a Bible verse this week. We've been taking a little break from it. I have been playing the Seeds of Courage on our iPod and Jonathan likes dancing and moving around to the music.

We continued reading through a little devotional in the morning, Everything a Child Should Know about God by Kenneth Taylor. We do one page each day and talk about the pictures.

We bought a few more books from the Beginner's Bible I Can Read and Jonathan loves these books. Each night he asks for one or more stories.

Books 


We read lots and lots of books the past couple weeks about firemen/firetrucks (see part I and part II) as well as footballs.

• Flashing Fire Engines by Tony Mitton- this is another part of Tony Mitton's Amazing Machines series. This book focuses on firemen. and is a wonderful, fun introduction to what firemen do. 
• Fire Engine Man by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha- a little boy imagines what he will do as a fireman someday and how he'll teach his younger brother to be a fireman. 
• The Little Fire Engine by Lois Lenski- a reprint of a 1946 book that tells about Fireman Small and shows him going through his day fighting fires and rescuing people. The vintage illustrations are charming and Jonathan wanted it read "again" and "again". 
• My Football Book by Gail Gibbons- This nonfiction book teaches the main rules and positions of American football through showing a friendly competition between two teams. 

Those are the highlights- but we've read plenty more this week. See the original posts for our reviews.

Motor Skills 


We practiced stop, dropping, and rolling while we were learning fire safety. We also practiced "climbing" a ladder:

We also played football. :)

Art

We made a firetruck from a box and some construction paper. Both Jonathan and his friend T. had fun dressing up and pretending to be firemen:

Math/Puzzles/Games


We used our beginner pattern blocks to make a firetruck:

And did puzzles which featured firetrucks and footballs:

and Jonathan also had fun playing with his fire extinguisher which just happens to be a water gun. I let him "clean" my windows.

So that's what we've been up to this week!

I'm linking up to:

Link & Learn @ No Time for Flashcards

Tot School @ 1+1+1=1

f is for firetruck/firefighter: books part II

Firetrucks were such a hit with Jonathan this week that we actually went back to the library to find more books about firetrucks. Here are some of the ones we found- enjoy!

Fire Engines by Anne Rockwell

This is a book Jonathan has requested several times. It has bright illustrations with dalmatian firefighters featured on every page. The text is short (one or two sentences per page) but very informative about different types of fire engines. It held Jonathan's attention at two as well as his friend T. (who is 15 mos). Both boys really enjoyed the book and Jonathan had fun pulling out his different fire engines as we read the story.

The Little Fire Engine by Lois Lenski

This is a reprint of a book by famous author/illustrator Lois Lenski that was originally published in 1946. It was part of a series about "Mr Small" and in this book we observe "Fireman Small" fighting fires and rescuing children. The text is simple and the illustrations are charming and while some firefighting methods have changed, it's still an entertaining book for toddlers and preschoolers. Jonathan has requested repeated readings of this book!

Clifford The Firehouse Dog by Norman Bridwell

We pulled this one from our own collection. Jonathan has always enjoyed the Clifford stories. In this particular book, Clifford and Emily Elizabeth go to the fire station to visit Clifford's brother who is a firehouse dog. Clifford has his usual adventures helping rescue people and putting out fires. The book concludes with some fire safety tips. As I mentioned, Clifford is usually quite entertaining for Jonathan and this book was no exception. It's not as high quality as some of the other books we read, but it would make for a good introduction to firefighters and would lead into the other books we enjoyed.

Jonathan & T. the firemen!

F is for Firetruck/Firefighter: Activities

Image Source

Motor Skills 

We practiced stop, drop and roll (camera was out of batteries for that one- but he kind of tried to somersault). 

We climbed a "ladder":

(And threw bean bags between the "rungs")

Vocabulary: 

We used some flashcards that I found at Lawteedah to talk about common fire safety words including  firetruck, helmet, fire extinguisher, ladder, etc.  Jonathan had fun "matching" the pictures to real life objects:

Art 

We made a firetruck out of a box. First, I covered the box with white drawing paper and we went outside and painted it red:

The next day, we added wheels, windows, headlights, and ladders using construction paper. Then Jonathan took it for a ride:

Math 


We used our beginner pattern blocks to make a fire truck:

We also tried to count firetrucks using another printable-- but this didn't hold his interest.


Just for Fun 

Jonathan's fireman costume included a fire extinguisher which was really a water gun. I let him "spray" the back door and then wipe up the water. He loved this-- I had to eventually  hide the fire extinguisher!

Web Resources: 


Fire Safety Unit Study @ Lawteedah

f is for firetruck/firefighter: books

We finally started our "f" unit by looking at firetrucks!

My little boy loves cars, trucks, planes-- anything that moves. Firetrucks have really caught his attention. We live in a small downtown area where the fire station is about a block or two away, so we hear the sirens frequently. Jonathan gets excited every time he hears the sirens and has to come tell me about it. This little mini-unit was a hit for him. I thought I'd start breaking up what we've done into several different posts. Here are the books we've been reading:

Books 




Fire Engine Man by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha

This is the second book we've read by this writing duo. It is a follow-up book to Digger Man, which Jonathan really loved, and it follows a similar storyline. A little boy imagines what he would do as a fireman. He would put out fires and slide down poles. He would sleep in a bunk at the fire station and drive firetrucks. His little brother is too young right now, but one day he'll teach him how to be a firefighter. Jonathan enjoyed this as much as the first book-- he requested it be read several times. I think he can relate to the young boy in the story and how he just really enjoys big firetrucks!


Flashing Fire Engines by Tony Mitton

Both Jonathan and I have really enjoyed Tony Mitton's Amazing Machines series. So as I plotted out our lessons, I knew I wanted to reserve this book. The book is filled with Mitton's usual alliterative prose and shows three friendly firefighters going about their day. The firefighters drive in their fire engine with flashing lights and help rescue people who need help. It's a wonderful, fun introduction to what fire fighters do.



Fire! Fire! by Gail Gibbons

This book by noted notifction writer Gail Gibbons is perfect for the older tooddler or preschooler. This book explains how firefighters fight fires in different settings-- in the city, in the country, in the forest and on the waterfront. There are only a few sentences per page and the detailed illustrations are labeled so you can point out different terms to your child. The book also includes fire prevention tips as well as instructions on what to do if there is a fire. Jonathan paid attention to the first section, about the fire in the city, but then he quickly lost interest. I think if I continue to read one section at a time, it will be a great resource for him.


I Want to be a Firefighter by Dan Liebman

This book features full and double-page photographs of firefighters in action. The book features both firemen and fire-women and teaches about the daily responsibilities they face. There are one or two sentences per page, which make it an easy read-aloud for the younger set. Jonathan sat through the book but wasn't as interested in the pictures as I thought he might be. If your child is interested in being a firefighter when he or she grows older, then this book may be a bigger hit.

I'm linking this post to:

Read Aloud Thursday @ Hope is the Word
Feed Me Books Friday @ Little Sprout Books
What My Child is Reading @ Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns