Trick-Or-Treat Safety Most of the tips below are from
the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
and are great reminders to pass along
to parents each year as Halloween approaches.
Tips
in blue are safety rules I like to review with the children (on their level
of understanding) on the same day that they will be going trick-or-treating --
if possible:
**Warn
children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for
evidence of tampering.
*Fruits:
To investigate fresh fruit thoroughly, wash it then cut it into small pieces before
eating.
*Flame
Resistant Costumes: When purchasing a costume, masks, beards, and wigs, look
for the label Flame Resistant. Although this label does not mean these items
won't catch fire, it does indicate the items will resist burning and should extinguish
quickly once removed from the ignition source. To minimize the risk of contact
with candles or other sources of ignition, avoid costumes made with flimsy materials
and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts.
*Costume
Designs: Purchase or make costumes that are light and bright enough to be
clearly visible to motorists.
-For
greater visibility during dusk and darkness, decorate or trim costumes with reflective
tape that will glow in the beam of a car's headlights.
-Bags
or sacks should also be light colored or decorated with reflective tape.
(Reflective tape is usually available in hardware,
bicycle, and sporting goods stores.)
**To
easily see and be seen, children should also carry flashlights.
-Costumes should be short enough
to prevent children from tripping and falling.
-Children
should wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes. Mother' s high heels are not a good
idea for safe walking.
-Hats
and scarves should be tied securely to prevent them from slipping over children's
eyes.
-Apply
a natural mask of cosmetics rather than have a child wear a loose-fitting mask
that might restrict breathing or obscure vision. If a mask is used, however,
make sure it fits securely and has eyeholes large enough to allow full vision.
**Remind children to tell their
parents if masks don't fit or they can't see through them.
-Swords,
knives, and similar costume accessories should be of soft and flexible material.
**Pedestrian Safety: Young
children should always be accompanied by an adult or an older, responsible child.
All children should WALK, not run from house to house and use the sidewalk if
available, rather than walk in the street. Children should be cautioned
against running out from between parked cars, or across lawns and yards where
ornaments, furniture, or clotheslines present dangers.
*Choosing
Safe Houses: Children should go only to homes where the residents are known
and have outside lights on as a sign of welcome.
-Children
should not enter homes or apartments unless they are accompanied by an adult.
-People expecting trick-or-treaters
should remove anything that could be an obstacle from lawns, steps and porches.
-Candlelit jack-o'-lanterns
should be kept away from landings and doorsteps where costumes could brush against
the flame. Indoor jack-o'-lanterns should be kept away from curtains, decorations,
and other furnishings that could be ignited.
**Remind
children to avoid walking close to candle-lit decorations.
**Remind
children to be cautious around other people's pets.
Activities:
A Trick-Or-Treat Story: Tell the children a short tale instructing them to raise their hands when they hear a child in the story doing something that might not keep them safe. When you see their raised hands, stop and "talk about" the rule being forgotten. Start your story anyway you want, making it up as you go.........Once upon a time, it was Trick-Or-Treat night in the town of (your town). Lots of little children were dressed up in their costumes going from door to door with adults. Stacy Mender loved her pink princess costume. It even had a beautiful princess mask. It was too big and kept sliding up on her face so she couldn't see but she still loved it. Stacy and her little brother Ronnie went to all the houses on their street with Mommy. At one house, Ronnie was so excited because the man gave him his favorite candy bar. He wanted to eat it right now so he tore open the wrapper......... And so on. A flannelboard with characters would be a great addition.
From
Stormie:
The following are topics
we can include in our "Fire Safety/Fire Fighter" units:
1.
Fire Stations; Firefighter clothing, truck, and equipment; The concept that firefighters
are our friends!
2.
Practice "Stop, Drop, and Roll"
3.
Practice "Get Low and Go"
4.
What kinds of things are hot and can burn us?
5.
Discuss the dangers of playing with matches and lighters and how children should
tell an adult if they find them
6.
What's a smoke alarm and fire extinguisher?
7.
Practice escaping from the building (fire drill)
8.
When and how to dial 911
"Things That Can Burn Us" Mural: Provide a mixture of magazine pictures of "things that can burn us" and things that can't burn or harm us. Have children sort out the "hot" or "things that can burn" pictures and glue them on a large long sheet of butcher paper (iron, soup, matches, kitchen range, curling iron, etc). Later, discuss the mural, then leave it posted on your wall for reviewing through the end of the unit.
Firefighter Scenes: (Creativity
Within the Limits of a Theme): Near the end of your unit on "Fire Safety/Fire
Fighters," provide children with a firetruck cutout to glue on paper and all types
of collage materials (including craft sticks, toothpicks, and crayons).
Also provide open books and/or pictures nearby of firetrucks, fire stations, and
firefighters. Allow the children to create their own "scene." Ask
them to tell you about their creations later and print their exact words at the
bottom of their papers. Have them bring their papers to Group Time later
and use them to review all that's been learned about "Fire Safety."
Variation: Provide the children with tracing
paper upon which to create their "Fire Safety/Firefighter" scenes. (The
tracing paper provides a smoky appearance.)
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Snack: Firefighter Ladder: Give children two long slender sticks
of carrot or celery and several short sticks of carrots. Let
them build a "ladder" with the pieces, then take it apart and eat it. Provide
a healthy dip on the side. Snacktime conversation can include Fire Safety
as well as reviewing the phonic sounds of the letter Cc.
Note: I will post more activities above
when I can find the time to create them, but I've reserved my favorite ideas for
this unit for my "Community Helpers" booklet sold in the "Stormie's Stuff for
Teachers" section of my website.
Favorite Books:
From Stormie:
*Barney
& B.J. Go to the Fire Station, by Mark S. Bernthal; Dennis Full, Photographer:
The title of this book pretty much says it all.
It's PERFECT for a preschooler "Fire Safety" unit!
*Clifford
the Firehouse Dog, by Norman Bridwell: Clifford
learns about fire safety and even helps with a rescue from a burning building.
From Bonnie T.
in Colorado Springs, Colorado:
No
Dragons for Tea -- Fire Safety For Kids (and Dragons), Written by Jean Pendziwol
and Illustrated by Martine Gourbault: Here is a book that teaches fire
safety in a "non-threatening" way. The children pick up lots of safety tips
as they follow the dragon and little girl through this rhyming story.
From
Susan Wray, Library Storytime Leader, Dyersburg, Tennessee:
The "Sesame Street Visits The Firehouse" is a wonderful
video for young children. Besides the visit to the firehouse
with safety tips, etc, a cute little "monster" is trapped upstairs in a burning
building. As we watch from below, the monster is very frightened by the
firefighter in his scary mask who's coming up the ladder (so typical of our little
ones). The monster is urged to, "Go to the firefighter!"
Gross Motor Activities For Teaching Important Fire Safety Concepts:
1. "Get Low and Go": Set up a maze and have children find the correct way out "staying low and going" on hands and knees: Paint a bedsheet gray with black streaks for pretend smoke. An adult then holds the sheet low to the floor making wavy motions to represent smoke coming into a room. Have the children (2-3 at a time) crawl under it, staying low and going.
2. "Stop, Drop and Roll Practice: Pin a small balloon somewhere on the clothing of a youngster. They have to roll hard and fast enough to pop the balloon.
My Dear Stormie, I've always felt that "fire safety"messages can be included in every teaching element from math to social sciences and can be incorporated into more than one teaching unit. Even the changing seasons and holidays give us fire safety themes to consider. Examples: During Easter, children can be reminded that even Easter Bunny knows to have two ways out of his home in case of an emergency. February is Heart Month and Valentines; there's blood pressure checkups for adults and expressions of love are shown. Teachers can remind children and their parents that one way to express love is to practice home fire safety escapes with our families.
Note from Stormie: Peggy also referred me to this fabulous website where we can go to re-print copyright-free articles to pass out to our parents concerning "fire safety at home": http://www.kiddesafety.com/kiddesafety/pages/parents.htm
From Deanna,
in Columbus, Ohio:
Pretend
Rescue: When we were lucky enough to be visited by some of our local firefighters
with a firetruck, one of the firefighters dressed up in his gear and turned his
tank on. Then we turned off the lights and he crawled around on the floor
near the children. This showed them what a fire fighter would look and sound
like if he were coming to rescue them from a fire.
From
Liz Whalen, M.Ed:
I
would like to offer an idea that would be great for getting kids really excited
about "fire safety" and is a great way to encourage group cooperation:
Firetrucks: Collect used cardboard boxes in various sizes, not too
big. Collect various sizes of plastic lids from butter containers, Pringles
cans, coffee cans, etc. The box will be the body of the fire truck and the
lids will be the wheels. Groups will decide how their fire truck should
look (ie.color, size, etc.) You will also need tempera paints, glue, and
other reusable items that can be used as hoses (pipe cleaners, aquarium tubing),
ladders (straws, toothpicks), etc. Students will display end product and
will be encouraged to bring any "fire truck/fireman" toys from home (Dalmatians,
fireman figures) to compliment and accessorize their project.
