Teaching fire safety and prevention is essential to keeping your children safe. Incorporate fire safety into your homeschooling program as a Health and Safety topic. There are many great resources that you can use that are completely free! Begin with your local fire station. Almost all fire stations will gladly arrange a free tour for your and your homeschoolers. Many have pre set tours for homechool groups, where they allow the children to have an up close and personal look at the fire station itself. I arranged a free tour last year for a homeschool group and the children were thrilled to see how the firefighters live. They toured the station, and they all got to sit up in the firetruck to see how things work. The fireman who did our tour showed a short video on fire safety and helped the children practice "Stop, Drop and Roll". Many students had questions about how things catch on fire, and how to use a fire extinguisher. They left with a take home checklist to make sure their home was prepared for a fire, and an assignment to create a family safety plan too. It was a great experience for everyone. Please give your local fire station a call and set up a visit today!

The US Fire Administration has a fantastic website full of free resources to download or receive via mail. For the younger crew there is a Sesame Street fire safety book, and the older homeschoolers will enjoy "Marty and Jett's" fire safety activity book. There is a wonderful and comprehensive preschool curriculum featuring Sesame Street characters for Pre-K students. This fire safety kit includes sing along tapes, coloring books and a poster. Check out the USFA website for ordering details. Remember, it is all free of charge.

Scholastic offers several online games for all elementary grades for free. Children will join Sparky the Firedog for an online hunt for hazards in your home and an escape plan activity. There are also reproducibles, lesson ideas and resources for teaching fire safety and prevention.

Don't forget to do a few at home practice fire drills. Enlist your child to make a list of possible fire hazards, and plan a time monthly to check that your home has smoke detectors that are working. Through these free ideas and resources you can teach your homeschooler about fire prevention and keep everyone in the family safe.

www.usfa.dhs.gov/kids/parents-teachers/resources.shtm

www.scholastic.com/firesafety