Speeding! Spraying! Saving!

I have been running out of steam on science storytimes here at the end of summer reading program.  (I always feel like summer reading program should be capitalized to show how big and important it is – Summer Reading Program – see?!)  So I went with an old standby: Firefighters.

BOOKS:

We read Firehouse by Mark Teague and Firefighters! Speeding! Spraying! Saving! by Patricia Hubbell.

Both books were great.  No complaints here.  Firehouse had a little bit of a storyline which kept the kids interested and Firefighters had the noises and speed.  (I guess, now that I’m thinking about it, Firehouse did have a rather abrupt ending.)

FINGERPLAY:

We did “Five Little Fireman.”  The kids liked the SHOUT and jump.  

Five Little Firemen

Five little firemen standing in a row, 
1 2 3 4 5 lets go. 
Jump on the engine with a SHOUT, 
As quick as a wink the fire is out.

Four little firemen standing in a row, 
1 2 3 4 shhh lets go. 
Jump on the engine with a Shout 
As quick as a wink the fire is out.

(maintain the same pattern for the rest of the fingerplay)

CRAFT:

We made our own firetrucks, complete with a ladder that goes up and down.  I love crafts that end with a product that is interactive – puppets or moving parts or masks.  Here’s mine:

My big regret with this storytime is that I didn’t call the firehouse (which is literally across the street) and have a firefighter come over.  I will definitely plan on doing this again next year and having the firefighters be our special guests.