Fire Safety Unit Study: Pre-K
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A little background on our homeschool journey: we’ve been casually homeschooling since our oldest was born. He’s now four and a half. Other than a short season in Mother’s Day Out for a couple hours each week, he’s been home with me full-time.
When our youngest turned one and we knew Kindergarten was right around the corner for our eldest, I felt ready to add a little more structure. The majority of our days/weeks are still spent playing with toys, playing outside, and regular outings (library, appointments, errands, zoo, etc.). I spent time researching, asking friends who homeschool, and really thinking about what would fit our family.
I quickly realized that constant worksheets weren’t going to work for us. While we love reading together, my son thrives when he can move, build, and create. I knew we wanted to encourage learning in general and introduce him to how to learn and how fun it can be. That’s when I landed on unit studies. They give us the perfect balance—good books, hands-on activities, crafts, play, and even a little traditional practice with numbers and letters. Most of what we use are things we already own, borrow from the library, or I create myself.
And what better way to kick things off than with his absolute favorite topic: firefighters. We’re lucky to have a family friend who is a firefighter, so he’s toured the station, dressed up as a firefighter for Halloween, and told us more than once that this is what he wants to be when he grows up. It was the easiest and most exciting place to start.
Here’s what we included in our Fire Safety Unit Study:
Morning Menu
Each morning (or sometimes later in the day), he works through his “morning menu.” I created ours so I can customize it weekly. For this unit, I added:
A tracing sheet for the letter F
A number sheet set up like a phone keypad
Every day, he practiced writing his letter and dialing 9-1-1, as well as my phone number. Funny little story about the phone numbers, once he turned four, I figured it was a food time to teach him my phone number in case of emergencies. I started to say it for him to repeat, but he finished it before I was even done. It just reminded me of how much our kids pick up on being around us and just participating in life, he had heard me repeat my phone number for scheduling appoints and such and memorized it without a structured lesson.
Books We Read
We made a big stack of library finds, along with favorites we already owned:
Curious George & the Firefighters by Margret & H.A. Rey – A fun introduction to the fire station and how firefighters respond.
Little Smokey by Robert Neubecker – A story about firefighting planes at NIF-C and how they fight forest fires. We checked this out from the library, but it’s on our to-buy list.
Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman – A beautiful story about a retired fireboat that came back to service during 9/11. It ended up being a gentle way to introduce a hard piece of history. Another great one from our library and complete luck that 9/11 landing during our fire unit.
Richard Scarry’s Firehouse – We’re big Richard Scarry fans in this house, and this one did not disappoint.
A fun extra one was a gift from one of our son’s great grandmothers. She purchased these panels (not an affiliate, just fun) for Everyday Heroes Firefighter book and sewed them together. It is sentimental and does a good job introducing little ones to firefighter’s gear and tools.
Crafts & Hands-On Activities
LEGO Fire Truck – We already owned this 4+ set and spent time rebuilding it. The step-by-step instructions are perfect for little learners and hands. I try to limit my help and allow him to independently build this. It was a great quiet time activity when brother was napping. If you don’t own these, Five and Below often has these smaller Lego kits for a great price, I browse often and have stocked up on different themes such as police and construction.
Putting Out Fires Game – I drew chalk flames outside, and he used a spray bottle, bucket, and the hose to put them out. (The firefighter costume was ready, but it was too hot that day!)
Fire Hydrant Scavenger Hunt – On scooter rides around the neighborhood, he counted fire hydrants and we talked about how they work.
Videos
The Red Cross has some great fire safety videos for kids. I played them at the kitchen counter while I cooked, pausing when we needed to talk through something.
These are the two we watched:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHBYYPuNft0&list=PLeC8i7LdqNerWoXAcbjkINI883tjRim1K&index=11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vxFveL-g8A&list=PLeC8i7LdqNerWoXAcbjkINI883tjRim1K&index=8
One key takeaway: they emphasize never going back inside a burning building. At first he understood, but when I asked what he’d do if his favorite stuffed animal or our dog was inside, he had to really stop and think. Those conversations made the lessons stick.
Outings
We weren’t able to schedule a fire station visit during this unit, but he’s been on several before thanks to our firefighter friend. If you don’t have a connection, call your local station—many welcome field trip groups or even host birthday parties (we’ve been to one of these and the kids had so much fun!).
We also turned a regular errand into a fun outing. At a local furniture store (with a big fish tank he loves), I downloaded a printed fire safety scavenger hunt. You can get a free download from PreK Pages [here]. He proudly explained what he was doing to the employees and asked to do it again another day. You could easily bring this along on a grocery run to keep little ones engaged.
Two other ideas we’ve enjoyed outside of our unit time are local events such as Touch a Truck and the Public Works Event. Touch a Truck was a great opportunity for the boys to climb inside a firetruck, along with other vehicles like construction trucks, police cars, and garbage trucks. We also loved the Public Works Event, where the boys not only got to explore local Public Works vehicles but also watched several demonstrations by the fire department. They showed what a full fire hydrant looks like—both above ground and beneath the sidewalk. A group of firefighters also demonstrated how they rescue someone from a car after an accident, using an old vehicle for the demo. It was incredible to see the techniques and tools they use depending on the severity of the situation. And as a bonus for mom and dad: the event was hosted at one of our local breweries!
Educational Activities
I keep “schoolwork” short and hands-on. For now, I consider these anything that is traditional schoolwork, such as learning numbers, letters, and shapes. I always keep these activities fun and engaging and our time spent on them is limited. For this unit we used fire-themed printables I made (you can click on the photos below for free PDF download of each activity):
Counting Cards – Count the items, then circle the correct number. I laminated ours so we can reuse them.
AB Pattern Sheet – Cut and paste fire-themed items to complete patterns.
Letter Matching with Clothespins – clip the matching clothespin to the letter (didn’t get to it this time but saving for later).
Number Play-Doh Sheets – Shape numbers with dough and add matching dots (also saving for another week).
Wrapping Up
This unit took us about a week and a half. At the end, I surprised him with a Fire Safety Award—printed, laminated, and personalized with his name. He was so proud!
Fire safety ended up being the perfect way to introduce unit studies in our homeschool. It let us explore something he loves while weaving in reading, math, critical thinking, and plenty of play. Most of all, it reminded me why I love homeschooling—we can learn deeply, follow his curiosity, and build memories along the way.
