Preschool Activities: Firefighter Pretend Play

Whenever I pick up Levi from nursery school, I ask him about his playground adventures. Did he go down the slide? Did he crawl through the hippopotamus tunnel? Did he play with any of his classmates?

The other day he told me that he pretended he was a firefighter. “I had a stick, and a pretend hose, and wore a pretend purple-and-black hat,” he explained.

We’re about three weeks into Levi’s new fascination with fire and firefighters, which began when a fireman (and his puppet) visited his school during fire safety week. Levi learned about fire alarms, “stop, drop, and roll,” and calling 9-1-1 when there’s an emergency.

I’m not sure he fully understands what qualifies as an emergency, however, as he pretended to call 9-1-1 in the car yesterday to tell them we arrived home.

This past weekend in Buffalo, Levi was excited to pretend play firefighters with his 4-year-old friend, Spencer. The two boys ran around the house in plastic hats (with and without their pants), breaking down “houses” with hammers and zooming toy firetrucks across the floor. They were hysterical — and loud.

So very, very loud.

If your preschool-age son or daughter is as excited as Levi about the idea of climbing up ladders and putting out fires, here are some firefighter gifts to consider for the holidays.