Fire Station I Spy (preschool printable)

After watching the Mighty Machines Fire Station episode on Netflix nearly every day, my kids were begging to go see fire trucks in real life, so I scheduled a visit to our local station. Did you know you can take kids on your own field trip to the fire station? You don’t need to wait for a school field trip to see and learn about these community helpers (and if you do wait, you may never actually get to go since field trip funding has been cut down). Fire safety isn’t just something that kids need to learn; adults need to get fully acquainted with fire safety too, especially in the workplace – fire extinguishers are essential in such premises and business owners can read on here to learn more about equipping their buildings with such products. If you want to take your kids for a visit, here’s some tips:

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1. Look up your local station on-line. You may want to choose the main station to see the ladder trucks and chief truck (they won’t be at every local station, so be sure to ask!)
2.  Call your station and ask when the best times for a visit would be. Stay away from meal times and be courteous with their scheduling.
3. (optional) On the day of the trip, have kids dressed in their fire fighter ensemble to feel like part of the crew! We wore this Melissa and Doug dress up jacket, but forgot to wear these boots.
4. Read a few Fireman books and jot a few questions down with your child. What do they want to know more about? What specific items do they want to see?
5. (day of the trip) Print out the “I Spy” sheet and attach it to a small clip board with a pencil.

This was actually the second time we’ve visited a fire station and it was fun for us to compare and contrast the differences (although they didn’t remember much from the first time, there were a few noticeable things missing this time, like the fireman pole.) Our printable I Spy worksheet was nice to have along as well.

You can print the worksheet out prior to the trip and talk with the kids about each items pictured. Ask what they think each picture is, what it’s used for, and where it might be found at the fire station.

My (nearly) three year old loved putting this on a small clip board with a pen. He felt so official in his uniform carrying his clipboard!

Unfortunately, he forgot all about it while we were actually at the station! You know who loved carrying it around, though? My two year old! It was a nice way to interact with the firemen, too. They enjoyed looking at their checklist and helping them find each item pictured.

Would your preschooler (or toddler) enjoy a trip to the fire station? Schedule one today and print out this I Spy worksheet for them to bring along! Let me know how they liked it, or share a picture of your trip with me on Instagram (tag @munchkins_and_moms)

(Note: We printed this worksheet as a 5×7 printable to fit on small clipboards. This made them much easier for little hands to manage!)

Get your FREE printable here!