The Fourth of July is one of the best holidays. We can celebrate our wonderful county, enjoy the summer time and spend time with our families!
I’m a big fan of cook outs and fireworks- they are so fun! Some of my fondest memories are spending time together around the fourth watching the fireworks and eating too much food!
So when it comes time to traditions to do with my own kids, there are so many options available!
For starters, you can grab this free fourth of July printable! Simply click the image, save it and print it out!
Next you can check out these other fun fourth of july activites !
Fun Patriotic Activities to do with your family
Photo Credit:
www.icanteachmychild.com
Shaving Cream Fireworks
Messy fun with only a few household activities, this is a great way to create patriotic art with basic supplies.
These adorable pinwheels take less than 15 minutes, and (BONUS) teach you the directions so you can make different types of pinwheels. Start with the fourth of july, and then make them for other spring and summer holidays.
My oldest has become a preschooler, and he is still insanely obsessed with Fire trucks and Firefighters. Naturally, Firefighters are a common topic in our house and invite lots of learning time.
Most of our learning time comes in the forms of words. We’ve moved past the standard talk of firetrucks to a much larger vocabulary. My son can now tell the difference between ambulances, tower trucks and fire rescue trucks. He wants to role-play with fire hose, face masks and his turnout gear.
Obviously, when it came time to learn and practice writing, I wanted to have several firefighter options for him!
Free Firefighter Printables
Word Tracer
Preparing my preschool for kindergarten is a big task. We’ve been working on fine motor skills with lots of different activities. This word tracer is PERFECT for him.
We have lots of firefighter based words to fill in and he was more than happy to work on tracing his letters (till he got distracted and wanted to make a star- but then we got back on task with the promise of a fire truck coloring sheet- see below!)
Coloring Pages
It can’t be all work and no play! These are perfect for practice to color in between the lines. I like to sandwich these between the “work” pages.
So I tend to print of 2-3 pages and let him pick one, color it, do a worksheet, then color again. It really helps with holding the writing utensil and mastering those fine motor skills (with firetrucks, of course!)
Matching words with pictures
I did have to help with this section of the learning activity. Although he did know the word “boot” so that’s a parenting win! I created this word matching sheet with firefighter related items to finish off our day of firefighter worksheets.
You can find all of these firefighter printable and more on Education.com. Check out the free printables here!
Do you have a toddler obsessed with all things firefighter? I do! Fire trucks, helmets and sirens are regular topics at our house. In fact, our toddler is so interested in what his dad does, that my husband has to censor his work day. It’s amazing what toddlers will pick up when you think they aren’t listening!
While they’re aren’t many movies and shows for toddlers, there are many many wonderful books to choose from! Since my husband is a firefighter, we have found and received lots of great firefighter themed books for the kids. (and an insane amount of firetrucks- but that’s a different story for a different post!)
I’ve compiled our top 10 firefighter books, and I hope you find a few for your home library that your little firefighter will enjoy.
This article may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you, read the disclosure here.
We are slightly obsessed with the Priddy brand of books, we love having some interactive play! This book is an excellent introduction to community helpers for toddlers.
They can learn about Firefighters, as well as other emergency workers in a fun lift-the-flap style book.
The Good night books are a big hit here with my toddler, and nothing could be more exciting than a nighttime book featuring all things Fire trucks! Good Night Fire Engines features firefighters, fire hats and gear, fire hoses, hydrants, firehouses, dispatch rooms, heavy rescue vehicles, antique fire engines, toy fire engines, fire poles, and so much more. This book is available on Amazon Kindle!
This hilarious book for toddlers and toilet training is a must have! It combines firefighters using the potty to help your toddler with the transition to potty learning. We had some great success with this book! Hopefully it works just as well for kiddo number 2.
Touch and feel books are a parent’s favorite. These books are perfect for babies and grow with them into toddlers as they learn textures and words. My toddler is STILL obsessed with this book despite being able to touch a real fire truck at daddy’s job!
This is a super cute and easy board book for toddlers as they follow along on Firefighter Franks day. The illustrations really make this book a favorite, my son loves to “read” it when he’s doing independent play.
I loved the little golden books as a kid, so getting to read them to my son has been a huge bonus! Of course, he prefers this one because it’s all about Fire Engines.
A classic book with a really fun story– you definitely want to add this to your collection !
This is a cute book that introduces a lot of good behaviors as you work through the book. This is part of a series of books that we also enjoy, but specifically this book as we follow our Firefighter throughout his duties!
Curious George is a popular one at our house, though I didn’t think he would like it (thanks PBS!). We have both of these books, the board book for independent play/reading and the regular book for story time.
I didn’t know they had a stuffed animal (stuffy if you ask my son) of curious George as a firefighter- so I plan to get that for my son!
Pete the Cat is another favorite at our house, especially because its full of behavior to role model and fun adventures. This book is no exception as Pete the cat gets to save the day as a Firefighter. Every toddlers dream right?
We love our board books but Pete is one of the ones my toddler asks me to read over and over.
Plus this book comes with stickers if you order it from Amazon.
There you have the list of the top Firefighter books personally vetted by a firefighter family with way too much fire related stuff (sometimes I say junk- I’m swimming in red and firetrucks!) Did I inspire any new book buys? Or gift ideas? Let me know!
And if I missed a favorite firefighter book for younger kids- drop a comment below- I *might* add to our collection one of these days. Oh ok, I will probably add it to our collection. I can’t help but foster the love of reading and if my toddler wants firefighters- well that’s an easy request!
Do you have a Firefighter obsessed kiddo? Or just looking for activities for Fire Safety Week? This Firefighter sensory activity is a fun twist on an old classic! Perfect for a Firefighter themed day.
Firefighters and Sensory Fun!
This sensory activity is comprised of several different “bags of fire” that kids can mush up and play with. Perfect for when you need 20 minutes to get something done!
I actually got 30 minutes out of this activity because the kids switched back and forth between the three bags. That’s a bonus in my book!
Supplies
We used a few different things for our sensory bags!
Gallon sized plastic bags
painters/packing tape (NON NEGOTIABLE- you need tape!)
Shaving cream
Food coloring
Paint in orange, yellow and red
Flour
Glitter
Sensory Bags
For the three bags I choose to do:
Shaving cream and food coloring
Flour and Paint
Shaving Cream and Glitter
Next you seal the bags and TAPE them. I choose to tape some of them to the table, and the others to our dinner mats. The most important part is that the kids can’t accidentally (or purposefully) open the bags.
PRO TIP: Leave enough room in the bags for when the kids want to press on them, so they don’t accidentally pop!
Paint and Flour Shaving Cream and Food Coloring Shaving Cream and Glitter
Enrichment Activity
Looking to take your activity up a notch? I know I’m always looking for ways to increase the usefulness of a project (especially when you have different age groups!)
While my oldest wasn’t ready for letters- adding letter or shape cards is a great way to spice up this sensory activity! Learning can be fun.
Do you have your own future firefighter who is obsessed with all things red and like to shout out “Emergency!” when they see a firetruck? Yeah, that’s my kid. So we have a few fun firefighter activities we love to role-play!
Let’s Play Firefighter!
My kids want to do all. the. firefighter. things. Obsession doesn’t even begin to cover it! So when we find a winner, we stick with it!
This fun outdoor firefighter activity gives me at least 20 minutes of “quiet time”. You know, that time you need to mentally relax without worrying about what your kids are doing!
This is also a great activity for groups or birthday parties. It’s easy to set up and easy to clean up!
Firefighter Play Set up
Ok, so let’s look at the set up for this outdoor Firefighter play activity.
Supplies:
Chalk
Water bucket
Water cannon (or other water squirter)
Firefighter Helmet (we’ve got to play the part!)
Set Up:
Here’s the thing. It’s crazy easy to set up, clean up and it gives you lots of play time! Win/win!
Simply draw your building, and pick some windows to make some fire. I normally draw a few buildings so that way the kids are preoccupied for longer.
Then let the kids use the water cannon to “put out the fire!”.
Next time I do this activity I think I’ll try some colored shaving cream for the “fire”. Could be a next step up activity!
Since my husband is a Firefighter, my son (and really, my 18 month old daughter) are obsessed with all things Firefighter. This Firefighter Slime is the perfect inside boredom buster, sensory activity and role-play all in one! That’s a win in my book.
I made two types of slime for the activities as one tends to work better than the other for one of the activities. I’ve included the instructions below for BOTH types of slime, so you can make them both or pick which one you like!
My kids had so much fun making, playing and using the slime that we spent well over an hour doing all 3 activities. Their current ages are 18 months and 3.5 years- so for an activity to take over an hour of playtime is a very good thing!
Slime Disclaimer: This should be made with the supervision of a Responsible Adult. Slime is not for eating!
This article may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you, read the disclosure here.
Fluffy Slime
Pro Tip: I used to be a science teacher and I once did a training where we made 15 types of slime. The one where we added a splash of dish soap was always the easiest to clean up, and didn’t change the consistency of the slime at all!
Ingredients
You can “cheat” now with several different types of premade slime kits. Either you can make the slime with the ingredients, or just buy the slime itself. Check those out here!
What you will need:
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 cup water
Splash of Dish Soap
2-3 Cups of Shaving Cream (not the gel)
1.5 Teaspoons of Contact Solution (must have boric acid/sodium borate in the solution)
Food coloring (or you can color it after the fact)
Instructions
Measure out the following ingredients and mix them in a large bowl with a metal spoon:
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 cup water
Splash of Dish Soap
2-3 Cups of Shaving Cream (not the gel)
1.5 Teaspoons of Contact Solution (must have boric acid/sodium borate in the solution)
Food coloring (or you can color it after the fact)
Once you’ve mix all those ingredients together, now it’s time to add the most important part! The GLUE!
Measure out 2/3 cup of Elmer’s White Glue and add it to the current mixture.
Things will get a little sticky at first, but just keep mixing!
Regular Slime
Pro Tip: I used to be a science teacher and I once did a training where we made 15 types of slime. The one where we added a splash of dish soap was always the easiest to clean up, and didn’t change the consistency of the slime at all!
Ingredients
1⁄2 tsp of Baking Soda 1 TBSP of Contact Lens Solution 5 fl oz Elmer’s Glue
Food Coloring or Paint
Instructions
Similar to the Fluffy slime above, mix the baking soda, contact lens solution and food coloring first. (add a small squirt of dish soap here too!)
then:
slowly add the glue while mixing.
Mix and mix and then once its a ball, take it out and stretch it with your hands.
PRO TIP: cover your hands in contact solution to prevent and sticky slime from staying on you!
Enrichment Activity 1: Add Glitter
After your slime is made, the very first enrichment activity I like to do (especially because it helps to make the slime even more malleable) is to add some glitter! I didn’t do this with all the slime- just the regular slime.
Simply stretch out the slime, and add a small sprinkle of glitter. I do this over a mat so the glitter stays “contained”. I generally add small amounts and encourage the kids to mold and mix the glitter in.
Remember:
a little glitter goes a long way!
Enrichment Activity 2: Add Paint
I did this activity last since my kids are younger, but if you have older kids it can be done in order.
I took the regular slime, and over the mat, I stretched it out to add small drops of paint. Then you carefully roll or fold the slime on top of itself.
Give it a good mix and you will have some vibrant colors!
Enrichment Activity 3: Fire in the House!
This was, by far, my kid’s favorite slime activity of the day!
First, I gave them some legos to build a house. This can be as simple or elaborate as you want- just make sure you have at least 10 pieces so you can have enough surface area.
Then I took the FLUFFY slime, since it tends to have more reach than regular slime, and wrapped the lego house with it.
The Slime was the Fire and my son was the Firefighter who had to come over and remove it from the house. He did this over and over again, even without my help, he was learning to wrap the slime around the house for his sister (seriously, so cute!)
If you have bigger kids, you can take this a step further and give them “tools”. I think next time I do this with my son I’ll add:
Tweezers, safety scissors and a plastic play doh knife.
Wrap Up
We had SO. MUCH. FUN. making all of the slime and using it for Firefighter Role Play. Check out my other posts for Firefighter Kids Activities!
