Sensory Areas: Fire Service

By Gwyn McCormack

So many different skills and sensory areas can be addressed through a single activity.  Theme-based curriculum is used by many teachers of young children or students with special needs, as they offer a way to help children at many different levels to explore concepts in an interesting and fun way.  Here are some ideas for multi-sensory activities that can be taught to children with visual impairments through the theme of Fire Service.

Tactile

• Feel water (warm, cold, cool).  
• Use water spray to spray tepid, warm water on child’s hands and feet.  
• Feel hose pipe, unwind, wind up on reel, use hose pipe attached to water supply to spray grass outside school.  
• Represent the hose pipe by feeling rubber piping.  Use cardboard tube and paint to look like a hose pipe, cover with textured paper or bright coloured, fluorescent shapes.
• Use plastic drain pipe and pour water down the pipe.  
• Make spiral patterns to represent the hose pipe in its wound up state using string (different thicknesses) or wikki-stix.  
• Make a collage of different sized reels or spiral patterns using string, rope, cord, wikki stix etc.  Play with yo-yo’s, (yo-yo’s with lights, sounds.)

• Feel a fireman’s helmet, the shiny buttons on the fire person’s uniform.  
• Make large card buttons covered in silver foil or shiny, fluorescent paper.  Add to a large black jacket or overcoat – let the children try on. 

• Wear wellington boots and make footprints in textured paint e.g. add rice.
• Children to decorate wellington boots with fluorescent shapes, hang up as a large mobile in classroom.
• Tactile book about fire engine 

Visual

(some of these ideas would also be used in the tactile section also) 

• Toy fire engine, ladder, real ladder, blue flashing lights, crane to raise and lower cage for fire engine. 

Sound

• Siren, horn, water gushing, tap running, sound of splashing water, sound of water being sprayed.
• Sound of fire engine being driven.
• Sound of fire people shouting directions to each other.
• Rattle metal spoon against the rungs of the ladder.
• Using musical instruments to simulate siren and horn – bells, horns etc. 

Literacy

Language associated with going up and down the ladder.

Straight, tall, high 

Language associated with the hose pipe – curly, long, smooth, round 

Language associated with water – cold, hot, cool, warm.

Language associated with fire person’s uniform – shiny, rough, round, circle, thick (fabric). 

The Fireman – A Fingerplay

Five little fire fighters sit very still  hold up five fingers Until they see a five on top of the hill  Number one rings the bell, ding-dong.  bend down thumb Number 2 pulls his big boots on.  bend down pointer finger Number 3 climbs on the truck right away.  bend down middle finger Number 4 joins him, no one can wait.  bend down ring finger Number 5 drives the truck to the fire.  bend down little finger The big yellow flames go higher and higher.  spread arms Whooo-ooo! Whooo-ooo! Hear the fire truck say  imitate siren

As all of the cars get out of the way.  Shhh! goes the water from the fire hose spout,  rub palms together And quicker than a wink the fire is out!  clap hands Ten little firemen sleeping in a row,  extend both hands, fingers curled Ding dong goes the bell  pull bell cord with one hand And down the pole they go  close both fists, put one on top of other, slide down pole Off on the engine, oh, oh, oh.  steer engine with hands Using the big hose, so, so, so.  When all the fire’s out, home so-o slow  steer engine with hands Back to bed, all in a row.  extend both hands with fingers curled

Usborne Farmyard tales – Barn on Fire by Heather Avery & Stephen Cartwright – Can Poppy and Sam save the day when the barn at Apple Tree Farm catches fire?

Fireman Sam – animated children’s television show about a fireman named Sam.

Numeracy

• Stretch hosepipe out to full length and count in steps how long it is.
• Count the buttons on the fire person’s uniform.
• Add a tactile number to each button.
• Set out as on the uniform and stick to black fabric.  
• Find buckets of different sizes, order in size.  
• Fill buckets with rice, sand, pebbles, for the children to run their hands through.  
• Place a ladder flat on the ground and allow the children to walk alongside counting the rungs.  
• Allow the children to step between the rungs and count the spaces.

There are more shared ideas at www.positiveeye.co.uk.