Pre-K Firefighter Storytime

Know a  Firefighter?
Children have been known to hide from firefighters in burning houses because the appearance of the firefighters in all their gear can be so scary.  Invite a firefighter to your storytime and ask them to put on their gear while the kids watch.  I bet they'd even read them a book.

Books: 
Fire Engine No. 9 by Mike Austin. This is like a book rendition of Hurry Hurry drive the firetruck. Segue right into it!
Intro: The Gingerbread Man Loose on the Fire Truck by Laura Murray. Wow, what a great resource!  A book which deals with all the details of firelife THROUGH THE EYES OF A GINGERBREAD MAN!  And in rhyme! Firetruck books can get pretty repetitive.  This one is welcome fun.
Gripping Tale:  Clifford and the Firefighters by Norman Bridwell.  Clifford just happens to be visiting the fire station and just happens to make a mess of the "stop, Drop and Roll" drill when the fire alarm just happens to go off and he just happens to get to go help at a fire. 
Science and Math:  Firefighters by Patricia Hubbell.  Cover more than just the glory of the hook and ladder truck; the paramedics are key too.
Classic:  Curious George and the Firefighters by Rey.  Curious George is useless as always when it's time to do something important BUT he does keep the ball rolling -- literally.  While the firefighters work to put out the blazes, he cheers up the frightened children with his juggling act.  Some books should deal with the reality of how scary a real fire is, and what to do when you are scared.
I'm Brave! by Kate and Jim McMullan. More vocabulary than story in this entry. If you don't read the whole thing, by all means pull it and show it.
Finale: Fire in the Forest, a Lego Book. I know, how dorky can you get.  But this book brings up a)non-emergency fire calls (it was just a campfire) and b)forest fires, which you have to fight with special planes! Even more great firefighting equipment!
Fire! Fire! Hurry! Hurry! Zimmerman
Firefighters! by Patricia Hubbell

Songs:
Hurry, Hurry, Drive the Firetruck

Plays:
Fireman flannelboard

Crafts:

Blow Art/Spit Art
This is a great art activity for firefighter storytime because a) it is totally fun and b) it really relates to fire! I picked fire colors, red, yellow, orange (and a little blue), and blew them around on the page with a straw.  Ha, ha.

Tips:
1. I used poster paint diluted by about half.
2. I showed the kids how to use a plastic teaspoons to put half a spoon of paint in the middle of the paper.
3. The straws with spoons on the end didn't work as well -- I snipped off the ends.