One of our playgroup dads is an honest-to-goodness professional fireman, and he offered up his entire station to a group of preschoolers this Wednesday.
Once the firemen returned from a call (and oh the excitement! we got to see the firemen put on their gear and drive away with their lights and sirens blaring!), the fireman dad hopped off his truck and said, "here you go! everything's open for you!"
And it was. We could climb and explore three different fire engines, spray the fire hose, eat some fireman-grilled lunch, and enjoy a visit from Sparky, the fire dog. Not a real dog, mind you, Sparky was a man dressed up as a dog. Peter and Lucy learned this lesson when we left the bathroom, turned the corner, and came face-to-face with a half-uncostumed Sparky. "He's just a man in a costume"! Lucy cried. I'm not sure if that raised or lowered Sparky in her esteem.
The lack of an educational agenda made it pretty much the most awesome fire department visit imaginable. (That and the very rare treat of hot dogs for lunch.) Rather than learning about fire safety or fire prevention, the children were encouraged to treat the fire department as their own playground and just have fun already.
And with fire hoses spraying and engines to climb on? They did!
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