The PE classes observed October as Fire Awareness Month by participating in games that reinforce basic safety rules in an emergency situation. We played “911” which included discussing that 911 was the number to call ONLY in an emergency situation. Emergency situations were reviewed and discussed as being a fire, someone not breathing, unconsciousness, someone breaking into your house, and a car wreck. I encouraged the students to talk to the grown-ups about putting their name, address, and phone number by the phone in case 911 ever needed to be called.
Every student put cones randomly on the asphalt outside and then they were given “red emergency 911 cards” that were to be put under each cone. Groups were formed and the first person in each group ran and turned over a cone. If there was a red card under the cone the student yelled “911” and quickly returned to their group and the next player turned over a cone. If there was no “911 emergency card” they said nothing and went back to their group.
Fire Safety Skills Tag was a review of what to do if you are ever in a fire situation. Prior to the game we discussed having a family plan on how to get out of the house and designate a specific meeting place. Members of the Fire Safety Cabinet team talked about getting out of the burning building BEFORE calling 911, and what to do if you awaken and see or smell smoke coming under the door. Smoke rises so we want to crawl and get low to the ground and not open doors if the handles are hot. They recognized the fact that smoke rises and that is why we stay low. If someone catches on fire we STOP, DROP, ROLL! We reviewed that oxygen is what keeps fire burning so by STOP, DROP, and ROLLING we can slow down the fire whereas running will only make the fire bigger.
We had several taggers with blue balls that represented smoke. If they were tagged they crawled until a friendly firefighter, designated with a fire sticker, came and helped them up. Taggers with red balls represented fire so they needed to STOP, DROP, ROLL until a friendly firefighter helped them up. Everyone had a turn being a tagger and a friendly firefighter.
During Red Ribbon Week, Oct. 26-30, we discussed the importance of taking care of our body through healthy eating, exercise, and living drug free. We played “Live Drug Free” a game that reinforces these concepts. Once tagged students run in place getting their heart rate from resting to rapid which increases the flow of blood taking oxygen to all parts of their body which makes them happier, increases learning, and makes their body stronger. Two teammates get on each side of the student, hold hands and say “live drug free”, “get off the couch”, or “eat healthy foods”.
