We often hear about fire drills taking place in our public schools. Do we hold fire drills in our homeschools, and if not, well then, why aren’t we? Fires only happen at schools once in a while; how much more often do we experience house fires? If your child should be learning how to prepare for an emergency anywhere, it should be in the home, first and foremost, with other locations as a secondary course.
Every home should have a fire extinguisher, and each of your older children should know how to use it. If you have a fire, you don’t want to stop and read the instructions and figure them out as you go—you should know what that label says already, and the same goes for your children. In moments of hesitation, serious damage can be done—read the label together as a family. Discuss when they should use the extinguisher, when they should leave it to you, and when they should just concentrate on getting out of the house.
Every family should have two escape routes planned—one for out their bedroom windows, and one for out the front door. Discuss when to use which route, and always have a firm plan for where to meet up outside.
Check the batteries on your smoke detectors regularly and set them off so your children know what they sound like and what they should be on the alert for.
These tips are, of course, common sense and not exclusive to the homeschool setting. But you can make these drills even more educational for your children by discussing where fire comes from—how is a fire most likely to start? What are common household incendiary items? What are the positive uses of fire, as well as the destructive? How do craftsmen, artisans, and chefs use fire in their lines of work to create art or culinary dishes?
As you and your children work together to create a fire escape plan for your family, you can make it a lot of fun—it doesn’t need to be a tense, fear-filled chore. Talk about it in an upbeat way. Make a game out of practicing your escape routes, and your child might say to you like mine said to me, “Mom, can we do that again? That was so much fun!”
Related Blogs:
Preparing Your Child for an Emergency
“Stop, Drop, and Roll” by Margery Cuyler