Let's review: "Wanna Be" series (Firefighter)

I don't know of many young children who don't enjoy role playing what they'd like to be when they grow up. From being a teacher, a nurse, a builder, to a vet. But one of the most often chosen 'wanna be' jobs is that of a firefighter. Is it the excitment with the noisy truck? The red sirens? The fact that they're real heros, as opposed to comic book superheros? Whatever it is, it's a lure and a GREAT opportunity to build up a unit study.

We have been given an opportunity to explore the world of firefighters whilst asking to freely review this product (received with thanks!) This is a unit study, complete with everything but the field trip itself!!! It actually follows on really well after having investigated ambulances with the children's grandparents late last year.

So what it all about?

The Old Schoolhouse has launched a new series of unit studies called the "Wanna Be" series.

The book we've received is "I Want to be a Firefighter".  It's available as an ebook for $8.95US. (Go here if you need to check exchange rates.)

It's aimed at children aged 4-10, but I believe you could extend this a little to up to 12 yr olds, depending on how you use it.  By that I mean further exploration of the geography and science/technology.  When we used this here, I read it aloud to Mariposa (who is 8), then she reviewed to answer the questions.

We discussed how a similar history would have taken place in Australia, even though the text is based in U.S.A.  Science and technology also comes into play with the discussion of pistons and robotics (most appealing to the older age group). New vocabulary is explored, which may stretch younger children, but learning new words never hurts. ☺

Children are asked to do some copywork (print or cursive), creative writing, draw out a plan for the fire station, and math questions (where Aussies may prefer to substitute 'meter' for 'feet'). There is also some American Sign Language (click here if you'd like to have the Australian sign language alphabet chart instead).

Geography and environment determine the type of housing built, which in turn means there are different materials that affect how fire behaves.  Our recent experience of the dreadful fires in Victoria makes this a very real lesson, so looking at our bush environment and building codes came into discussion.  I would add in writing out the family's fire plan if you need to have one.

Finances are also discussed. It would be an interesting side study to find this information out and see if it differs per state, as well how rank affects wages, for Australia (or your own relevant country).

One thing we didn't do much of were the games. If we had a younger lad (Maestro is a bit old for this now), it would be great fun to do a follow up to this unit study by having a party involving lots of the games they state. We did have a go at a few, but it's more fun with more people. Ah, that would by P.E. covered then.

So, a very enjoyable and informative unit study.  This could easily be done in a week, but don't run through it all chronologically (ie: page by page).  Print it out and use the copywork, colouring pages, etc. as needed after a reading session.  Put in a field trip too to make this complete.

Please feel free to view a few pdf sample pages here.

We're very keen to look at the Vet book in this series, since that's Mariposa's 'Wanna Be' passion.


My thanks again to TOS for allowing me to use and review this product.