Teaching preschoolers about safety is essential. Not only will it protect them during their current endeavors, but it will provide the building block to keep them safe and sound in the future, too.
Of course, preschool children don’t want to simply hear about safety. With a desire to play while learning, you need to be more creative about teaching safety to preschoolers.
With that in mind, we’ve created this comprehensive list of the top 20 safety activities for preschoolers. All of the activities are not only incredibly fun with an element of hands-on learning, but they’ll teach the basics of safety that every preschool child should know.
Table of Contents
- 18 Safety Activities for Preschoolers
- 1. Stop, Drop, and Roll
- 2. FireFighter Dress Up
- 3. Fire Escape Practice
- 4. Fire Drills
- 5. Learn Traffic Light Colors
- 6. Make Traffic Signs
- 7. Safety Songs
- 8. Home Safety Scavenger Hunt
- 9. 911 Practice
- 10. Stranger Danger
- 11. Safety Walk
- 12. Dramatic Play
- 13. Safe Online Surfing
- 14. Stop, Look, and Listen
- 15. Safety Field Trips
- 16. Safety Poster Contest
- 17. Poison Prevention
- 18. Water Safety Reenactment
- Teaching Safety At An Early Age is Pivotal
18 Safety Activities for Preschoolers
Below, you will find the best safety activities for preschoolers to add to your syllabus.
1. Stop, Drop, and Roll
Stop, Drop, and Roll might be one of the very first safety activities we ever learn – and the best part is, it’s tons of fun, too. Preschoolers will have a blast dropping to the floor and rolling around. And while they’re giggling and rolling, they’ll learn one of the most basic ways to handle a fire.
2. FireFighter Dress Up
What kid doesn’t love dressing up and role-playing? Consider adding firefighter dress-up costumes to your “imagination” area. When the kids are all dressed up and ready to play, you can reenact what should occur if a fire breaks out. The firefighters can leave their pretend fire station in their fire truck and come and “save the day!”
3. Fire Escape Practice
Another great way to teach fire safety is to have small kids practice crawling. All you need to do is set up a few pieces of construction paper about two feet off the floor. Then, have your preschool-aged children “army crawl” underneath it until they reach the door. Share that they can’t come up past the construction paper. Make a fun game out of it!
4. Fire Drills
Being able to leave the preschool safely and efficiently is crucial, and preschoolers should know how to do it effectively. The best way to teach this is by performing a fire drill. Tell the children about it beforehand, so they’re not caught off guard or frightened. You can use a bell, horn, or another loud sound to mimic a fire drill. Then, have students line up quietly and be escorted out of the building.
5. Learn Traffic Light Colors
Road safety is another vital thing to teach young children, and the best way to start is by teaching them about the traffic lights – green means go, and red means stop. There are a few ways you can accomplish this. You can show them a fun video, like this one:
Or, have them create their own traffic lights with some colorful paper. You can also play the classic game “Red Light, Green Light,” but don’t forget to include the yellow light, too – this one is just as important!
6. Make Traffic Signs
It should be relatively easy for young kids to learn the traffic signals quickly. However, you shouldn’t forget to teach them about traffic signs. There are lots of traffic signs out there, so stick to a few per day. You don’t want to overwhelm kids. Again, books, videos, and arts and crafts can be helpful when teaching traffic signs.
Hang the signs and signals around the playground and have them follow the signs while walking, riding tricycles, etc.
7. Safety Songs
While most kids love dramatic play, listening to songs is another fun way to learn about road safety rules. Children will enjoy singing along to the tunes – so much so that they might not even realize they’re learning in the process! Try to find a song that goes along with the safety practices you’re learning for the week. For instance, if it’s “road safety week,” you’ll use a song like this:
8. Home Safety Scavenger Hunt
Teaching young children about safety should start in the household, and one way to make it fun is by doing a scavenger hunt! Write down all the items in your house used for safety, such as the smoke alarm, safety alarm, or fire extinguisher. Then, have your kiddos go and find them. So easy, yet so important!
9. 911 Practice
Knowing how to dial 911 in the event of an emergency is essential, as adults might not always have the ability to do so. That said, teach little ones how to dial 911 correctly and what they should say when the operator answers the phone.
10. Stranger Danger
Many books and videos teach “stranger danger” to children. While you don’t want to make them unnecessarily frightened of all individuals, there are a few basics to teach young kids. For instance, they never leave without an adult unless they have a unique password set up by the family. Don’t let any adult touch you inappropriately. Always follow your gut instinct. If something or someone doesn’t feel right, you’re probably right. Act out a few different examples.
11. Safety Walk
This is a fun activity that teachers can do at school, but parents can also do it with their kids at home. All you need to do is explore the house, classroom, or entire school. Encourage kids to look for safe things, such as the fire alarm or fire extinguishers. Also, allow them to look for items that aren’t safe, such as toys on the ground that could cause someone to trip.
12. Dramatic Play
Preschools love to engage in dramatic play. It’s incredibly fun but also a great way to act out different scenarios to teach kids to stay safe. For example, you could reenact The Little Red Riding Hood to teach preschoolers about “stranger danger.” You can also have them dress up as different helpers, such as firemen, police officers, or EMTs, and show the importance of these individuals and how they can help in an emergency.
13. Safe Online Surfing
In a digital world, teaching preschoolers the importance of safety online is more important than ever. While teachers and parents can take crucial steps – like using kid-safe search engines and limiting what can and can’t be downloaded – you must still reinforce these skills to youngsters. Talk with them about internet safety and play a fun online game that teaches safe online surfing.
14. Stop, Look, and Listen
While Stop, Drop, and Roll is the best way to stay safe when there are flames present, another easy thing to remember for road safety is Stop, Look, and Listen. This teaches kids to stop, even if the cars have a red light. Look in both directions and listen for vehicles before proceeding.
15. Safety Field Trips
Field trips are always a hit with kids of all ages – including preschoolers! While you should be engaging in safety games and activities at school or home, don’t forget about field trips to local places like the fire station or police station. Here, kids will get a hands-on experience (such as sitting in the fire trucks) while also learning about staying safe from trained professionals.
16. Safety Poster Contest
Children love to be creative – so why not make a contest out of it? Encourage children to create a poster about safety. They include all types of safety, from staying safe from strangers to what to do if they see flames. Whoever wins gets a prize, such as a policeman sticker!
17. Poison Prevention
Some kids are adventurous, whether it comes to being brave on their bikes or eating anything they can get their hands on – even if it’s not food. While being open to trying new things, especially exercise and foods, is positive, it can go haywire quickly. Teaching kids to ask before they eat something can keep them healthy and poison-free.
18. Water Safety Reenactment
Teaching water safety is infinitely easier when you have access to a pool, beach, or other body of water, but that’s not always feasible. But don’t worry – you can still teach a child to stay safe in the water by reenacting safety protocols. Have them practice entering the “pool” and how to stay safe while swimming around. Fun songs can also help a child learn water safety.
Teaching Safety At An Early Age is Pivotal
A child that learns safety early on will be much more likely to avoid harmful situations in the future. The key is to make learning fun, and the best way to do it is to teach kids about safety while playing. You can also adapt some fun games (Red Light, Green Light, for example) or utilize songs on YouTube to help them learn all types of safety measures, from fire safety to stay safe from strangers.