First Aid - Snakes, Spiders and Ticks (Day 5)

A few days ago our first aid topic was on snake, spider and tick bites.

First we went over the venomous snakes in our area and then went over some other venomous snakes they might encounter in America.

Then we went over some of the basic first aid measures you should take if bitten by a venomous snakes. In the picture they are trying to take off my ring. We also talked about the fact you should

• remain calm
• immobilize the bitten arm/leg/finger and keep as still as possible to keep the poison from spreading
• if possible have the limb lower than your heart
• apply a splint to keep the limb from moving (loosely to allow blood flow)
• remember what the snake looked like
• call 9-1-1

 ED did a little spider craft while the others were working on their math. Then we talked about how to identify the more common spiders to be worried about black widow and brown recluse spiders.

• try to identify the spider that bit you
• clean the spider bite site with soap and water
• apply a cool compress
• elevate the bite
• look for signs of chills, fever, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain

 Finally we talked about why it is important to check for ticks. They can carry bacteria that cause Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. We talked about how sick that can make you.

The kids practiced taking a tick off me (a bean that I taped to my arm). They actually loved that!  We talked about why it's important to remove the head as well.

We used a lot of our first aid tips from the Mayo Clinic First Aid section.

First Aid and Fire Safety (Day 3-4)

Fire Safety 

We were quite overdue for a review of some basic fire safety rules.  Even though we've lived here for a year and a half, we hadn't made a family meeting spot outside in case of emergency. Nor had we gone over in detail how the kids can escape from their room in case of emergency.

We talked about what to do if your clothes or hair catches fire. Stop! Drop! Roll!  One source suggests covering your eyes.  We also talked about how to help if someone is on fire. Making sure to issue the orders to stop, drop and roll. To get something like a blanket to cover them, roll them, and smother the fire.  Once again we all took turns calling 9-1-1 and giving our name, address and describing the emergency situation.

 We then talked about being low to the ground if the room were smokey. We practiced crawling quickly across the room. We also talked about checking a door before opening it to see if it were hot to the touch.  We talked about how oxygen feeds a fire.

 Next we went to each person's room and had them see if they could escape through their window if need be.
This was especially important for ED because her window is tough for her to open because of her height. We had her practice pushing the window down by using a couple of board books.

 We wrote out some our fire safety tips and then I had the kids go over all of them with Dad. Dad brought up a good point about what to do in case of a forest fire (since just six months ago a neighbor lost their house to a forest fire). Dad also suggested that we have a fire drill one day soon. 

We went around testing our smoke alarms.  

ED really liked this simple preschool page about fire safety. There's a screenshot to the left. I wasn't impressed, but she wanted to do it over and over which is what matters, right?!

Finally we talked about what to do in a smoke-filled room.  We talked about how difficult it would be to see and how you need to stay very low to the ground. Then the kids did one of their favorite activities... one we do most every time we talk about fire safety. They took turns crawling blindfolded through a maze of objects trying to get to safety. It's a fun activity, but they really do *get it* and remember that they would have to stay low or crawl in case of a fire.

First Aid and Fire Safety (Day 2)

The next topic we covered was on broken bones. We talked about immobilizing the bone. I told them the story of when my sister broke her arm. My parents wrapped a magazine around her arm and secured it before rushing her off to the hospital.  We practiced wrapping the arm and they learned how to make a sling.

First Aid and Fire Safety

One of the things hubby and I wanted to be sure cover again this year was emergency situations.  I'm a bit ashamed to say that we hadn't gone over this for close to two years.  Most of this information was new to ED.

The first day, I went over first aid for cuts.  ED helped me to 'prepare' my arm so she wasn't afraid (she drew on my arm with red marker and helped spread the 'blood'). I called the older two into the room and told them I needed immediate help.  LD said immediately, "Oh Ma, that's ketchup." Smart kids, right?! But then they got to the task at hand... putting pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, wrapping my arm and calling 9-1-1 for help - giving their name, address and explaining what was wrong. We looked at all the various things in our first aid box and we went over where it is kept.

Theme Time: Fire Safety

Today our theme time table included all things
fire related: little fire trucks, a fire hat, fire type
books and a non-working telephone.

At lunch I ready a couple of books (The Fire Cat
and The Polka Dot Puppy about a cat/dog who gets
adopted by a fire station). After lunch we all
gathered together and had a serious talk about
fire safety. It's been quite a long time (gulp!) since
we talked about this, but LD remembered most
everything. We talked about what to do in case
of a fire. How they could get out of each room. We
talked about where our family "meeting zone" is
in case of a fire/emergency. We practiced getting
to the safety zone (front gate).

We also practiced calling triple zero (000) for
emergency services (and I mentioned that this is
different in the States in case we move there in
the next few months). We made practice calls to
on the (non-working) phone, told them our name,
our phone number, our address, and explained
what the emergency was.
















When we came back in, we practiced STOP!
DROP! ROLL!! And we talked about how if
you need to help someone you throw a blanket
on them (the dog really got into this activity!)
















FINALLY (said LD!!) it was time for their FAVORITE
fire safety drill. Covering their mouth and staying
low through thick smoke. Here are the pics...

Fire Safety Activity

Before starting, we tested our smoke alarms.
Be sure you do this soon too!

Now on to the activity!!
























I set up a few obstacles and the kids had to
go through the blinding smoke safely and
quickly. I talked to them about how confusing
and scary it might be if they couldn't see. And
how they should cover their mouth with a
cloth and try to stay as low to the ground as
possible (things like that).

We've done this before and it has really stuck
with them. And, needless to say, we spent
more than an hour setting up new obstacles
and venturing down the hall. I was surprised
that ED wanted the blindfold on. Last year
DD was too scared to do it with a blindfold
(though NOT THIS YEAR she told me proudly!)















































LD practiced being a real fireman with a heavy
backpack on his back as well. He loved this
new twist!