Need some advice/suggestions on..

[Ruh]

A safety talk with kids I am supposed to give.

I was asked to go into a sort of head start school and my understanding is that I will be giving a talk to pre-school aged children. I was wondering if anyone could help me formulate some ideas on topics to discuss and creative ways to discuss them with the children. I am not sure what my time restraints are, however I am willing to bet if I could fill a whole day with material they would allow it or even cover things over a period of time. Maybe like weekly visits.

I would also like some ideas from parents on things I shouldn't talk about specifically or things to be careful about so not to offend people.

Below are a few things that I have come up with so far:

Fire Safety: Stop, drop, and roll. My wife suggested doing something with balloons taped/tied to me to illustrate the importance of not running which would fan the flames. The idea is that when I run the balloons rise and make a fuss, but when I stop, drop, and roll the either pop under me or get knocked off and simulate me putting out the fire.

9-1-1: When and how to call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency.

Gun Safety: Recognizing a gun and knowing to never touch it but immediately telling an adult. (Don't worry, the Glock 40 is staying home )

Stranger Awareness: Not talking to strangers and avoiding getting in a car with a stranger. What to do if a stranger gets in a car (passenger area: taking key and running, taking car out of gear and running; trunk: messing with wires to flicker lights, opening trunks with safety release).

Those are the few things I came up with, the first three came to me just from hearing about current events. One thing to note is that the school is in the city (St. Louis City) and I believe in a poorer area. I don't want to do anything too specific or anything that should be done strictly by a real LEO.

Thanks in advance for any help you all can give .

[OfficerResource.com]

Before I answer this question what is your profession?

[BEK]

First of all, I had done something like that last year. I will tell you that whatever you decide to talk about keep it simple and fun. Dont try to get to much in depth. If you want more information about how to do a talk with kids that young drop me a pm and Ill get back to you with more

[Cheech]

He just grad from the academy.

[OfficerResource.com]

I Just spoke to a pre-school class last month. at that age you have about 10 minutes of attention span. after 10 minutes they want to see your cuffs, bullets and patrol car.

I also had sucess by asking them questions. They love to raise their hands to answer. My points were what is a police officer, 911, Strangers, and what to do if you are lost.

Get down on their level. I sat in a preschool chair and got on their level. Be ready for some funny comments and questions.

I think the part they like best was when I let them all sit in the patrol car and talk on my external speaker.

[OfficerResource.com]

Also If you can take a coloring book or sticker. Kids love this stuff.

[Ruh]

He just grad from the academy.

Quick clarification on that.

I recently graduated from a self sponsor academy (4/3/06) and have my license to be a police officer. Right now I am in a hiring process to become a reserve officer while I go back to finish my degree unless a full time position opens up at my department of choice.

So, I have 945 hours basic police training and exposer from probably close to 60 hours in a police car on ride-a-longs (I usually was some assistance to the officer in the course of his duties), but I am not a sworn in officer. This will be a completely voluntary venture and I will not be representing any department. I also really want to do this because I like the idea of being out and interacting with the community, especially small kids (we think on the same level).




And hey lets face it...it will probably look really good on an application .

[Ruh]

I Just spoke to a pre-school class last month. at that age you have about 10 minutes of attention span. after 10 minutes they want to see your cuffs, bullets and patrol car.

I also had sucess by asking them questions. They love to raise their hands to answer. My points were what is a police officer, 911, Strangers, and what to do if you are lost.

Get down on their level. I sat in a preschool chair and got on their level. Be ready for some funny comments and questions.

I think the part they like best was when I let them all sit in the patrol car and talk on my external speaker.

Thank you for the advice .
I really like the idea of talking to them about police officers and their importance in our community (I am assuming these kids grew up with some of the same prejudices as I did when I was a kid). Hadn't even thought about it.