If you are teaching a community helpers theme, fire safety unit, or simply looking for a hands-on activity to go along with learning about firefighters, this paper plate firefighter craft is an easy addition to your lesson plans.
I created this firefighter craft with preschool and kindergarten children in mind. It uses a simple paper plate for the firefighter’s face along with printable pieces for the firefighter hat, badge, hair, eyes, ears, and nose. The template includes both color and black-and-white versions, so you can choose the option that works best for your classroom or homeschool day.
It is a fun way to add cutting, coloring, gluing, and fine motor practice to a community helpers theme without requiring a complicated list of supplies.
Easy Paper Plate Firefighter Craft for Kids
Firefighters are one of the most recognizable community helpers for young children, which makes this craft a great activity for a community helpers preschool theme.
Rather than simply coloring a firefighter picture, children get to build their own firefighter face. The paper plate becomes the head, while the printable pieces transform it into a firefighter complete with a bright firefighter helmet and badge.
I especially like crafts like this because they can extend a lesson without turning it into another worksheet. Children are still practicing important early learning skills, but they are cutting, assembling, coloring, and creating while they do it.
You could use this craft after reading a firefighter picture book, during a community helpers unit, as part of a fire safety lesson, or alongside firefighter worksheets and activities.
What Is Included in the Printable Firefighter Craft Template?
I created the printable pieces to make assembling the paper plate firefighter craft as straightforward as possible.
The printable includes:
- Firefighter hat center
- Firefighter hat brim
- Firefighter badge
- Hair
- Two eyes
- Two ears
- Nose
- Full-color template pieces
- Black-and-white template pieces
The color template is useful when you need a quicker craft or are working with children who may not want to color all of the individual pieces.
The black-and-white version gives children another opportunity to personalize their firefighters. They can color the hat, badge, hair, and facial features before cutting and assembling their craft.
Supplies for Your Paper Plate Firefighter Craft
One of the nice things about this firefighter craft is that you probably already have most of the supplies tucked away in your classroom or craft cabinet.
You will need a paper plate, the printable firefighter craft template, peach or another skin-tone paint, crayons or markers, scissors, and glue.
You can also provide several skin-tone paint colors so children can create firefighters with different appearances.
I recommend printing the craft template on white cardstock when possible. Regular printer paper will work, but cardstock makes the larger firefighter hat pieces sturdier and easier for little hands to work with.
How to Make a Paper Plate Firefighter Craft
Before beginning, print the firefighter template and choose whether you want children to use the color or black-and-white version.
For younger preschoolers, you may want to cut out some of the more difficult pieces ahead of time. Kindergarten children who are ready for more independent cutting can complete more of the preparation themselves.
1. Paint the Paper Plate
Paint the front of the paper plate with the skin-tone paint of your choice.
Set the plate aside and allow it to dry completely before adding the printable pieces. This is a good time for children to work on coloring and cutting out their firefighter template.
2. Color the Firefighter Pieces
If you are using the black-and-white template, have children color the pieces with crayons or markers.
They can use traditional firefighter colors or create their own version. This is also an easy way to give children some creative freedom while still working from the same basic craft template.
3. Cut Out the Printable Template
Cut out the firefighter hat center, hat brim, badge, hair, eyes, ears, and nose.
If you are using this craft with preschoolers, cutting assistance can be adjusted to match each child’s fine motor abilities.
4. Add the Firefighter’s Hair and Ears
Glue the hair near the top of the dried paper plate.
Next, glue one ear behind each side of the plate so that only the rounded portion of each ear shows. Placing the ears behind the plate gives the finished firefighter face a cleaner assembled look.
5. Make the Firefighter’s Face
Glue the two eyes and nose onto the front of the paper plate.
Then use a black crayon or marker to draw a simple smile underneath the nose.
Children can make their firefighters look a little different simply by changing the shape of the mouth.
6. Assemble the Firefighter Hat
Glue the firefighter hat center above the hair.
Add the hat brim across the bottom of the hat center so that the two pieces overlap slightly. Finish the helmet by gluing the badge onto the center.
Allow everything to dry, and your paper plate firefighter is ready for duty.
Skills Children Can Practice With This Firefighter Craft
Although this activity looks like a cute community helpers craft, there is plenty of learning tucked underneath that firefighter helmet.
Cutting around the printable pieces provides scissor and fine motor practice. Coloring and painting encourage hand control, while positioning the eyes, nose, ears, hair, and hat helps children think about spatial relationships and parts of a face.
Following the craft directions also gives children practice completing steps in sequence.
You can bring language development into the activity by talking about the different parts of the firefighter’s uniform, what firefighters do, where they work, and some of the tools and vehicles they use.
For a classroom group, the finished firefighters would also make an adorable community helpers bulletin board.
Using This Firefighter Craft During a Community Helpers Theme
I think this craft works especially well when it becomes one piece of a larger community helpers unit rather than a stand-alone activity.
Before crafting, introduce firefighters and talk about their jobs in the community. Children can brainstorm things they already know about firefighters and questions they would like to ask.
After completing the craft, you could have children dictate or write a sentence about firefighters. Try prompts such as:
A firefighter helps by ________.
or
If I were a firefighter, I would ________.
Older kindergarten students may be able to write their own responses, while preschool children can dictate their ideas to an adult.
Firefighter Picture Books to Read With This Craft
A good picture book can turn a craft into a fuller lesson. For a firefighter or community helpers theme, look for books that introduce fire stations, firefighter equipment, fire trucks, and the different ways firefighters help their communities.
A few books you may want to pair with your paper plate firefighter craft include:
Firefighter Frank by Monica Wellington
A colorful introduction to a firefighter’s day that works nicely with a community helpers theme.
Firefighters A to Z by Chris L. Demarest
This alphabet-style firefighter book can help you bring literacy practice into your theme.
The Fire Station by Robert Munsch
A fun story option when you want your firefighter lesson to lean a little more toward read-aloud time.
A Day in the Life of a Firefighter by Linda Hayward
A nonfiction choice for children who are curious about what firefighters actually do.
You could set out firefighter books throughout the week and let children browse them during quiet reading time or after finishing their community helper activities.
More Firefighter and Community Helpers Printables
If you are building a complete community helpers theme, you do not have to stop with the craft.
Pair your paper plate firefighter craft with my free community helpers worksheets and other community helper activities. Children can learn about firefighters along with doctors, teachers, police officers, construction workers, mail carriers, and other important helpers they see in their communities.
Using a mixture of crafts, worksheets, matching activities, scavenger hunts, books, and dramatic play can keep the theme varied while reinforcing the same vocabulary and concepts.
My Community Helpers Matching Game is another fun option for centers or small groups, while the Community Helpers Scavenger Hunt gives children a different way to identify and recognize the helpers they are learning about.
More Ways to Extend Your Firefighter Theme
There are plenty of simple ways to stretch this activity into a longer firefighter lesson.
Set up a pretend fire station in your dramatic play area, let children build a fire station from blocks, practice identifying firefighter tools, or create a firefighter-themed sensory bin.
You can also turn the finished paper plate firefighters into a classroom display. Add each child’s name underneath their firefighter or have children complete a short sentence about how firefighters help people.
For a homeschool lesson, you could combine one firefighter book, the craft, and a printable activity for a simple community helper lesson without needing to prepare an entire unit.
Pin This Paper Plate Firefighter Craft for Later
Planning a community helpers theme for later in the school year?
Save this paper plate firefighter craft to your preschool crafts, kindergarten activities, community helpers, or fire safety Pinterest board so you can easily find the printable when you need it.
This is also a handy craft to save for Community Helpers Week, a fire station field trip, or a firefighter classroom visit.
Get Your Paper Plate Firefighter Craft Printable Here
Ready to make your own firefighter?
I created this printable paper plate firefighter craft template to make preparation easier for parents and teachers. You will receive both color and black-and-white template pieces, giving you the flexibility to choose the version that works best for your children or students.
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A Simple Firefighter Craft for Your Community Helpers Unit
A paper plate firefighter craft is an easy way to add a creative, hands-on activity to a preschool or kindergarten community helpers theme.
With a paper plate and the printable template, children can build their own firefighter while practicing coloring, cutting, gluing, following directions, and fine motor skills.
Whether you use it after a firefighter read-aloud, during a fire safety lesson, or alongside your community helpers worksheets, I hope this little firefighter earns a spot in your next lesson plan.
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