The Weyburn Family Place had the opportunity last week to introduce their Little Learners students to local Police and Firefighters.

The three and four-year-olds were visited by members of the Weyburn emergency crews and learned some valuable lessons about their roles within the community.

"Last week we had a community helpers week so we were lucky enough to have the Fire Department bring a truck down," explained Lori Hudson, Teacher with the Weyburn Family Place. "The children were able to experience the sirens and the lights and he answered questions and whatnot."

She added that their visits were a little bit different than they were last year as the children weren't able to climb inside of the vehicles and touch the buttons due to the pandemic.

However, all of the children were given a take-home bag with fire safety information and their very own Firefighter hats to wear.

After visiting with the Firefighters at their school the kids and teachers then headed to the Police Station to see all of the Police cars. The officers flashed their vehicle's lights and sounded the sirens for them as well.

Hudson shared that there were a number of reasons for them to introduce the children to the local emergency workers.

"A lot of kids are afraid of the noises and the big truck and even the outfits and uniforms that the Police Officers and Fire Department wear," Hudson told. "It's nice to learn that they are helpers. So that's a big part of it. To know that they're there to help us and that's nothing to be afraid of."

They are hoping to be able to have a more extensive emergency crew learning experience for the kids next year. One part of that would be to have the Police Officers coming into their classrooms to talk more about what they do and answer more of the children's questions.

Another part they miss from past years was when the students were able to try on the Firefighter's gear and uniforms.

The staff and students from the Family Place have also been visiting senior care homes in Weyburn to help boost their spirits by playing outside of their windows.

"We all went to the senior's homes and it's such a nice thing we can do for them," expressed Hudson. "It's hard for them. We see all of our families tucked away and it's hard for the kids to understand what's going on without getting into all of the details about it. But they can at least see how happy the seniors are when they see them playing and it's so good for everybody. It's a tear-jerker sometimes to see how happy the kids are there and they're probably thinking about their grandparents that they haven't seen in a while. It's just such a wonderful thing."

Photo of some of the children and staff from The Family Place playing in the snow for the seniors at Hilltop Manor last month (captured by Denis Conroy).

You can view our video from their visit to Hilltop Manor below.

They are also encouraging the community right now to take part in their rock snake that is constantly growing in the flower bed in front of their building.

"We're hoping that the snake grows and people are welcome to paint a beautiful rock and bring it in and we can see how far we can get it to go," Hudson said.

You can keep up with everything that the Family Place is up to by following their official Facebook page.