At one point in time or another, you are going to come across a child with medical concerns. I've taught children with diabetes, Crohn's disease, bladder issues, digestive ailments, and asthma. While I've been teaching for a long time, I've embarked on a new adventure this year with food allergies.
My school is not a nut-free school, but does take precautions with those students with nut allergies. Teachers of students with nut allergies are given placards for their doors to remind people that the room is a "Peanut/Tree Nut-free zone"; you can see the note in one of the pics on an earlier post. Our cafeteria meals provider uses nut-free products and no peanut butter is served as a lunch choice. However, students who pack are allowed to bring nut products in their lunches. To combat this issue, each long set of tables in the lunch room has a designated "allergy table," a safe zone where students with food allergies can sit with their friends and enjoy their lunch (as long as the friend isn't a packer that day, as packers are NOT allowed at these tables).
This has been the practice for several years now and the children are used to it. I, however, have had to think of my classroom in a whole new way in order to make sure it is truly a safe zone for my student with allergies.
Every morning around 10:15 we have a snack. Students bring their own snacks; I don't provide them. Prior to the beginning of school, I met with the mom of my student with allergies to ask what was safe and what wasn't so I could add it to my back-to-school letter for parents. The mom was nice enough to have a list of things her daughter could eat and be exposed to in class, as her daughter is deathly allergic to nuts of any kind. (The mom actually went through the grocery aisles and wrote down the items and brands her child can eat.) I sent home the Safe Snack List in my parent letter and posted it on the class website, but still had parents send in things that weren't labeled or were questionable. In those instances, I had the children save their snacks for lunch, and if they were packers, choose something safe to eat. Then I followed up with a letter home to explain about the Safe Snack List and why the child couldn't have a particular snack that day. That was a bit of a headache until Back to School Night, when I re-explained the necessity of sticking to the Safe Snack List on the class website. I still check snacks everyday to be sure, but I haven't had to send any notes in over a week now.
My own personal snacks have had to be altered as well. I love almonds and granola, but I save those for home. Those types of items don't even touch my lunchbox. The plus of adjusting my snack is that I'm eating a bit healthier, with lots of fruits, plain pretzels, and cheeses.
The other thing I've had to look at as far as routines go, is when to get hands washed. I've always had my students wash their hands before lunch and after snack or lunch if there was something messy/sticky/powdery (like Cheetos), but now all students have to wash their hands after lunch as well. Nearly all of the students use the wall pump, but the student with allergies uses a Dial liquid soap pump so the others don't accidentally contaminate her if she touches the pump surface. It's been working out pretty well.
I also don't let the children open the classroom door after lunch (one of the few times the door is closed when no one is in the room); I open the door with the aid of Clorox wipes. (Even though I wash my hands before I pick them up, I'd rather err on the side of caution.)
In addition to my student with food allergies, I also have a student with a gluten sensitivity. His mom has been pretty good about sending in gluten-free foods for him to have while in school. She has also given me a list of foods he can safely eat. He's not so sensitive that he can't touch things with gluten in them; he just can't eat them.
So between the two lists, I've pared down to common items to keep parents from being overwhelmed when sending in snacks or birthday treats. Although I have tweaked my birthday treat list to include things such as pencils, stickers, small party favors, etc. We've only had one birthday so far this year, and I am pleased to say that the parent stuck to the list!
I know it may seem like I'm going a bit overboard, but I have close family whose children also have these types of allergies and sensitivities. I'm also the parent of a child with severe allergies (to insects, not food), and getting her ready just to go out and play is a process, not to mention needing to have an Epipens in every location she will be throughout the day: school, home, one for transport from place to place. I also have mild food allergies and know what to avoid. My worst reaction has been hives, but I know that's nothing compared to what my students would have to go through if they were accidentally exposed on my watch.
I believe we will make it through the school year with no incidents or accidental exposure/ingestion. Pray with me on that one.
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