Achoo! and July's Currently

Sniff. Sniff. Achoo. Ughh… The signs and sounds of allergies. This week I’ve been thinking a lot about dealing with allergies and more specifically food allergies in the classroom. Next year I know I will have one boy in my class who has an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts. So scary!!

Anyway, after going to the allergist myself I found that out that after eating anything I want for 25 years, I’m allergic to wheat, dairy, and corn. Fortunately, the allergies are mild but still it’s a big adjustment for me reading every label and asking what’s in everything I eat. Perhaps this is God’s way of helping me prepare for the little “peanut boy” who will be in my class this next year.

This past week I’ve been thinking of different processes and procedures that I do in my classroom that will have to be adjusted to accommodate for him and any others that have specific food allergies. For example, I definitely need to be more aware and more careful with having the students wash their hands, being careful not to touch things after they have eaten, and being on top of making sure the students are not sharing food. Since I’ve never had students with severe allergies before, the food sharing didn’t bother me. Naively, I didn’t want to discourage the sharing spirit and attitude that I so want my students to have but I realized that through this, students can learn and work on other character traits. For example, by having a student with such a severe food allergy who cannot come in contact peanuts, who can’t come in contact with people who have touched or eaten peanuts, or who even cannot come in contact with a food that is handled or made in a facility where peanuts are also made, students can learn to be aware of other kids’ needs (unselfishness). They can also learn about giving up certain things in order to be a help to others and how to be content and grateful with what they’ve been given in their lunch, rather than trying to trade and share snacks with others.

Even though I am nervous about the responsibility of having to carry an epi-pen with me all the time, it’ll be a good learning experience for me and my students. 

If you have any advice about dealing with food allergies in the classroom, what works for you, procedures your school follows, or anything like that, please share your ideas!  

I’m linking up with Farley from Oh’ Boy 4^th Grade for the July Currently linky party!

Here’s what I’m doing currently…

I’ve been listening to Poulenc’s flute sonata a bunch because next week I’m working at a band camp where I have to perform a piece for a faculty recital. Considering I haven’t performed a classical piece since high school, I’m super nervous!

I LOVE Pinterest. Seriously, I’m addicted! It’s such a wonderful resource for teachers! There are so many ideas and resources out there that I had no idea about until I discovered the world of Pinterest.

Well, I already discussed the allergy thing and I mentioned last month that I really want to go to Disneyland. It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen this summer since we’re trying to buy a car but maybe for fall break!

Laundry is something that I really need to do but I don’t want to!! The things I should do, I don’t want to, and the things that I really don’t need to do are the things I end up doing. Oh well. Such is life.

My all-time favorite read aloud is Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel! It’s just so fun to hear and read all those silly sounding words!

My “go-to” book for all things teacher related is the The First Days of School by Harry K. Wong. This was a required read and college and I re-read it every summer to get ready for the new school year. It’s basically a teacher’s handbook to surviving the first days of school.

Thanks for reading!