Keeping Green Eggs out of the Classroom

March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's birthday, which has nationally become known as Read Aloud Day. This is a great opportunity to increase literacy in younger children by sharing Dr. Seuss's extensive collection of great kids books. Many preschool and elementary school teachers include crafts inspired by the books as a way to increase excitement and student involvement with the stories.

Unfortunately, the mass popularity of Green Eggs and Ham sometimes leads to the exclusion of kids with egg allergies when real eggs get involved.

Nobody likes to see their child get excluded--especially when a dangerous item gets brought into the classroom. If your child has an egg allergy, it's not too late to ask your child's teacher what her/his plans are for the day, and to steer them towards a safer way to celebrate.

Here are some great suggestions, and a Google search for "Dr. Seuss crafts" will point you towards dozens more!

Cat in the Hat hats

These are easy to make and involve only a paper plate, large sheets of red and white construction paper, glue, scissors, and a stapler.

Cut out the flat center part of the paper plate. Cut red stripes roughly two inches wide from the red construction paper (this can be done in advance for younger kids.)

Glue red stripes onto a white piece of construction paper. Curl the striped paper into a tube and insert the bottom 2-3 inches into the hole in the paper plate. Glue or staple the tube together.

Cut 2 inch slits in the bottom of the tube and fold the resulting flaps under the rim of the paper plate. Staple the flaps to the plate to secure the two pieces together.

Bingo! It's the Cat's Hat! (You could secure it with string or elastic if the kiddos are going to be wearing it for a long time.)

Cat mask courtesy of my seven-year-old

Handprint Thing 1 and Thing 2

What child doesn't like to paint with their hands? These are fun to make and a great keepsake to remember how small their hands are!

Start by painting the child's palms and all fingers EXCEPT the middle finger with red paint.

Have them place their hands on a piece of paper with the fingers towards the edge. Having an adult press down on the top of their hands before lifting will make sure fewer gaps are left. Have the child wash their hands and then return.

Paint the child's palm white and their fingers blue, getting a little blue onto the perimeter of the palm as well. Flip the red handprints upside down and line up each hand so that the red handprint is a Thing's body, the new white palm will be the head, and the fingers are the hair. Again, have the child wash their hands.

Once the paint is dry, add a white spot to the center of the body, and then draw features on the face. Write "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" in the white circle once that paint is dry.









Toilet Paper Tube Horton with Clover

This loveable elephant is easy to make, although younger kids may need an adult to cut out Horton's features.

Have the children paint toilet paper tubes gray. Allow to dry.

While waiting, have the children cut out Horton's ears, trunk, and make a black fringe for hair. You can use construction paper or craft foam.

Glue these in place, and then use a marker to draw Horton's features.

Glue a pom pom to the end of a chenille stem for the clover, and glue a speck of paper for the dust speck, if you like.



With a little creativity, there's no need for any children to be left out of the Dr. Seuss Day festivities. Remember, the moral of Green Eggs and Ham is that we should be willing to try new things! That goes for educators too!

Credit where credit is due: I got the hat ideas from this blog, the handprint things from this blog, and Horton from this blog.

Why are our Allergens Villains?

A few weeks ago, Hubby and I sat down to plot the course of Allergy Superheroes for 2016. It's hard to believe we've been around for more than a year, and been "open" for almost a year. We've had a lot of ups and downs, and learned tons of things along the way.

One of our potentially contentious decisions was to make the allergens into villains. As we did market research, everywhere we turned we saw products with happy, smiling cartoons of the country's top allergens. The prevailing trend seemed to be to depict allergens as goofy, friendly types.

I understand the idea of trying to remain non-threatening, and even to depict allergens in a positive light to minimize future backlash (in case a child outgrows an allergy.) But we just couldn't get behind the "friendly" allergens.

Speaking for myself, I understand that nuts are food for other people. I know this in my head. But when I see a nut, I don't see a smiling acorn. I see this:

Despite parents' best efforts to portray food in a positive light, most kids with allergies develop an aversion to those allergens unless outgrown in toddlerhood. (I didn't willingly eat eggs by themselves until college, despite outgrowing that allergy by age three.)

But even more important, we feel that cute allergens don't treat food allergies with the respect and seriousness that they require.

Asking a peanut-allergic child to wear a smiling peanut creates the impression that peanuts are happy, friendly, and safe--not that they are a danger.

We aren't trying to scare anyone with our villains. We're going for cartoon bad guys, not terrifying real ones. What we DO want is for them to remind children and caregivers that specific allergens are not safe for each individual child.

We knew we were taking a risk by breaking the mold, but we still feel it was the right thing to do. We stand behind our villainous allergens (in fact, we keep a wary eye on them at all times.) Besides, villains fit perfectly with our theme. What's a superhero without a nemesis, after all?

A Food Allergy Lesson from a Headache

We believe that Zax gets migraines.

They haven't been officially diagnosed, but we've got the family history and they certainly fit the pattern. A few years ago, we learned to medicate him at the first complaint of a headache, because if we don't, we'll regret it when the screaming and vomiting set in.

We've also wondered if these migraines are tied to altitude and/or dehydration, because just about every time we take a trip to the mountains, he complains of a headache--and several vacations have been less fun because that's how they began.  I bring this up because Zax had a migraine yesterday when I picked him up from school.

The moment I saw him, I could tell that something wasn't right. He told me his head hurt, and as I dug through my bag for his ibuprofen, I asked whether he had told his teacher. We keep ibuprofen in the nurse's office for this very reason. He said he had told her, but she'd just encouraged him to drink more water. So of course I chatted with his teacher before we left, to make sure she understood that his headaches need to be treated right away.

When I asked if Zax had reported his headache, she said "No." All he'd said was that he was thirsty, so she'd told him to drink water. I explained about his migraines, and that I'll tell him to communicate better, but that he needs to get ibuprofen at the first sign of any headache. She seemed to understand migraines, and so I took my miserable child home.

Yesterday's headache was a doozy, and Zax threw up in the car before curling up on the couch at home for a few hours. He definitely needed earlier meds.

Looking at both sides of the story, I think that what probably happened was that he'd said "My head hurts but maybe I'm just thirsty and need to drink more water," ...or something to that effect. Out of context, his teacher probably didn't hear the first few words, and once she understood what he was saying, she just heard him report thirst. When I discussed it with Zax before bed, when his headache had, thankfully, resolved, he agreed that he'd probably said something like that. I told him that his teacher knows that he needs headache medicine now, so if he reports a headache and she doesn't respond the right way, then she probably didn't understand him. In that case, he should say it again, more clearly.

And then, of course, we started talking about his allergies in the same context. It occurred to me that the way he reports an allergic reaction may not always be clear to the teachers. Together, we discussed that if he reports a reaction and doesn't get the right response (meaning anything other than sending him with a buddy to the nurse's office) then he should say it again but make sure he says he's having an allergic reaction.

Kids don't always realize that they aren't clear to adults, and we parents don't always realize that our children's speech patterns don't necessarily make sense to people who don't know our kids as well. Just one more reason to make sure our kids speak up until they're heard if they ever have an allergic reaction!

Crayon Cupcake Valentines!

We had a lot of fun making our Valentines this year!  We decided to make them allergy friendly, and so we hauled out an old favorite craft--the Crayon Cupcake!

This is also a great way to get rid of old, broken crayons (of which we had almost a full bucket.) I removed the wrappers, and the boys helped break/cut the crayon pieces into small chunks.

(If you want to make sure your craft is also corn-free, you'll need to wash the crayons after removing the wrapper, as corn is used on the glue that holds the wrappers in place. Cheaper crayons (and restaurant crayons) may also use corn wax in the crayons themselves, so you should probably stick to Crayola (or call the crayon manufacturers) for a guaranteed corn-free craft.)

After the crayons are peeled and broken, place the pieces in cupcake liners.  (It was pajama day, in case you couldn't tell. :)

Bake in a 250 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.  Start checking at 10, and remove them as soon as there are no more crayon chunks visible.

Allow them to sit until cool and solid again.

Then you can remove the liners.

Aren't they pretty?

I cut out hearts using my Silhouette machine, with the expression "You color my world!" printed on the side.

Then the boys helped me attach the crayons to the hearts.  I tried to use Glue Dots but they weren't strong enough, so we used a small dollop of hot glue.  It wasn't hot enough to re-melt the crayons.

On Kal's valentines I pre-printed his name (not shown), but Zax personalized his hearts after we took these pictures.

Some of the wax will melt through the liners onto your muffin pan.  You can use a disposable one if you wish, but it is possible to clean the pan up again.  Just heat the pan again for a few minutes on low heat, wipe out the wax with a paper towel, and then wash.  Repeat as necessary.

So there you have it!  Allergy free valentines that still allow your child to bring a fun treat to share with his/her class!

I'm happily sharing this Valentine Craft with Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, and Corn-free Everyday

  

EpiPen4Schools

I recently came across this great program!

Logo used with permission

www.epipen4schools.com

Here's how it works:

The program offers four FREE EpiPen® or EpiPen Jr® Auto-Injectors to qualifying public and private kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools in the U.S. Requirements to qualify for this offer include having a valid prescription. The products are available in the form of two EpiPen 2-Pak® cartons, two EpiPen Jr 2-Pak® cartons or one 2-Pak of each kind. Each EpiPen 2-Pak® contains two single auto-injectors, instructions for use and a EpiPen® Trainer, with no drug product or needle, to help patients become familiar with the administration technique.

I just had to read that twice.  FREE EpiPens for schools to keep on hand for anyone who needs one?  How awesome is that??!!  And it gets better:

In the event that the free supply is used to respond to an allergic emergency (anaphylactic event), qualifying schools are eligible to receive a replenishment order of EpiPen® or EpiPen Jr® Auto-Injectors prior to their annual eligibility date at no additional cost.

I shared this with Zax's school nurse right after I found out about it.  She sounded wary when I asked whether the school already had stock epinephrine, but got really excited when I told her about the program.  She told me that we have a few students who have been diagnosed with food allergies, but whose parents are unable to afford to keep epinephrine at school, so stock EpiPens would be a terrific way to keep them safe until paramedics can reach the school.

I also know that we have one student who has an allergic parent and he's never eaten his parent's allergen--but he's convinced he's allergic, too.  I can only imagine that he has no EpiPen since he's undiagnosed, so stock epinephrine would be a good safety net in case his suspicion is correct and he's accidentally exposed at school.  Other kids can have their first exposure to an allergen at school too, so there are plenty of reasons why having stock epinephrine on hand is safer and helpful!

The last I heard, our school nurse had passed this on to the district nurse, and they're in the process of qualifying.

I also shared this with Kal's preschool. I don't know whether a private preschool would be eligible (it doesn't mention preschools on the website) but I figured it was worth a shot. The Admin informed me they'd been considering stock epinephrine anyway!

Mylan is also extending their $0 copay program for EpiPens into 2015, so check that out if your copay is more than a few bucks!
https://www.epipen.com/copay-offer

And don't forget to check out our Peanut Allergy Slap Bracelets! We expect to have a few more allergens available in a few weeks!

I think it's great that Mylan Specialty wants to give back!  Be sure to share this with your child's school and with your social networks--undoubtedly you know more people touched by food allergies than you think, and they could all benefit from this!

The Dreaded Phone Call

I'm going to disclaim this post by stating that Zax is fine, and was fine (in terms of allergies, anyway) in both of these cases.


I never knew my blood could run so cold at the sound of the phone until I started getting calls from the school nurse.

This happened to me twice within the first month-and-a-half of kindergarten.  The first time it happened, it was also the first day Zax had had a substitute teacher.  Our health assistant introduced herself and asked me how I was.  I answered with the usual pleasantry, all the while thinking "Is there any reason for me NOT to be okay???"

Nothing had happened, but she was checking in because the substitute had been handing out plain m&ms as incentives, and did we let Zax eat plain m&ms?

I relaxed a bit.  We do, and have never had any problems, and I appreciated her checking in with us.  But then I tensed up again.  While we allow our peanut-allergic children to eat plain m&ms, there are plenty of others who do not--whether for higher levels of sensitivity or plain old caution, it's a valid dietary choice either way.  Zax later reported that he'd asked his usual "Does this have egg or peanut or nut," and the teacher had said, "No, just chocolate."  Her ignorance of the fact that plain m&ms say "may contain peanut" on the label underscores my trepidation about how safe my child is when someone other than his classroom teacher is in the room.

That first substitute took me by surprise (Zax had known about it the day before, but didn't think to share until he saw the substitute as he was walking into the classroom.)  Since that day, I've made a habit of reminding Zax to be extra careful of any food a substitute offers him, and I also walk to the door to talk to the sub.  "I'm sure this is in your information," I tell them--I think they're more receptive when I say it this way.  "But my son has food allergies to egg, peanut, and tree nut.  I just wanted you to be aware."


The second phone call from the health assistant--a few weeks later--sent the already-familiar chills down my spine.  Again I picked up, thinking "get straight to the point!"  Zax wasn't having an allergic reaction, or at least she didn't think so, and he swore he hadn't eaten anything.  What was happening was that he had completely shut down in class, he was hot, and he said his head and stomach hurt.

Again I got the chance to calm down.  This sounded a lot like his migraines.  (He hasn't been diagnosed with migraines, but they run in the family and he's had a handful of headaches that fit the description.)  I had to pick him up early, of course, so I headed down to the school.

Upon arrival, I had plenty of reason to be impressed by the health assistant.  She had the lights low because the light bothered him, and a trash can beside his bed (because he'd thrown up several times since we'd hung up the phone--more migraine pattern), but most importantly she had her notebook of Allergy Action Plans open to his page while she bent over my son.  She was ready for action.

The moment I saw Zax, I knew he was having a migraine.  Actually, I think he had a virus that had given him a migraine (he's had fevers and migraines at the start of colds before, a pattern I'm just starting to recognize.)  The health assistant doesn't know Zax the way I do, however, so I was gratified to see that she was ready and watching for any signs that said "Allergy!"

Fortunately, I haven't gotten that dreaded phone call again since late September.  I hadn't anticipated it scaring me so much, but I'm coming to realize that I will probably panic every time I get a "your kid got sick in class" kind of call.  It's just the nature of the beast.  I try to take heart from the fact that at least they can get ahold of me anywhere.  When my mom sent me off to school, she lost all lines of communication if she left the house for any reason.  Cell phones have truly revolutionized the world!

How do you feel when the school nurse calls?

Preschool Snack Time

One of the most intrinsic parts of the preschool day is snack time.  For the last two years, the kids at Zax's preschool took turns being "Snack Kid" and bringing a snack to share.  They loved being the "special kid" for the day, telling everybody what they'd brought, and sharing some of their favorite foods with the class.

Zax on his first snack day.  He was very proud.

We were asked to send three items per kid when it was our turn doing snack duty:  a grain, a fruit (or vegetable), and a dairy.  Zax had a special bag of "safe snacks" in the classroom, for the days when one or more of the normal snack components contained his allergens.  The school was supposed to be peanut and tree nut free, but items containing egg still came in.  Zax never seemed to mind when he needed to have something different, because he loved his backup snacks.  Sometimes he even asked for them when the normal snack was safe.

This year, with Zax in kindergarten, Kal finally gets to attend preschool, and he loves it!  He thinks it's great that the school Zax used to attend is now his special school.

This year, the preschool has changed the way they handle snack.  Instead of the kids taking turns, the parents are supposed to send their kids with their own snack every day.  You might think that, being a food allergy parent, I would be thrilled with the new arrangement.  All of Kal's food is under my control now.  But I'm actually a little disappointed.  There are a few reasons why:

1.  Zax used to love it when it was his special day.  Yes, kids can take turns with other special duties, like line leader or show-and-tell, but I'll never forget the enthralled look on his face the first time he showed me that he had the snack basket to bring home.

2.  If I never have snack duty, I can never surprise the class with a fun or special snack.  And I enjoyed providing special snacks.  For example:

Pumpkin-shaped cheese for Halloween!

Accompanied by Banana ghosts!

Santa Babybels and apple wreaths for Christmas (along with the teddy bears in Santa's sack)!

Heart-shaped watermelon slices for Valentine's Day!

And my favorite, "hot dogs" for snack (bananas in a whole wheat hot dog bun with a squirt of jelly) for April Fool's Day!

Close up.  The jelly doesn't look very good in this one, but I got a better squeeze tube for school.

I'll admit that these reasons could sound selfish.  And yes, I can always surprise Kal with this sort of fun snack on his own.  But stay tuned, I have other reasons for lamenting the loss of the communal snacks:

3.  Exposure to wider flavors.  Because of preschool, Zax decided that he likes bagels.  I have nothing against bagels, but I seldom buy them.  And while I could never convince him to try cream cheese at home, the peer pressure at school got him to try it, and admit that he likes it.  There were even parents who sent in far more exotic things, like seaweed, which I would never in a million years have purchased.  Zax didn't like it, but a lot of the kids did, and they would never have known without snack time.

And last, but most important:

4.  Training.

Partway through Zax's three-year-old year, I realized that snack time was a perfect opportunity to practice asking about the content of food.  I told him to ask whether the snack had "egg or peanut or nut" each and every day.  And I asked the teachers to please always answer the question.  Never to say "You can trust us to always check" or "Nobody will send peanut, the school is peanut free."  Because everybody makes mistakes, and while Zax was getting practice asking this critical question, it also didn't hurt to remind the teachers every day, just in case they forgot to look.

This process was a bit of a wash during Zax's three-year-old year--most of the time he forgot to ask.  But during his pre-K year, Zax really took this responsibility on himself.  After a while, he told me to stop reminding him in the morning, but he (and his teachers) reported that he still remembered to ask every single day.  Now it's an ingrained habit, which serves him well when food comes up in unexpected situations.

Because of the new preschool snack policy, Kal isn't going to get this important practice.  I'm going to have to figure out other situations for him to ask his important question.  We adapted, of course.  We got Kal a special monster snack bag to carry his snack in (it isn't as big as it looks, he's holding it in the foreground.)  And Kal doesn't know the difference, so he doesn't miss being the special "snack kid."

I know I'll come up with a way to teach safety to my second-born, but I still lament the loss of the daily reinforcements at preschool.  It was a safe environment, and the perfect place to practice.