Uh, oh! Peanuts!

1. Uh, oh! Peanuts! Gail Ramming EDE 735 August 2002

2. This is Marcus.

3. likes to ride his dirt bike, play with , and eat .

4. One day when waseating his favorite jellybeans,he felt something crunchy in his mouth.

5. The crunchy jellybean tasted good, but it didn’t taste like his other jellybeans. It didn’t feel like other jellybeans either. It was hard, not chewy in his mouth. Suddenly, realized what he was eating. It wasn’t a red jellybean. It was a red . . .

6. peanut! mm

7. Thus begins the story of Marcus and his life with a peanut allergy. Today, more than ever before adults and children alike are developing allergies to peanuts. The allergic reactions to peanuts range from a mild rash to anaphylactic shock, even death!

8. This Fall there will be a child in our classroom who has a severe allergy to peanuts. The following is a plan that will be used to help make our children, their families and the school staff and students aware of the severity of this allergy and what we can do to help keep our student safe.

9. Table of Contents Preparing the environment Classroom aids and reminders Letters to parents and school staff A story for the children A class discussion with our school nurse Click on colored block to view contents. If peanut is indicated after content title, click on it after returning from content site.

10. Classroom surfaces and toys must be washed thoroughly. next

11. Awareness posters will be posted in the classroom and in appropriate places throughout the school. next

12. We Need Your Help! Dear Parents, There is a child in our classroom this year who has a severe allergy to peanuts. Reactions to peanuts can range from a rash to a swelling of the throat, possibly causing death! Our classroom needs to become a peanut-free zone of safety for this child. I have been working with the parents and our program nurse, Mary Beth Hughes to determine what precautions need to be taken in the classroom. Enclosed you will find a list of ways you and your child can help to ensure that our classroom is a peanut-free, safe zone for all of our children. The posters shown on the enclosure will be posted in several places around the classroom to serve as reminders for all of us. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. We know that you will do everything you can to help our children be safe at school. A letter will be sent home to families one week prior to the start of school. Next

13. A communication, in addition to a verbal explanation at a staff meeting, will be sent to Bauer (school) staff concerning the precautions needing to be taken for our classroom. • A Peanut-Free Preschool Zone • Visitors to the preschool room will have to wash hands thoroughly prior to entering the classroom. • Students visiting the preschool room will need to have had peanut-free breakfasts/lunches on the day they come to the classroom. • Visitors may not bring snacks to the preschool room. Back

14. Lastly, the program nurse from MRDD will come into the classroom to talk to the children about ways they can help to keep our classroom safe for our friend with an allergy. Peanut

15. She will tell the children what will happen if the child is accidentally exposed to peanuts at school so we can honestly say . . .

16. Welcome to Our Classroom