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Hi everyone - We all received a posting recently from Corinne who asked about
talking to her daughter's class.  I told her about an experience that we had
that was very helpful to my daughter.   When my daughter went to
kindergarten, it was no big deal to her because all her friends who grew up
with her already knew about her gf foods.  Then we moved and she had to start
a new school with kids who she did not know.  All the questions were
overwhleming to her.  So I asked the teacher if I could come in and talk
about celiac's disease to the class.  I started the discussion by asking
about being different - everyone in the class could come up with a way that
they were different from the other kids - wearing glasses, not good at
sports, liking art, taller, shorter etc.  Then I talked about how my daughter
was different - she couldn't eat wheat and some other foods.  I wanted them
to know it was something she was "born" with, because some kids were acting
like they were scared they would "catch" it from her.  Then I demonstrated
using a piece of terri cloth and a plain cotton hankie - explaining that the
terri cloth was like the villi in the intestines and how they absorb the
nutrients in the foods we eat.  I poured colored water onto the terri cloth
and showed how much water it absorbed.  Then I talked about the celiac's
disease "took away" her villi and demonstrated that by pouring water on the
hankie and how little water it absorbed, how little nutrition her body
absorbed when she was sick.  Then I showed how the villi grew back and her
body was well and she could absorb the nutrients again to be healthy.
I then served gf brownies (Pamela's with chocolate chunks is our favorite!).
The kids needed to taste how good my daughter's foods could be - they asked
for seconds!  (I explained about how much everything costs which is why many
times she wasn't allowed to share her foods with the other kids all the
time.)  One boy said "These are so good I wish I was celiac too!"  This made
her feel special in a good way!
It was such a positive experience for her and for the class.  The teacher
taught a lesson on nutrition and the digestive system to follow up on what I
had started.  Another mom came to class and demonstrated about her child's
hearing aids!
My daughter is now 10 and in 5th grade.  It's no big deal to her any more and
if kids ask her about it, she acts like, "What's wrong with you that you
don't remember?" rather than "What's wrong with me that I can't eat
"normal"?"  (A little attitude goes a long way in 5th grade!)  This year our
school has "outdoor ed" for the 5th grades which means the kids sleep over at
a camp for 4 days - I'll let you know how that turns out.
Good luck to all as our kids go back to school!
Amy Grabowski, GFGang co-leader
<A HREF="http://nsn.nslsilus.org/prkhome/csagc/glutenfreegang.html">http://nsn.nslsilus.org/prkhome/csagc/glutenfreegang.html</A>

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