Task 1: How to prepare children for Hurricanes

Upon examining different resources on hurricanes that apply to younger children, http://whatworks.wholechildeducation.org/blog/before-and-after-a-hurricane/ knocked it out of the park. This site provided so many excellent ideas for the young students I teach on a daily basis. So many resources these days are written with older kids in mind and people so easily forget that all age groups are affected by natural disasters, such as hurricanes. As we know in the past couple of weeks, much of the US east coast has been on pins and needles about the possibility of tropical systems coming ashore - Irene actually made landfall. Due to this storm, school openings were delayed & once the students actually began school, they came in with so many questions and stories of experiences that were new and confusing to them. I was faced with many of this questions. The Whole Child Bog and its resources attack many of the questions that were asked and will most definitely be bookmarked for future incidents. 


Sesame Street offers access to a hurricane tool kit for parents, families, and caregivers that can aid in helping young children to feel safe and cope with emotions they may encounter.  By allowing the children to watch videos of Big Bird and other characters prepare for all aspects of the storm (before, after, etc...), they realize that they are not alone. Actually seeing some of their favorites cartoon characters going through the same hardships and events they are makes it just a little bit easier to comprehend.  


While tracking Hurricane Katia and TS Maria, we used many of the activities and videos presented to prepare for the possible implications these storms could have had - thankfully, we got lucky! Yet, my kids have a better understanding of what a hurricane is, how to prepare, and gotten many of their questions and concerns answered.We have even made activity survival kits for each child to have in case we are faced with another storm (like Irene). They brought in several of the items they would like to include and I supplied a few special things that I would like them to have. They are been instructed to talk about their kits with their families (parents received a letter prior to the activity) and to build a family kit together at home. 


My kids are no longer confused about the events that were faced with during Irene. They are well aware of what things happen during these storms, what they need to do to prepare, and what may happen afterwards. THEY ARE READY!