Yesterday was the day of the big storm. We knew it was coming because it has been on the news for days. Actually all this anticipation and excitement made me glad when it finally snowed. While we sat at home watching it snow, I was able to catch up on reading the blogs in my Google Reader. One that caught my interest was
The Power of Nature from Educationally Minded by Anthony Purcell. He talks about how weather has impacted his life as a child and also as a grown up. He shares,
“… I wanted to share some stories of the power of nature and how it has played in my life.”
He talks about the things that happened during a storm when he was a student and how he had to call his mom when he got home from school.
In anticipation of the snow, my husband and I went out yesterday and bought a generator, just in case the power went out. We also keep flashlights by our bed just in case we have no lights. We know where the candles are too just in case we want more light in the rooms. We have a lot of “just in case” stuff around because we like to be prepared.
All of this had me thinking about preparing my students. I have never done anything to really prepare them for storms. What I do are things I’ve read about, heard about and learned over the years. I’m not sure that I speak about this enough with my students. Like fire drills, this might need to be discussed often so that it becomes ingrained and second nature. I need to make sure that I impart this knowledge to my students.
Here are some things I would share with my students:
1. Know where your flashlights are in case you need them.
2. Make sure your flashlights work.
3. Know where your breaker box is in case you need to shut off the power to your house.
4. Know how to cut the water off to your house in case a water pipe bursts.
5. Know where your warm weather gear is before you have a need for it.
6. Clear off entry ways to your house so when you come and go, you won’t slip and fall.
7. Know where emergency numbers are located.
8. Have a plan of action in case something happens and an adult is not at home.
9. Prepare to have some emergency food available (granola bars, cereal, cookies, candy, bread, milk etc. )
10. Have a place designated to meet in case you get separated from members of your family.
What things would you want your students to know in case of emergency? Please share in case I missed some things.
Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).
Original Image: Snow storm by Pat Hensley
3 comments:
This is a great post! I don't know if I know all of those things though. Thank you for the reminder of what I need to do to be prepared. Today as students are working from home they have the chance to make a winter survival kit for the car. I'm excited to see what some of them think about and put together.
Very interesting to read your post. Our students, here in Sydney, have NO experience of these issues of heavy snow storms! However, many of our kids are experienced at how to prepare in bushfire season - and what to take if you need to evacuate! Mind you, the kids in Queensland are getting too much real life experience of evacuation at the moment! Important discussion to have in the classroom - great idea! Regards, Deb
@Anthony I think a survival kit for the car would be a great thing to make for the winter and for the summer.
@DebHogg I'm so sorry for all the disasters that Australia has had to go through. I guess a flood emergency plan and a bushfire emergency would be great for your students.
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