If disaster were to strike your community and you were not able to get to your children at their school, would you know with a certainty that they are being taken care of? We had an eye-opening experience in our area recently that has prompted me to make a School Emergency Kit for each of my boys, just in case something were to happen while they were at school and I wasn’t able to get to them. Plus, it’s never a bad idea to have a little snack on hand.
School Emergency Kit
This past week our community experienced a massive flash flood. Our dry, desert weather suddenly turned violent and hurricane-like as the remnants of a tropical storm pounded our entire region, ripping out the interstate and knocking out power and water. Several students were stranded at area schools long into the night because there was no safe route to get them home and a handful of students had to spend the night on the gym floor of the local fairgrounds until emergency personnel could get them to their parents. It made me realize that a simple School Emergency Kit that can be kept in a back-pack would have come in very handy.
One thing that I have learned from this experience is that as a parent, I need to be doing more to ensure that my boys have a peace-of-mind knowing that if things go wrong, they will still be okay. Now, I know that there are never any guarantees when it comes to the weather, but if I can send them to school with a little piece of home and a few essential supplies, they will be better able to weather any storm away from home if necessary. I’ve put together a simple School Emergency Kit that fits into a pencil box or zip-lock bag to help students to stay calm in case things go wrong at school and they aren’t able to get home right away.
School Emergency Kit Supplies:
- Pencil Box
or Large Zip-Lock bag for storage
- Mini First Aid Kit
- A small water bottle and juice box
- Granola bars/ crackers
- Fruit Snacks/Fruit Leather/Applesauce
- Small Flashlights
and Glow Sticks
- 3X5 card with family phone numbers, emergency contacts, Out-of-state contact, home address and any medications student is taking just in case the school computers are down and access to records is difficult.
- Family Picture and a note from mom and dad just to give reassurance that you will see them soon and things will be fine.
I know that all children react to situations differently. What some children see as an adventure might induce panic in another child. Make sure that you as a parent know what the emergency plan for the school is so that you can explain that to your children, especially those who may tend to worry more. And a School Emergency Kit doesn’t have to be just for a major event such as a flood. A simple School Emergency Kit can keep kids calm in the case of something simple like the bus breaking down, or if for some reason their ride is late picking them up.
What else would you include in a School Emergency Kit?
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