The elementary school my daughter attended from 2nd-5th grade charged $5.00 for an Earthquake kit. Not all the schools made these but hers did. Each kit was in a ziplock bag, labeled with the child’s name on it. It moved year to year with her to each new classroom. Inside was an emergency blanket, a light stick, a special packet made for long-term storage of peanut butter and jelly and crackers. It also had a water packet. Does your school do anything like this? I think it really should.
Another idea I ran across while researching this topic as a classroom kit. Besides individual kits, each classroom had a backpack by the emergency exit door. It contained a first aid kit, flashlight, batteries, paper, pens, safety pins and such. The paper, pen and pins were for making nametags for each student. If the pack were large enough, all the student’s individual kits could be stored there too.
I encourage you to talk with your school and ask if they have an emergency preparedness plan. Specifically, do they have a plan if a natural disaster happens like an earthquake or tornado? Do the students each have their own mini kits? Does the school have a 48 or 72 hour plan? What about food and water during this time period?
There are lots of ways you can help your school become more prepared. Offer to organize a group to prepare individual mini kits for the students. I feel this is better than asking each student to bring their own because not all parents will provide the correct items. You need non-perishable food items and long-term water storage packets. Besides, by purchasing in large quantities you will be able to negotiate a better price and save everyone money in the long run. Another thing you might suggest is a preparedness drive. Send home a list with the students explaining what types of things you are looking for such as canned fruits, granola bars, energy bars, flashlights, batteries etc. Let them know that these items will be used to create a 72-hour emergency kit for the school. Food items can be donated to charities before they have a chance to go bad and replace at the beginning of the next school year.
