Kyle Dine and his puppet assistants have traveled the world to educate tens of thousands of students at more than 600 school assemblies.
The popular food allergy educator and musician gets children singing and clapping along with his songs, and his felt-covered helpers to teach important lessons about the condition. School nurses and teachers benefit from an engaging and essential lesson on food allergy that provides a starting point for teaching children. So it was out of this fun and exciting live show for spreading awareness, support, inclusion and self-empowerment that the Kyle Dine and Friends Food Allergy Awareness Video was born.
The new video brings Dine’s interactive lessons to life in the comfort of your own home, or the convenience of your classroom. Old friends like puppets Suzie Symptoms, EpiMan and The Q Sader, just to name a few, are joined by new pals, such as Miss DeLabel, The AllerGeneral, Professor Peeps and Pierre Peanut.
The DVD package includes a two-disc set with age appropriate lessons for Grades K to 3, (ages 4-7) and Grades 4 through 6, (ages 8-11). Each 30-minute disc offers three bonus features and is organized into nine short chapters, so viewing can take place over a few separate sessions. And the video’s messages are meant to cross linguistic borders, too, with universal references and subtitles in English, Spanish, German and French.
On Disc One, clapping, stomping feet and swaying are part of the fun as students learn about food allergies while participating in songs and games. “No, no, no, I never a keep a reaction a secret,” croons Dine during a song about how to alert others during a reaction.
During the epic and popular-with-school-nurses hand-washing lesson, Dine uses glitter to demonstrate how hand sanitizer does not remove allergens. He asks students without food allergies, “What do you do after eating an allergen, before you high-five or share a pen or marker?” Within mere minutes, children are taught the basics of cross-contact, the need to discern which foods are OK for their classroom, and how to remove allergens from their hands.
Topics featured on Disc One include: What are Allergies? Common Allergens; Medical Identification; Hand Washing; Being Mindful of Allergens; No Sharing Food; Symptoms of an Allergic Reaction; Adrenaline/Epinephrine; and Inclusion.
Disc Two explores the same topics while Dine invites viewers to participate in engaging age-appropriate conversations, songs and games. For example, the chapter “What are Allergies?” morphs into “What is Anaphylaxis?” and “Being Mindful of Allergens” is developed into “Reading Ingredients”. Each of these lessons encourages a deeper understanding of food allergy management. Using cards with images, Dine plays a game to teach the steps for managing an anaphylactic emergency, including the possible need for a second dose and necessity of visiting the Emergency Department immediately after that.
Teachers can incorporate lessons in their classrooms by tapping into the free online downloadable discussion guides, worksheets and quizzes based on each disc. Aside from English, student worksheets that correspond to DVD chapters and quizzes are also available in Spanish, French and German.
Kyle Dine’s DVD set is ultimately a powerful tool that can be used to support the life lessons that food allergy parents hope to teach their children, while providing an affordable and engaging resource for teachers and caregivers to make sure everyone at a school is educated about food allergies.
To order Kyle’s DVD visit www.foodallergyvideo.com $25/set.
