I was speaking with a new Montessori teacher recently about her plans for the first weeks of school, and she expressed concern about having two children with severe food allergies joining her class. She had little experience with allergies and was unsure how to best meet their needs and keep them safe.
According to Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), food allergies affect approximately 15 million Americans. In the US, this means that 1 out of 13 children have food allergies. It stands to reason that in a classroom of 30 children at least two will have food allergies! While nearly every food is capable of causing an allergic reaction, eight main culprits account for 90% of all food allergies:
