Cordelia, you will have to give me some tips when the time comes. I am not sure what grade level I would be presenting to.
Sure, Amanda! Just let me know when!
But I know that I could not have done it though without all the wonderful, fantastic ideas given here by everyone else! I kept it simple, not too complicated. I had some point form notes jotted down to keep the organization flowing of my presentation.
I included symptoms of kidney disease, causes of kidney disease, I also talked about the 5 stages, in basic terms to the kids. I also talked about organ donation too, I touched on that also.
MM, the kids asked me a lot of different questions. Really good questions actually......They asked me if I was scared the first time I had dialysis. One kid even asked me if I get my blood back and I explained that I do. They asked me how/when I found out I had kidney disease. They asked me questions about my medic alert necklace when I showed it to them.
One kid even asked what I eat. They thought it 'sucked' that I can't eat cheese and drink milk. They felt bad I can't have ice cream nor pizza!
I tried to keep everything basic so not to scare them. I did not get the impression that the kids got scared and the teacher even remarked on that too, she thought I presented very well so as not to scare them.
The peeing thing was hilarious. They thought that a person would explode or the bladder would explode. It got the kids laughing. One kid nailed it really well by saying you wouldn't flush the toxins in your body out very well. And one other kid thought it would not be good for your blood, so there were a lot of good guesses. There was on particularily good one and I WISH I could remember it. Do you think I can recall what it was? No! LOL! I have such a bad memory. If I get talking to the teacher again soon, I'll have to try and remember to ask her to see if maybe she remembers! LOL
I could not believe almost a whole hour had passed from when I started speaking to the end. I brought an actual artificial kidney and photos of me on dialysis also so they could get a good idea as to what it all looked like.
One kid even asked me about the jugs, so I really appreciate Restorer's idea what to say what they jugs do!
The kids were so engaged in the presentation, I think grade 5 was a good place to start.
Next week, I'm going to be talking to a group of adults at a golf course about organ donation and what its like waiting for an organ. I'm just so pumped doing this. I look forward to Thursday when I speak again. I don't know what to expect talking to adults. I may be a little more nervous. LOL
Anways, I loved how honest and blunt the kids were in the questions. They were such a joy to speak to and I'd do it again and recommend it to anyone thinking about doing it. Its definitely something I never imagined I'd be able to do.
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