Learning by doing in Denmark

Celebrating World Diabetes Day at Kregme School in Denmark, grade 3 students prepared at healthy lunch for their younger peers, who meanwhile learnt about diabetes and experienced the differences between various activity levels.

On World Diabetes Day the 14 November, 210 children, 8 teachers and 10 recreation centre teachers from the Danish elementary school ’Kregme Skole’ participated in the programme ”Focus on Diabetes”.

The reason for organising this event was that one of the girls in my daughter’s class has diabetes, which is difficult to control. Talking to parents of their classmates in connection with birthday parties, field trips etc I have noticed a certain anxiousness regarding this diabetic girl: what if her blood sugar level dropped? How do you measure the blood sugar level? Should she be given insulin – or what about grape sugar?
Additionally, her classmates do have some difficulties understanding why their diabetic friend – apparently without a reason - is sometimes tired, pale, moody, hot-tempered or the like.

For these reasons the activities at Kregme Skole on World Diabetes Day aimed at providing the children with knowledge of diabetes (type 1 and 2) as well as awareness of how important healthy food and exercise is for preventing type 2 diabetes. Finally, we wanted to explain the children the implications of living with diabetes.

Every child received a note including general information on diabetes the Friday prior to World Diabetes Day with the purpose of informing their parents of diabetes and enabling them to follow up on the activities with a little talk at home.

Grade 0 through 2 (six classes) alternately went through different activities along with their teachers.
The programme consisted of two informative activities and four activities requiring active involvement from the children, showing the huge contrast between sedentary activities and physically demanding activities.

Activity cards were filled out in order to show the children how much energy each activity required. All of the activities on the cards had to be ticked, and upon completion of the entire programme the children received at small prize – a drinking bottle sponsored by Novo Nordisk.

Theme for activity 1: what is diabetes, how do you get the disease, the treatment and measuring of blood sugar.

Theme for activity 2: video following a little girl with diabetes on an normal day at school, with her friends, performing sport, measuring blood sugar and taking insulin.

Theme for activity 3: physical exercise – 10 minutes on a bouncing pad and subsequently 10 minutes drive in a moon car.

Theme for activity 4: sedentary activity – 20 minutes computer games.