Starlight Starbright, originally conceived by Steven Spielberg and friends, offers family activities and outings, playrooms and special events, technology-based programs, and educational programming for youngsters who are very sick and can't attend school.

Band-Aides and Blackboards was created to sensitize people to what it's like to grow up with a medical problem. Too often, youngsters so affected must cope with stigma as well as with their medical conditions. Teasing often accompanies this stigma, and adds a layer of pain to their experience of childhood. It is maintained by a nursing educator and has good resources for teachers.

Preparing Your Child for Hospitalization, from Children's Hospital Boston, talks about preparing the child (and their parents!) for hospitalization or a medical procedure.

Sometimes classmates have to deal with their friends being in hospitals or worse. Suggestions for Teachers and School Counselors provides some guidelines to aid those in a school setting who want to help when a child dies.

The Comfort Quilt Story talks about how the Sunnyside School in Washington state dealt with the 9-11 tragedy by making comfort quilts (includes a how-to guide). Doing something similar can help in your own classroom.

Starlight Starbright

http://www.starlight.org/whoweare/

Band-Aides and Blackboards

http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/faculty/jfleitas/bandaides/

hint: you may need to click on the stars to view the links

Preparing Your Child for Hospitalization

http://web.archive.org/web/20080708230512/http:/
/www.childrenshospital.org/patientsfamilies/Site1393
/mainpageS1393P14sublevel215.html

Suggestions for Teachers and School Counselors

http://www.compassionatefriends.org/brochures
/suggestions_for_teachers_and_school_counselors.aspx

Comfort Quilt Story

http://www.psd267.wednet.edu/%7Ekfranz/SchoolYear0102
/socialstudies0102/comfortqu.html