Thursday, October 29, 2015

Food Allergies and Science Experiments

In our last chapter in Science a few years sgo, we had instructions to complete an experiment with eggs.

In case you were not aware, I have 3 children allergic to eggs :/

So normally I would just skip the experiment/activity. Like when Saxon 1 calls for using peanuts... we have peanut allergies, too... obviously we just SKIP it or find a substitute (in that case we used jelly beans in plastic Easter eggs).

This recent experiment though seemed pretty safe because if it was done correctly the kids would have no need to come in contact with the eggs.  So we tried it;)



YAY!!

The hesitation (and nervous fussing) was magnified due to the eggs being present:/ And during this 1st attempt both girls (and possibly Nate as well) were WAY behind me... so they could see but not be anywhere near the eggs:)

I am thankful for my children's healthy respect of some of these food they are allergic to since they can (and have) made them ill. So they DO need to be super cautious about knowing what ingredients are in foods they are planning to eat. AND knowing what foods are lingering around them... ie, peanut shells near playgrounds, scrambled egg leftovers in the sink, or even a gallon of milk in the fridge when we have company.

But there should also be a healthy balance that I am constantly striving to model. I don't want their allergies to unnecessarily limit them! Like not going to the park because of the peanut shells. Or not wanting to touch a cart at the grocery store because what residue might be leftover from the person before us (who gave their noisy kiddo a peanut butter snack at the store).

Thankfully.... with taking some necessary precautions, like warnings NOT to touch the egg:) Or to step back, just in case the egg flies... LOL! We had a fun time with this experiment and grew a little bit with our food allergies, too.


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