School year starts, and already a field trip that sounds like a potential mess

[eggallergymom]

My daughter is now in fourth grade, and has a 504 for her LTFA allergy to eggs. At her 504 meeting yesterday, the team brought up the fourth grade's annual field trip to a pioneer settlement. The focal point of the trip is cooking, of course, with the kids preparing, cooking and baking a bunch of stuff in "pioneer style". Four of the six dishes they will be preparing contain egg. Three are baked, the fourth is cooked on a stovetop (over a fire, maybe?) When I said that my daughter couldn't safely be around the food preparation, the only suggestion they had was that she could "make a few extra cornhusk dolls". They also said that she could bring a sack lunch to eat, rather than eat the stuff the kids are preparing. But beyond the obvious safety issues, I'm wondering about the social implications of being excluded from the main activity of this all-day field trip. I think the team is open to suggestions; this team is MUCH more open to change than was the team at the primary school (where she had the big ana reaction in first grade.) I did talk to her allergist, and he said she shouldn't be around egg as it's cooking. Which would mean she'd need to be kept away from her classmates for a significant stretch of time, which isn't inclusion, and certainly isn't much fun. So how would you all handle this one?

[CMdeux]

Do you have a weblink or contact info with the field trip site directly?

I'd start there and find out if there are alternate activities available-- then maybe kids could be divided into a pair of groups-- one which does the cooking rotation (and washes THOROUGHLY afterwards) and one that does {insert other educational activity} and then the kids can share what they learned with a follow-up later.

Sounds like a possible win-win, assuming that there are some other alternate activities available on the menu of activities at this field trip site.

Then, and only then (that is, after doing a little bit of fact-finding on your own) would I meet with the school side planning things.  That way you can suggest things that you KNOW are possible.

[joanna5]

Our third graders do a similar field trip and we talked some about it at our 504 meeting last year to get ready.  The school worked with the site to get me a menu and ingredients for each dish (purchased by the school).  The way it's set up for us is that the kids are in groups and do different pieces of the prep, along with other activities.  So we're thinking my son may just be on the early stages of prep- for example, for the beef stew, he could be in the group that cuts the veggies, but would be fishing or something else once the bouillon is added.   He could also do the applesauce station, for example, but would skip the corn bread station entirely.  That's no different than anyone else- just more forethought as to where he'd be rather than "You five go to .... while you five ....".   There would be lots of handwashing and I'd send in subs for foods as needed.  We're planning to meet a month or so before the trip to talk in more detail, but it seems doable in theory at this point.   We'll see as we get closer and talk more about the nitty gritty details. It also helps that there is at least one other kiddo in D's class who will be bringing his food from home.

It sounds like our trip is set up a little differently than yours, but I figured I'd share the structure here in case some of it would be helpful.

[ajasfolks2]

Don't be afraid to suggest that they modify the "corn bread" recipe to remove the egg.  GIVE them recipes with history (good INternet resources) when you make the suggestion.  This should NOT be about a cornbread/cupcake event!!

Um, it is ENTIRELY possible that the "pioneers" might have made a version -- or some sort of other corn mush -- WITHOUT egg.


Life was HARD then.  Offer some great alternatives that would REALLY drive home the hardships and when/why there would be some ingredients absent.


They (school staff and event staff) need to NOT be afraid to UNglorify the whole lesson . . . and give the kids some reality and unvarnished truth as to pioneer life.


Pioneers and homesteaders starved.  Literally.  Doubt they really want to go that deep, but it's the truth.

~e,
daughter of homesteader

[eggallergymom]

Thanks, everyone! Those are some great suggestions. I will research this more on my own before I broach it again with the 504 team. We have a few months, so I should have enough time to get additional information. My daughter's teacher also said she would find out more about the field trip and give me an update as soon as she could.  I did find PTO photos of Pioneer Day from last year, and it looks like everything takes place in one big room, with the cooking on one side and some craft tables set up around the room. That may make it harder for her to get away from the cooking, and might make them more inclined to work with egg replacer rather than eggs. No, it's not historically accurate, but as Ajasfolks2 mentioned, I'm guessing the pioneers would have been far more likely to eat beans, deer, squirrel or salt pork than they would beef stew, too.    

Hopefully there is a safe middle-ground here that will allow her to participate with her class. I do get the impression that they're willing to work with me, which is great. I am always astounded, though, by how no one ever seems to have challenged this stuff before. I know she isn't the first kid with a food allergy to attend this school. Thanks again!