Going Out and Pumpkin Bread

One of the most misunderstood concepts about type 1 diabetes is that you don't have to give up eating sugar. Most adults need this explained to them (I did) and most kids seem to have some information that diabetes "is when kids can't eat sugar."

L did a cooking project in her class today. Her teacher found a recipe for pumpkin bread that used Stevia (a natural sugar subsitute) I tried to explain it was okay for L to just have a small portion of the bread made with regular sugar, but she had gone through so much trouble to accomodate her I decided to let it go.

Part of the lesson was a "going out." This is something in the montessori curriculum that happens in the elementary classroom and this was L's first. This means they contact a chaperone (not their own parent) to accompany them on a journey - in this case on the street car to a market.

It was important to me that L have this experience, although I was worried about all the usual things that can happen (going low, or worse, having a low emergency) but again, I wanted her to have to confidence to plan and execute her going out, so I didn't express any of these concerns to her.

I knew the parent well who they contacted and she knew about L's condition. She didn't express any concerns to me (perhaps she didn't know what to be concerned about?) nor did the teacher, so I place my trust in them.

The going out was a success. The children had to figure out the calulation with the Stevia to Sugar ratio (we are talking about 7-year-olds here...) and how to fit it into their budget (apparently it was a lot more expensive than sugar!)

The parent chaperone had a great time - told me L was very responsible and kept watch on the time so she wouldn't miss her 10:30 snack, and even did a blood test while they were out.

I am happy for L that this was so easy and successful for her.