The Mindful Homeschool

My 10 year old daughter has been on a dairy free diet for about a couple of months now.  She really seems to do better without dairy.  She sleeps better, has more energy and is less irritable when she avoids dairy.  So overall, it has been going well.  It does take some extra energy and planning.  We cannot just feed our kids yogurt or cheese sticks or pizza when we want to do a quick meal.  We have not had macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches for months now.  And being with others outside of our immediate family can get tricky.  It is hard to substitute some things and I have learned to bring dairy free snacks along with me whenever we go somewhere just in case.  Granola bars, gum, and dark dairy free chocolate are good things to have along. 

I am so glad that my daughter is committed to this.  She helps read the ingredient label whenever we try something new and she is even starting to try a few new foods that she probably would not have tried before going dairy free.  Recently she tried a little of our dairy free pizza (made by Amy’s) and she kinda liked it! 

I have wondered whether or not we should try a gluten free diet.  I have heard of many people who have gone dairy free and gluten free.  I plan to look into this diet more as time allows.  If nothing else, eating this way has made me much more conscious of the food we eat and hopefully has made all of our diets better.  We have even found some foods to be better tasting with almond milk as a substitute.  My older children have commented more than once that pancakes made with almond milk taste better than pancakes made the regular way.  And hot chocolate made with almond milk is delicious!!!

I plan to look for more products and recipes out there that are dairy free.  It is exciting to know that there are more and more products available these days.  I just recently read that Bob’s Red Mill is now selling a gluten free (and dairy free) line of products.  Yay!  So as time goes on, it is going to be even easier to eat healthier.  Definitely a good thing.

Today started out with me reading There’s A Batwing In My Lunchbox by Ann Hodgman.  My 7 yo son has really taken an interest in this book even though I am sure it will not land on the Charlotte Mason lists for recommended reading.  Nonetheless, it was a very (unexpectedly) entertaining read for me, W and my 9 yo dd.  We finished the book tonight amidst a lot of jumping and running.  H, our energetic 3 yo, was dressed in a cape (courtesy of his elder siblings) and he ran around the house tonight saying he was Super Why from the PBS series of the same name.  H loves this show.  He calls it his show.  It teaches kids to read and even the older kids seem to enjoy it although they (esp. W) would not admit that.  H wanted us to read him The Lady With The Alligator Purse for his bedtime reading.  W started to read the first page to him, then told us he didn’t want to read it in front of all of us.  W seems to be progressing in his reading abilities but seems to lack the confidence to read much on his own.  It is usually a “forced” subject.  I hope that changes in time.  I know that he really likes to be read to; he really can follow a storyline.  That, I think, is more important than skill at this point in his education.  I want all of my children to have a real love of books and so far, I have yet to be discouraged.  

Harry Potter was being read over the past few weeks.  C and W read the first 3 books in order.  W listened to them on audio CD/or tape.  He erased some of the window markers that C had applied to our bathroom mirror at Christmas time and replaced “I (heart symbol) Henry” with “I (heart symbol) HP”  At first I wasn’t sure what it meant or who wrote it but then it dawned on me.  W really liked the books.  Unfortunately, watching the video of the first HP movie seemed to fuel some nightmares so we are going to give the whole HP series a rest for the time being.

Yesterday the boys put on shorts and their MN Twins t-shirts (gifts from TCF last summer) and played catch in the living room.  It was fun, even for mom, and it took our mind off the fact that it is very cold outside these days.  All three kids also spent some time sledding down the hill in the backyard.  We have had new snow to cover some of the bare patches in the back, thankfully. 

Today it was skateboarding.  Papa John (i.e.  Daddy) let the boys do some tricks on the skateboard in the lower level.  It didn’t seem to matter too much that the floor was carpeted.  Fun, regardless of the conditions!

C spent a good portion of the day reading and building on the Lego extravaganza she and W have in the bedroom.  We need to take a photo of it and record it.

Triton, our betta friend, got some clean water to swim in today.  It was looking pretty cloudy.  It made me realize that I need to come up with a schedule for all the work that needs to be done in a given day/week/month.  There is so much to do that we need to come up with a better plan to get it all done.  So that is one of my goals for the month – to get more organized.  Yeah, I know.  It has been a goal of mine for a long time.  

Hopefully, we can figure out what has been fatiguing C these past couple of years and get everyone back on some sort of a schedule.  It seems like the new non-dairy diet has made her a much happier, more even-keeled, more energetic girl.  If eliminating dairy can do all that for her, it is more than worth the effort.  It has been a bit of a shift to switch from our dairy-laden diet to a diet high in meat but like I said, it seems to be working.  I plan to incorporate more fish and legumes into the diet as well.  Heck, I would go vegan if I could.  That could be something to work toward.  C told me last night before she fell asleep that she feels happier on this non-dairy diet.  That is definitely a good thing.