St Lucia's Day

We celebrated St Lucia's Day in December. The boys and I made cinnamon rolls and Gideon carried the candle and we brought Daddy breakfast in bed. Then we read up on the history of St Lucia's Day. Gideon loved that he was the oldest and got to carry the candle, and he thought the history of the day was very interesting, especially when I told him that our family had come from Sweden a long time ago.

Daily physical activity

Gideon spends a minimum of 30 minutes per day of physical activity (usually more like five or six hours). He's five, and he's only aloud to watch movies if he's sick, so he tends to be pretty active.

Learning about diabetes

Aunty Rebekah has diabetes, and she and Gideon have had several discussions about what diabetes is and what it does in your body. She has also shown Gideon how her insulin pump works and explained how she has to prick her finger to test her blood. Gideon now often will come up to her when she's eating and tells her, "you have to remember to take your insulin, Aunty!"

Healthy foods

We discuss as a family healthy versus unhealthy eating habits, how exercise makes your body strong, and how our bodies need sleep to grow. Gideon can recognize "healthy" foods versus "sometimes" foods, and will often say when we eat a dessert or a treat, "This is just a sometimes, food, isn't it, mommy? If I eat it all the time, it will make my body sick."

"When I'm feeling" books

We have been reading books about emotions and healthy ways to deal with them with Gideon. We also talk about appropriate ways and inappropriate ways to respond when he is angry or upset. Gideon asks to read the books often, and he is learning to recognize appropriate and inappropriate ways to deal with his emotion.

Word cards

Gideon likes to read through his word cards. He read through the entire bag of 50+ words and sounds in less than 20 minutes.

Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons

Gideon has been working through the book with Jake. He is currently on lesson 66. He loves reading lessons and will ask for them when we forget, because he says that once he learns reading and math, he can learn anything.