Merry Christmas to all!

Love,

Tory, Kedra, Abigail, Nathan, Luke, and Hannah Giddens

Field trip of the year - The Armory

 

   

Male pursuers of these lovely girls...well, just be warned.

October 31, 2012

 

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker        Balloon Girl and "the pick of the litter"

Marshman coolness right here in Wellington, TX.

And because this is how you do it in Small Town, Texas....back of the pick-up style.  Jump out. Ring the doorbell.  Candy.  Say thank you. Repeat.

New passions

 

 Our boy has a new love. Well, two actually. 1-Ninja turtles. He is of course "the red one, Raph" and Luke has dubbed himself "Mikey". It's cool I tell you. But he is developing an even greater love to put his passions on paper. So far they are mostly super heroes. But what amazes us the most is his detail that goes into them. We look at Darth Vador and see a black mask - Nathan looks at Darth and sees its facial features in very intricate detail. Eye formation. Cheek structure. Who knew!? So excited to see how this love of his developes as he grows into the little man he is becoming.

The Firehouse

A member from our church is the fire chief at the local fire house and has been so kind to give the kids some tips on fire safety along with a little trip around the station.  Co-op field trip love!

Our Callie Anne

What a treat to watch Wellington play Memphis on their homecoming and our very own Callie Anne Molloy is on the Homecoming Queen court!!  So proud of our sweet cousin!  Isn't she lovely!?

Thankful for this time to be only 30 minutes away from this crew.  Getting to see these little babies who I once cradled in my 12 year old arms play ball, celebrate milestones and move on to new chapters is such a joy for me.  Glad to call them "family".

Love watching these two.  You can see it in his eyes...he loves his girl.

Giddens' Academy 2012

We have decided to continue in our efforts of homeschooling our kiddos.  We tossed around public school a bit this summer but will follow our convictions to educate the double duo right here at home for the 2012-2013 school year.  And with that decision, we are taking it one step further into the world of Classical Christian education.  This kind of education emphasizes biblical teaching and incorporates a teaching model known as the Trivium.  I will let you google that if ya like.  

      

So, what does that look like for us?  Well, I am very excited to take on picking out our difference curricula on my own with the help of some veteran classical christian homeschooling mamas, "The Well-Trained Mind", by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, and other accountable home-school resources.  I never thought I would love this so much but apparently I do.  I caught myself finding much joy in making out lesson plans just last week (which I will do every 9 weeks).  Weird, I know.  So here is the line-up...

Math - Singapore Math

History - Mystery of History (Starts with creation to Christ the first year, working its way to the Reformation by 4th grade, followed by American History.  Then repeats itself in the middle school years taking on the logic stage of the Trivium). Abi and Nate will stay on this track together

Grammar - First Language Lessons

Spelling - Spelling Workout,  (Modern Curriculum Press)

Handwriting - Abeka

Science - "Science in the Kitchen" and "Science in the Air" (Usborne books)

Latin - Prima Latina (beginning in 2nd grade)

Art - ARTistic Pursuits

Music - lots of classical listening and Abigail has begun piano this year!

And of course...READ! READ! READ! the classics!

**This is always subject to change with each school year and differences in learning for each child but we are very excited about this opportunity for our family.