Family Photos

My SIL had a great idea to hire a photographer to take outdoor family portraits--sooo much better than sitting in a cramped portrait studio!

Albert Bierstadt

works
1. The Wetterhorn, 1857
2. Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863, or here
3. Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California, 1865
4. Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 1868
5. Seal Rock, 1872
6. Last of the Buffalo, 1888
Special interest:

On the Saco--my personal favorite!

http://www.paintinghere.com/uploadpic/Albert%20Bierstadt/big/Bierstadt_Albert_On_the_Saco.jpg


http://cgfa.acropolisinc.com/bierstadt/p-bierstadt5.htm


http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/bierstadt/bierstadt_landers_peak.jpg.html


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Looking_Down_Yosemite-Valley.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Bierstadt,_Among_the_Sierra_Nevada_Mountains.jpg


http://cgfa.acropolisinc.com/bierstadt/p-bierstadt24.htm



http://collection.corcoran.org/collection/work/last-buffalo?apcat=1



http://www.paintinghere.com/uploadpic/Albert%20Bierstadt/big/Bierstadt_Albert_On_the_Saco.jpg

Week 1-2: Creation Unit

God's creating the world was the theme for our first two weeks of Kindergarten.  Cody learned numbers 1-7.  He also began learning letter names.  He does know the alphabet song, but the only letters he can visually recognize are C-O-D and Y.  We will begin learning letter sounds in week 3.

Here are his drawings to illustrate the 7 days of creation.

Cody Starts Kindergarten

What a hard worker!

This is the same curriculum
I used with Claire, so at
least I have some experience.

It is finally time for Cody to begin Kindergarten.  He is excited, I am nervous.

Cody's favorite Science book.

Cody learning his ABCs.

We use this for Math.

Cody also started piano lessons.

Our main Science/Nature book.

Do toads swim?

Cody caught this pretty toad at church
We have a catch, observe, then
release rule.  He decided to release
toady beside the pond.

He asked me if toads like to swim.  I honestly
didn't know.  Frogs are natural swimmers,
but toads?



Well, our toad never actually swam.  He went into the
water and stayed above choosing to crawl and float
atop patches of moss and water plants.
Mystery left unsolved!



Never too old for the playground

Claire wasn't too old to enjoy the horsy swing.

Neither was I apparently.

Round and round we go!

What a fun time we had!

The geese are growing

They are big enough to try out their webbed feet
in a kiddie pool.

Ready to graduate from grain to grass.

First trip to the pond.

The chicks have arrived!

The post office called early this morning
to inform us the chicks had arrived.  We
are still without power following the tornado.
Luckily, we have a small generator
which will run the heat lamps.

11 Black Jersey Giants, 5 Buff Orpingtons, 5 Light Brahma,
and 5 Buff Brahma.

How strong is a beaver dam?

These pictures don't really do this dam justice, but if you
look closely, you can see that the pond behind the dam is
suspended about 3 feet higher than the spillway by this
marvelous specimen of beaver engineering.

This was following the large tornado that brought
heavy rain.  The water is running swiftly over
the beaver dam.

About 25 feet beyond the dam, the water
spills over this naturally created waterfall.

You can see the waterfall in the background. 
The stream of water continues, flows into
a man made tin whistle, under the road, and into
Wolf Creek.  Wolf Creeks winds southward for
several miles before emptying into the
Cimarron River.  The Cimarron R. eventually
joins the Arkansas R. which is a major
tributary of the Mississippi R.

Great Horned Owl

Clay and Cody found this owl the day following the big tornado.

He didn't appear injured, though a broken wing would not be
obvious.  He was leaping around instead of flying.  Is it
possible he was carried by the tornado far from home
and was simply a bit disoriented?

Apparently, wildlife rules strictly prohibit us from doing
anything to/with these owls.  So, we left him alone. 
Three days later, Clay and Cody spotted an identical
looking owl fly from one tree to another near this same spot.
Perhaps we have a new resident?

Ducks' Ditty by Kenneth Grahame

Claire adores this poem and nearly had it memorized after only 3-4 hearings.  Though Kenneth Grahame is not known for his poetry, (and therefore is not one of our assigned poets),we will be reading several of his stories. 



Yes, I realize they are actually goslings.

Ducks' Ditty

All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!

Ducks' tails, drakes' tails,
Yellow feet a-quiver,
Yellow bills all out of sight
Busy in the river!

Slushy green undergrowth
Where the roch swim--
Here we keep our larder,
Cool and full and dim.

Every one for what he likes!
We like to be
Heads down, tailsup,
Dabbling free!

High in the blue above
Swifts whirl and call--
We are down a-dabbling
Up tails all!



Hatchy meets the world!

Hatchy learns to eat and drink from a dish.

Hatchy meets the goslings

Hatchy admires her dining room.

Hatchy checks the cupboard.

Hatchy cooks a pot of beans.

Hatchy goes to bed.

Hatchy meets Cody.

Hatchy tries on her new sunglasses.

Hatchy calls some friends.

Hatchy tours the dinosaur exhibit.

Hatchy learns all about snakes.

Hatchy investigates a toy frog.