Uncharted Heritage

It was drizzling a little rain out. Sera and I went out to check on the chickens and peek in the coop, hoping for an egg. We have anticipated this day. To our excitement, we found that a couple of our hens started laying! We got our first eggs today!! TWO eggs!! 

Unfortunately something killed Henrietta, one of our hens, last night.

We allow our chickens to free range during the day. They always go into the coop as it is starting to get dark, and then we close it up and lock them in for the night.

As John was going to check on them around dusk, he found some frightened chicks that had been scattered - a few had made it to the coop, but a  couple were still out and all seemed upset. He caught the couple that he found outside and put them inside with the others. He did his count, and one was missing. We began searching immediately for our missing hen. We did not find her, but we did find her feathers. From the looks of it, it must have been a hawk. We know there is a nest in the area, and we have seen some flying occasionally.

Our chickens had always done well to stay somewhat hid while they were outside of the coop. They would tend to go from cover to cover, i.e. bushes. There also are guinea birds that are similar size that have been fine running around our yard for years, so we took for granted that the chicks were somewhat safe. We just weren't careful enough. We didn't take the right precautions. We learned a very valuable lesson the hard way. We like all the chicks in our little flock, but admittedly, Henrietta was definitely one of our favorites. She was one of the more friendly hens in our group. We will miss her.

So how are we going to change things? For now, the best that we can do is to keep them in the coop unless we are able to supervise them. We will plan to expand their coop/pen as soon as we are able.

(Expected late October/early November.)

Just another day, home-schooling (a 5-year-old)! And trying to figure out what was exciting enough about our day to film. :)

We had the privilege of being a part of a wedding (September 24th); John as the officiant, Sera as the impromptu flower girl, and myself as the videographer. It was an honor to be part of their special day.   

For our first year homeschooling [kindergarten] we tried out Sonlight's full-grade package. This worked well for us and was a great choice for our family as we are learning how to put together lesson plans, and as we figure out the learning style of our daughter. If you are interested to see what was included in our kindergarten curriculum, CLICK HERE

This year we are going to try Sonlight again, though next year we may begin to branch out a little and either modify Sonlight's suggestions, or we may just put together a different curriculum depending upon the evolution of our daughter's interests.



Below is a list of what is included this year in our First-Grade Curriculum:

Sonlight's First-Grade Complete-Grade Package

Sonlight Grade 1 All-Subjects Package Instructor Guide Set

Core B Tips

A Big Ball of String

A Child's History of the World

A Fly Went By

Archaeologists Dig For Clues

Around the World with Kate and Mack

BINGO Markers

Charlotte's Web

Detectives in Togas

Discover & Do Level 1 DVD

Eligible to Upgrade 1LG

Eligible to Upgrade BSG

Favorite Poems of Childhood

First Encyclopedia of the Human Body

George Muller

Go Blend!

Gooney Bird Greene

Greek Myths for Young Children

Green Eggs and Ham

Handwriting Without Tears: My Printing Book

Handwriting Without Tears: Print Alphabet Desk Strips

Henry Huggins

Homer Price

Horizons Math 1

Houses and Homes

I Can Read It! Book 1

I Can Read It! Book 2

I Can Read It! Book 3

I Can Read It! Word Lists

It Could Always Be Worse

Leading Little Ones to God

Letter & Word BINGO

Lined Paper for approx. levels K-1

Little Bear

Little Pear

Manipulatives 'Filler' Kit for Horizons Math 1-3

Missionary Stories with the Millers

Mountain Born

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Night Animals

One Fish, Two Fish...

Owls in the Family

Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes

Peoples of the World

Put Me in the Zoo

Roman Diary

Science Activities, Vol. 1

Science Supplies Kit B

See How It's Made

Sing the Word: A New Commandment - CD

Space

The Best Trick

The Bravest Dog Ever

The Case of the Gasping Garbage

The Cat in the Hat

The Great Wall of China

The Greek News

The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks

The Usborne Book of World History

The Usborne Time Traveler

The Usborne World Of Animals

The Year of Miss Agnes

Timeline Figures B

Tut's Mummy Lost & Found

Understood Betsy

Welcome to Silver Street Farm

What Makes You Ill?

Why Do People Eat?

If you happen to be interested in trying Sonlight, Sonlight has a Rewards Program. If you decide to purchase from Sonlight, enter my Rewards ID ( AB20406964 ) when you register an account on their site and you'll get $5 off your first order ($50 or more). And I'll get points that I can redeem at another time. Thanks!!