More than Reading Blog

Sharing Early Literacy Learning Journeys

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above

09 05 13

Pondering what photo to use ‘from above’. Food? Flowers? Insects?

Then, a surprise. The decision is made for me whilst walking in bright sunshine by the lake…

A Midland Painted Turtle crosses the road to reach water – but
stops as I approach and tucks most of himself under his shell.

Then another surprise.
A Leopard frog is motionless
in ragged, beige and green grass beside the road.

‘From above’ reveals beautiful patterns on the animals.
‘Turtle’ and ‘Frog’ remind me of favourite children’s books.

Not a Midland Painted Turtle, but a sea turtle (Amazon photo).

The frog: A Frog Inside my Hat
Fay Robinson’s compilation of children’s poems.

Category:

Language Experience, Nature, Photographs, Weekly Photo Challenge

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Browsing for Breakfast

08 05 13

On an early morning walk, we come across a lone heron browsing for breakfast.

Slowly, silently slinking… searching for a bite to eat.

Warily walking and watching the water he sees…

… something of interest and
quietly enters the water.

His beak deftly pierces the water and comes up with something
for breakfast – but we couldn’t see the tasty morsel.

The lone heron browses until he is startled by a
walker’s ‘shoes on stones’ sound and he gracefully flies off.

Breakfast is over for the moment …

Category:

Language Experience, Literacy, Nature, Photography, Writing

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The birds are back…

27 04 13

The birds are back.
For spring and summer.

Water birds. Land birds.
Familiar birds: Geese. Mallards.

Unfamiliar birds.
Bobbing on the river that runs through town.

Black and white heads against choppy, blue water.
‘Hooded Mergansers’? Not sure…

On the way out of town,
Stop at calmer waters.

More ducks.
Black and white. Grey and white.

The ducks dive for food.
Re-surface. Anywhere!

Camera: Press. Focus. Click.
Duck: Dives down. Out of sight.

Left with a photo of calm, cold water,
With a squiggle on the top!

Drive home. Download photos.
Beautiful black and white heads.

Google ‘Hooded Merganser’ to check.
Black head. White hood. But brown on the body? No…

View another picture.
Black and white head.

Bufflehead? Bufflehead?
Check google photos with my photos.

Could be…
Male. Black head. White wrap around patch. Yes…

Then, a telling factor:
“… buoyant, large-headed duck that abruptly vanishes and resurfaces as it feeds.” Yes…

A male Bufflehead

Later, we see a male Hooded Merganser.

The birds are back!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bufflehead/id

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/hooded_merganser/id

Category:

Language Experience, Photographs, Reading, Writing

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Up

25 04 13

It’s ‘a great day for up’
when you go
off the beach cliff
and up, up, up
into the sky…

with these high up hang-gliders.

Up always reminds me of A great day for UP, by Dr Suess –
a fun read with a child!

great-day-for-up

with thanks to http://www.sodahead.com for the cover picture.

Category:

Children's books, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

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Freezing rain and icy decorations: Winter’s last blast?

17 04 13

After a week away, we return to an icy ‘welcome’ with biting winds, freezing rain and icy roads in the dark, early morning hours. Dress shoes with smooth, hard soles slide on the ice-covered pavers. I shuffle gingerly to the front door, grasping the textured bricks of the house wall to keep me steady and upright .

In contrast to the dangers in the dark, morning light reveals a derth of delicate decorations…

Icy maple branches and

icy spruce branches.

An icy clothes line and

icy chicken wire.

Icy ‘antlers’ of cedars and

icy crystals of spruce.

And buds in ice prisons, wait to burst free…

Is it spring or autumn in your part of the world?

What does your environment look like?

Category:

Language Experience, Literacy, Nature, Photography

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense

29 03 13

Into the future
with digital literacy…

A young child before school in Hong Kong embraces technology.
Will he take his family’s noodle shop into the future?

Category:

Early literacy, Weekly Photo Challenge

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Words to inspire your early reader/writer…

23 03 13

Inspirational words to share with your early reader/writer extracted from Mary O’Neill’s poem: The Wonderful Words, mentioned in my previous blog, Snow Pellets and Raindrops…