POKES AND POSTS - MR. LEAS 4TH GRADE CLASS

Dear Class,

Good to hear from you.  As I suspected, most of you were interested in the Winchester Mystery House and the baby.  I will do my best to answer your comments.  Some of you failed to put your name on your post, so you are addressed as Anonymous in my answer.  So a gentle reminder, put your name on your entry so I know who asked or commented.

The Winchester Mystery House:  to Lori, Davion, Alex, Enya, Rontaja, Nakeya, Javontae, Lora, DeWayne, Niguel, Tajmia, and Anonymous.  First, let me make it very clear, this house is NOT my house; I do NOT live in it!  The Winchester House is very big, pretty, and overwhelming.  While it was nice to take a tour and see part of the house, it is way too big for one person.  The house is so big you could get lost in it?  Think about living in a house with 160 rooms, 40 bedrooms and all those windows - do you want to clean them all or any of them?  I bet most of you are answering "No way!"  Well I wouldn't want to clean all those rooms and windows either!  

If you go to this Wikipedia.com link, you can learn more about the house.  At one time, the house sat on a plot of land approximately 160 acres in size.  Over the years, the land was sold and today the house sits on a plot of about 4 acres.  I do not know if there was ever a swimming pool on the property or not. My guess would be NO, because she was too busy building her house and did not have time for a pool. 

The earthquake of 1906 did do some damage to the house.  As a result, part of the house was closed off for years.  Mrs. Winchester however, did not die in the earthquake.  She lived for 16 more years and died in 1922. 

The Baby:  to Georgene, Nakeya, Javontae and Anonymous.  We do think that Sydney is beautiful!  She is still very small, but boy can she cry when she is hungry or needs a diaper change.  She definitely knows the sound of her father's and mother's voices.  I've posted a new picture of Sydney taken just yesterday (8th) and I also posted a picture on the Pokes and Posts Entry for Mrs. Bowen's class.  Go take a look.

The Golden Gate Bridge:  to Georgene.  Yes, the Golden Gate bridge is very pretty, especially on a sunny day.  It's orange color makes the bridge stand out against the blue sky.  It is a very busy bridge and is a major means of access to San Francisco and the Bay Area.  Before the bridge was built, there was a ferry service.  Can you name a place in North Carolina that uses a ferry to access the land?  Take a look on a map at the Outer Banks and Ocracoke Island?  What does the map say about access to the island?  Let me know what you discover.

Junior Standing Watch
for the Dogs

The Dogs and the Cat:  to Anonymous.  The dogs, Buddy and Scrounge, are learning to get along with the cat, Junior.  Junior is a little instigator.  She tries to antagonize or annoy the dogs, especially when she thinks no one is looking.  Junior is not allowed outside.  When the dogs are outside at the door waiting to come back into the house, she goes to the door and bats at the window and raises her back.  She runs at the dogs in the house and hisses at them.  So far, we have not had a fight.  The dogs tend to run the other way.  Buddy has already been swatted once by Junior.

Buddy and Scrounge also LOVE the baby!  Every time Sydney makes a sound, the dogs are right there watching, especially Scrounge!   Take a look at the two of them standing guard over the baby!

Buddy and Scrounge have not yet been introduced to Shiloh and Bella.  That will probably happen in a couple of weeks.  This is still new to them and they are learning a new schedule and way of living, especially with a cat!

See you soon!  Caio!