numa numa warcraft in english

The boys loved this one at YouTube today.

supercoolpic

supercoolpicshot1
Originally uploaded by moonflowerdragon.

Take a look at this, they were right to call it supercoolpic don't you think?

ProtopageWithBlog

ProtopageWithBlog
Originally uploaded by moonflowerdragon.

I've posted at my own blog about maybe changing from protopage as my start page, and in the process have been reflecting that the boys use links from two of our protopages (mostly page 2 {I think} of the public pages). Actually that numbering of pages instead of naming is the reason I'm thinking of changing to Pageflakes.

Lexington Library Commercial #1

Way to love the library guys.

Laugh

Now this is the way I love to laugh, reminds me of the time ... no I can't remember what was so funny but I spent 15 minutes laughing ... anyway here 'tis.



Update 11/10/06: Cricket reminded me what I had been laughing about - and it still cracks me up. I asked Cricket to do something - he said 'in a minute, I've just got to...' and when I turn around to see what is so urgent to him - he is tapping at a keyboard (?entering data ?programming ?communicating ?setting off a program?)...

... - which is not actually hooked up to anything ...
... - the urgent matter was a part of some imagination - a game or role play

ROTFLMAO

It just tickled my funny bone. Still cracks me up.

Unschooling workbook - getting to unschooling

There's a funny thing about my experience of Sandra's lists (recently summarised on AlwaysLearning that she might appreciate.  I read them, think they're great, decide yeah I might do some of those, I save them, print them, link to them, try to memorise them, then I get off the computer, find the boys heavily engaged in whatever they're into that day, and the mood passes. 

What I have learned is that whenever possible I share with the boys what I'm into, appreciate what the boys are into, appreciate what our friends and family are into, invest my attention into positive relationships, and enjoy life.

If I have to (or feel inclined to) seek out stimulating ideas, Sandra's lists are my first places to look:

http://sandradodd.com/checklists
http://sandradodd.com/deschooling
http://sandradodd.com/stages
http://sandradodd.com/typical
http://sandradodd.com/math
http://sandradodd.com/music
http://sandradodd.com/arts
http://sandradodd.com/connections
http://sandradodd.com/history
http://sandradodd.com/movies
http://sandradodd.com/mirrors
http://sandradodd.com/help
http://sandradodd.com/unschooling

WOW and Darkheart

Today I played WOW and I did a battleground where you have to capture a blacksmith, a farm, a lumber mill, a mine, and a stable, and by holding the bases to get resources the teams need to get resources up to 2000 to win.

My friend Darkheart is staying with me for 8 days

Paper Hats

On September 9, at the Australian Breastfeeding Association Goldfields Regional Meeting I have planned a deBono Thinking Hats session to contemplate the issue of the cost of 2007 conference and training.  I thought it might be fun to have coloured hats to wear while we think in each colour, so I went looking for paper hat instructions.

Using a large coloured sheet might get a little pricey - but perhaps the boys could paint some made from newspaper.  CreativeKidsAtHome had suggestions to achieve the different shapes I'd like to use.  Enchanted Learning offer an origami samurai hat.  Then there is one way to make four different hats.  Then there is the white chef's hat or, from about.com a green leprechaun hat or black top hat.

A green garden hat (from Playschool).

No so usable for me, but fascinating:  While the Smithsonian introduced the Mad Hatter, they don't have images online, so it is Mr Paper I thank for my first image of Moses' beautiful headware sculptures. I'm equally grateful to the student artists, their teacher and Dwight-Englewood School for displaying the students' Mad Hatter inspired creations.

Blue whale Photo, Balaenoptera musculus :: Image #05824 :: Phillip Colla Natural History Photography

Now there is something you don't expect to learn every day.

Blue whale faeces (Photo, Balaenoptera musculus :: Image #05824 :: Phillip Colla Natural History Photography)

It was St. Joseph County Public Library's library for life blog (specifically Ewww, Gross!) that piqued my curiosity.

A study of small fluffy creatures and library usage

While my boys are not small fluffy creatures, it is never too soon to learn about appropriate library usage - perhaps this lesson from Peeps will prove valuable .

Weather site for Fish

Fish asked yesterday what makes tornados - maybe Web Weather for Kids can tell him.

Dewey Decimal Classification

I'm not sure how relevant the DDC will be to Cricket or Fish. Possibly they'll only need a basic appreciation of the system in order to use libraries. I'd like to learn enough to classify materials myself. There is an animated tour of the DDC at the Online Computer Library Centre. I wonder whether the notion or practice of classifying websites to DDC is at all useful.

Cows with Guns AND StarGate

I'd love to look at it: http://stargate-sg1.hu/amanda/videos.php

Power out

Last night the power went out right when we were about to have tea.

I grabbed the torch and Mum and Fish lit candles.

At the time that the power went out I had just cooked tea and has watching M*A*S*H.

Fish was playing Warcraft on the pc.

Mum was washing a pot.

The power was out for 20 min.

A friend said the police did it, to help resolve a hostage situation.

Mythos

Today I looked at Mythos, a game that a mate sent me.
Its kind of confusing but I think it will be a good game.

So far I've found out how to build things and train people.

I still need to learn how to attack.

WOW quiz

I got 30 correct out of 50 questions in the WOW epic quiz.

Today I'm looking for Cows with guns to show a friend.

Considering categories

I'm delighted to discover that a form of categories *is* possible in blogger.

I'll wait till I'm not so tired, and not so overcommitted to give it a go.

But when I do I'll have another look at delicious2blogger
or before that How to do categories for blogger

Ballaarat Observatory

Today we went to the Ballarat Observatory for National Science Week.
We did a scavenger hunt.
The Jelbart building was built in 1918 - I guess, from the date over the door.
The longitude on the sundial was east 143º51'.
On the leadlight window on the front of the baker building there was a magpie and a kookaburrawith a snake in its mouth.
The federation telescope was opened in 2001.
The gears used to open the roof on the baker building were made by tennant&co in Edinburgh.
One of the leadlight windows on the baker building has a eye in the middle of it.
The observatory was built in 1884.
The Jelbart building has leadlight windows facing each direction, the window to North contained an N, to west W and to east E. The south window does not have a S.

Books for boys?

Because I have to note it somewhere...

I might want to find a copy of Great books for boys by Kathleen Odean. RandomHouse have generously extracted seventeen suggestions:

So when I'm not supposed to be working I might search at my local library for:

Lobel, Arnold. Days with Frog and Toad. 1979. Harper. Ages 3-8.

Every child should get to know Frog and Toad. Five short chapters, beautifully illustrated in greens and browns, tell funny, touching incidents about these two friends. One in a series of four outstanding books.

Jukes, Mavis. Like Jake and Me. 1984. Knopf. Ages 5-10. Alex admires his strong, cowboy-like stepfather Jake, and wishes he could be more like him. To the boy's surprise, he finds out that Jake is afraid of something that Alex himself isn't afraid of: spiders. Beautifully written and illustrated with warmth and humor.

Scieszka, Jon. Knights of the Kitchen Table. 1991. Viking. Ages 7-ll.

This lively book combines adventure, magic, slapstick humor, and droll illustrations to appeal to even the most reluctant readers. Three boys use a magical book to travel back in time and confront a knight, a giant and a dragon. Readers will laugh their way through this and the other books in the "Time Warp Trio" series.

Soto, Gary. The Pool Party. 1993. Delacorte. Ages 8-12.

Ten-year-old Rudy Herrera, whose tight-knit family lives in Fresno, California, knows how to have a good time, whether he is helping with the family's yard work business or hanging out with his best friend Alex. Laced with Spanish phrases, this is a warm, funny book about an engaging boy. -2-

Peet, Bill. Bill Peet: An Autobiography. 1989. Houghton. Ages 8-12.

Children's book illustrator Bill Peet has created an award-winning autobiography by combining a conversational text with energetic, often comical, illustrations. In describing his work as a Disney animator, the pictures include many characters from popular films. With pictures on every page, this is an unusually appealing biography.

Shannon, George. Stories to Solve. 1985. Greenwillow, Beechtree. Ages 9-12.

Few children can resist the lure of the mini-mysteries in this entertaining folklore book. Each of the fourteen short stories gives the reader a puzzle to solve, then provides the answer on the following page. Readers can stretch their minds, then pose the puzzles to their friends. Great fun.

Alexander, Lloyd. The Book of Three. 1964. Holt, Dell. Ages 9-12.

In this modern classic, an assistant pig-keeper named Taran longs to be a hero. He leaves his home with a kind enchanter to go on a great adventure where he fights battles, makes unlikely friends, and changes his views on heroism. The first in a wonderful fantasy series.

Brandenberg, Jim. To the Top of the World: Adventures with Arctic Wolves. 1993. Walker. Ages 9-13.

Spectacular photographs of an Arctic wolf pack give this memorable book wide appeal. Brandenberg's highly readable text tells the story of his months camping in the Arctic to photograph the wolves. A fascinating nature book.

Mazer, Harry. The Last Mission. 1979. Dell. Ages 12-14.

Jack Raab, who is fifteen years old and Jewish, lies about his age to join the Army during the Second World War. He ends up in the air corps, flying dangerous missions over Europe. Sympathetic characters, vivid descriptions, and an action-filled plot make this a popular novel with boys.

Crutcher, Chris. Ironman. 1995. Greenwillow, Dell. Ages 13-14.

In this powerful story, high school senior Bo Brewster channels part of his anger at his unreasonable father into practicing for a triathlon. Forced to take an Anger Management class, Bo finds a caring teacher, a possible romance, and some strange new friends who help him through hard times.

Although those particular selections seems a little more what we'd like boys to read than what would particularly draw them in?

I also wonder if they have Connecting Boys With Books: What Libraries Can Do?