Altilab2005 - Distance Education Blog

This is an unusual post, but it might be very useful to those who would like to browse through my old posts. It's the latest update of the post whose link can be found on my sidebar, just below the blogrolls. The links to all my posts are arranged alphabetically, according to different categories. Enjoy!

Assclown Award winners

· Bashir, Abu Bakar
· Belle, Sonia
· Biden, Joseph
· Buchanan, Pat
· Carter, Jimmy
· Chavez, Hugo
· Chirac, Jacques
· Clinton, Bill
· Coulter, Ann
· Galloway, George
· Hussein, Saddam
· Maher, Bill
· Obama, Barack
· Reynolds, Glenn, aka "Instapundit"
· Robertson, Pat
· Romney, Mitt
· Sheehan, Cindy
· Webb, James
· Zhirinovsky, Vladimir

Autobiographical posts

· 10 Things I Hate About The Blogosphere
· 2006 Bloggies
· 500th post
· All about my father
· Another picture of me
· Australian Boner
· Babel Fish is worth dick
· Best fuck of my life
· Bizarro e-mail
· Comments welcome!
· Contract of Wifely Expectations
· Essay about me!
· Dirty secrets of my life
· Discussing Bush, Saddam and Iraq with Funny Boys
· Hanging out with Funny Boys
· Harsh criticism of yours truly
· Is my real name Hugh MacLeod?
· I have been tagged
· I love this picture
· I'm so vain
· Interview with me
· Is there really a Sonia ?
· I was interviewed by Beakerkin
· Letter from an anonymous skeptic
· Letter from Artemis
· Letters from an Admirer
· Life’s simple pleasures
· Masturbation survey
· My favorite books
· My favorite wines
· My 1st Anniversary
· My life in the nude
· My little island has just gotten bigger
· My lover Suzie
· My new home - Clipperton Island"br />· Mysterious spike in traffic
· Ninete, a girl who looks like me
· Open Letter to Rabbi Axlerod
· Overheard on the net
· Parlez en bien, parlez en mal, mais parlez en
· Poem from an Admirer
· Poll about me
· Questions from an anonymous admirer
· Real tits
· Seductive flirt
· Serious moral dilemma
· Sexy feet
· Sinful Life of Sonia Belle
· Sonia's Big Orgy
· Sonia's Erotic Adventure
· Sonia's Torturous Journey
· Sonia Under Official Investigation in Australia
· Stern warning from Adsense
· St-Thomas Ignacy
· Tagged again
· Template change
· Thanks, but no sex
· That's me
· Thinking Blogger Award
· This is ironic
· Three poems about me
· Ulya - is that me ?
· Welcome DailyKos readers!
· What American City Are You ?
· Where should I move ?
· Why no ugly chicks on my blog?

Best posts from my favorite blogs

· 2006-09-25
· 2006-09-27
· 2006-10-05
· 2006-11-01
· 2006-11-30
· 2007-01-28
· 2007-02-15
· 2007-03-21

Cinema

· 2005 - Best Nude Actress Awards
· 2005 - Oscar nominations
· 2005 - Oscar predictions - best actress
· 2005 - Oscar predictions - best picture
· 2005 - Oscar predictions - best supporting actress
· 2005 - Oscar winners
· 2006 - Best Nude Actress Awards
· 2006 - Oscar predictions
· 2006 - Oscar predictions - best actress

Faces of Evil

· Cho Seung-hui
· Gill, Kimveer
· Hussein, Saddam
· Hussein, Saddam and
Chavez, Hugo
· Karr, John Mark<br /"· Moussaoui, Zacarias
· Ta Mok

Good news and bad news

· 2006-01-19
· 2006-01-21
· 2006-01-26
· 2006-01-27
· 2006-01-28
· 2006-02-01
· 2006-02-06
· 2006-02-16
· 2006-02-28
· 2006-03-28
· 2006-05-25
· 2006-06-06
· 2006-07-08

Great films

· 2 Girls (2006) ***
· 27 Missing Kisses (2000) ****
· 300 (2007) ****
· Ai no shinsekai (1995) ***
· Anges exterminateurs (2006) ****
· Apocalypto (2006) ****
· Baise-moi (2000) ***
· Black Snake Moan (2007) ***
· Broken Flowers (2005) ****
· Bully (2001) ***
· Chaos (2006) ****
· Children Of Men (2006) ****
· Clockwork Orange (1971) *****
· Dangerous Beauty (1998) ****
· Daughter of Darkness (1993) ***
· DaVinci Code, The (2006) ***
· Dog Days (2001) ***<br />· Emmanuelle (1974) **
· Eyes Wide Shut (1999) *****
· Factory Girl (2007) ***
· Freddy Vs Jason (2003) ***
· Frida (2002) ***
· Greta (1977) ***
· Historias del Desencanto (2005) *****
· Hostel (2006) ***
· Irréversible (2002) ****
· Kite (1998) ****
· Lives Of Others (2006) ***
· Love Actually (2003) ****
· Lovely & Amazing (2001) ***
· Manderlay (2006) ****
· Mezzo Forte (2001) ****
· Mrs Henderson Presents (2005) ***
· Munich (2005) **
· Notorious Bettie Page (2006) ***
· Notte prima degli esami (2006) ***
· Of Freaks And Men (1998) *****
· Open Water (2003) ***
· Play (2005) ****
· Poupées russes, Les (2005) ***
· Salo Or The 120 Days Of Sodom (1975) *****
· Samaritan Girl (2004) ***
· Scanner Darkly (2006) ****
· Scream of the Ants (2006) ****
· Sex And Lucia (2001) ***
· Shortbus (2006) ***
· Sin City (2005) *****
· Singapore Sling (1990) *****
· Snakes on a Plane (2006) ***
· Storytelling (2001) ***
· Submission (2004) **
· Swimming Pool (2003) ****
· Swordfish (2001) ***
· These Girls (2005) ***
· Trainspotting (1996) *****
· Transamerica (2005) ***
· Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) *****
· Vraie jeune fille (1975) ***
· Varuh Meje (2002) ***
· Where The Truth Lies (2005) ****
· Women From Cell Block 9 (1977) **
· Women On The Run (1993) ****
· Y tu mama tambien (2002) *****

Great paintings

· "Andromeda"
· Balthus, ''Guitar Lesson''
· Boucher, "Birth of Venus"
· Boucher, "Odalisque"
· Boogaard, Diederick van den, "Sindy III"
· Boogaard, Ron van den, "Toro"
· Botero, Fernando
· Bouguereau, "L'Enfant"
· Bouguereau, "Nymphs and a Satyr"
· Briullov, Karl
· Caillebotte, "Nu au divan"
· Chagall, Marc
· Church, "Twilight in the Wilderness"
· Collier, John
· Collier, "Pharaoh's Handmaidens"
· Colville, Alex
· Courbet, "L'Origine du monde"
· Courbet, "Sleepers"
· Cranach, "Golden and Silver Ages"
· Cranach, "Judgement of Paris"
· Cybis, "Primavera"
· Dali, "Virgin Auto-Sodomized By Her Own Chastity"
· Degas, Edgar
· Degas, "Spartan Girls Challenging the Boys"
· Degas, "Woman Leaving Her Bath"
· Delacroix, "La Liberté guidant le peuple""br />· Delvaux, Paul
· Delvaux, "Aurore"<br />· Delvaux, "Phases of the Moon"
· Delvaux, "Sabbat"
· Dix, "Self Portrait with a Model"
· École de Fontainebleau, "Gabrielle d'Estrées and Her Sister"
· Ernst, "Robing of the Bride"
· Ernst, "Virgin Spanking Jesus"
· Fragonard, "La Gimblette"
· Fragonard, "Les Baigneuses""br />· Gallego, "Martyrdom of Saint Catherine"
· Gentileschi, "Susanna"
· Gérôme, "Harem Pool"
· Gérôme, "Selling Slaves in Rome"
· Gérôme, "Slave Market"
· Grottger, "Fryne"
· Hilz, "Peasant Venus"
· Hitler, Adolf
· Kustodiev, Boris
· Lawner, "Dayla 2"
· Lawner, "T"
· Lempicka, "Deux amies" (1928)
· Leonardo da Vinci
· Manet, "Déjeuner sur l'herbe"
· Matisse, "Blue Nude"
· Munch, Edvard
· Picasso, Pablo
· Plastov, "Old Village Bath"
· Renoir, "After the Bath"
· Renoir, "Bathers in the Forest"
· Rivera, "Desnuda con Alcatraces"
· Rubens, "Fur Coat"
· Rubens, "Three Graces"
· Rubens, "Venus at the Mirror"
· Saliger, Ivo
· Seurat, "Poseuses"
· "Stalin"
· Titian, "Diana and Acteon"
· Titian, ''Mary Magdalene''
· Tremois, Pierre-Yves
· Weiss, Wojciech
· Wiertz, Antoine
· Zorn, Anders

Great poems and songs

· Always True To You In My Fashion
· Amor Mio
· Annabella...
· Beauty Is Upon You
· Daddy's Girl
· Il Cielo In Una Stanza
· I See Beauty
· Lush for Your Love
· Patricia the Stripper
· Step by Step
· Switezianka
· To Alinda...
· To Mandy...

Hero(ine) of the Hour

· Al-Sistani, Grand Ayatollah Ali
· Cutler, Jessica
· Hirsi Ali, Ayaan
· Karnes, David
· Khatami, Mohammad
· Manuel II
· Morales, Evo
· Obama, Barack
· Pelosi, Nancy and
Rangel, Charles
· Schwarzenegger, Arnold

Humour

· Barbie Exposed
· Bored radiology students
· Cartoon - Artificial insemination
· Cartoon - Basket-boobs
· Cartoon - Blonde laundry
· Cartoon - Computer sex
· Cartoon - Fast-forward
· Cartoon - Fun at the beach
· Cartoon - Mars and Venus
· Cartoon - Medieval times
· Cartoon - Nude bank robbers
· Cartoon - Nude model
· Cartoon - Obscene caller<br />· Cartoon - Oral balloon
· Cartoon - Orgasm
· Cartoon - Sex in the dark
· Cartoon - Sexual Discrimination
· Cartoon - Sleepfucking
· Cartoon - Threesome
· Computer humor
· Crazy soccer
· Cute little puppy
· Find a peach
· Funny quotes
· German language is weird
· Green sex
· Hell breaks loose as Teresa has sex with an "A" student
· If WWII was a RTS game
· Joke - Desert island
· Joke - Dumb blonde
· Joke - Farwood
· Joke - French Muslims
· Joke - Half of Leviticus right there...
· Joke - Homey Commandments
· Joke - Life's Cycle
· Joke - Lipstick mirror
· Joke - Man Eat Dog
· Joke - Men
· Joke - Mommy and Uncle Frank
· Joke - My uncle
· Joke - Overheard on a flight
· Joke - Sex maniac
· Joke - Where do babies come from ?
· Lipstick Lesbians Protest Soft Butches in Make-up
· Obscene Epitaph
· Oscar Wilde
· Swedish Witch
· Toilet humor
· Upside down
· You know dick

Kama Sutra

· 69
· Camel Position
· Crab Position
· Deer Position
· Herd of Cows
· Lotus Position
· Lower Congress
· Octopussy Position
· Oral Congress
· Position K9
· Pressing Position
· Starfish Position
· Strange Position
· Supported Congress
· Suspended Congress
· Tantric Ecstasy
· Tiger Position
· Twining Position
· United Congress
· Upside Down
· Woman Plays Man I
· Woman Plays Man II
· Yawning Position

My paintings

· "Abstraction" (2006)
· "Annick" (2004)
· "Antuanetta" (2005)
· "Ass It Turns Out" (2004)
· "Ass The World Turns" (2004)
· "Ass We Look" (2005)
· "Beauty in Pink" (2006)
· "Big Chest" (2005)
· "Big Fight" (2004)
· "Blue Attraction" (2004)
· "Blue Bodies" (2004)
· "Bossom Buddies" (2004)
· "Buns of Steel" (2004)
· "Buns of Steel II" (2004)"br />· "Can't Believe It" (2006)
· "Chains of Love" (2006)
· "Chaos" (2004)
· "Chaos II" (2004)
· "Cold War" (2003)
· "Confrontation" (2005)
· "Confusion" (2003)
· "Cubist Ass" (2004)
· "Death to Stalin" diptych (2000)
· "Death to Tyrants" triptych (2000-2006)
· "Dinara" (2003)
· "Eagle's Nest" (2004)
· "Erotic Convergence" (2004)
· "Fantasy in Blue" (2005)
· "Fight, The" (2003)
· "Fight in Green" (2004)
· "Fighting Women" (2004)
· "Fragments of Desire" (2003)
· ''From Behind'' (2006)
· "Full View" (2004)
· "German Quilt" (2000)
· "Girlfriends" (2003)
· "Girls in Green" (2004)
· "Gym Class" (2003)
· "Happy Girl" (2005)
· "Harmony" (2003)
· "Harmony in Rose - Clemence Poesy" (2006)
· "Hidden Secrets" (2004)
· "Hold Me Tight" (2003)
· ''Hommage à Aivazovski'' (2003)
· ''Hommage à Bierstadt'' (2003)
· "Hommage à Boucher" (2000)
· "Hommage à Courbet" (2003)
· "Hommage à Cranach" (2000)
· "Hommage à Murillo" (2000)
· "Hot Brazil" (2004)
· "Hottie" (2006)
· "Ladies in Green" (2005)
· "Ladies in Yellow" (2003)
· "Left Behind" (2004)
· "Nude Wrestling" (2003)
· ''Nudist Club'' (2006)
· "On Your Knees" (2005)
· "Phallic Temptations" (2004)
· ''Pink Fight'' (2006)
· "Pretty in Pink" (2005)
· "Samira" (2006)
· "Sands of Time" (2005)
· ''Saudi Arabia and Iran'' (2006)
· "Secrets" (2006)
· "Secrets of Life" (2004)
· "Self Portrait" (2006)
· "Shades" (2004)
· "Shaking Hands" (2004)
· "Shapely Ass" (2005)
· "Shining Through" (2005)
· "Sitting Beauty" (2003)
· "Slick" (2004)
· "Snow White" (2003)
· "Sorority Girls" (2005)
· "Soupy" (2005)
· "Straight to Heart" (2005)
· "Strip Party" (2004)
· "Suggestion" (2005)
· "Sweet Memories" (2003)
· "Tan Lines" (2004)
· "Three Girls in Blue" (2003)
· ''Ulya'' (2006)
· "Under Water" (2005)
· "Widespread" (2004)
· "Women in Brown" (2003)
· "Women in Green" (2004)
· "Women in Yellow" (2003)
· "Wrestling in Brown" (2003)
· "Wrestling Ladies" (2003)
· "Yellow Fight" (2003)

My poems

· À Joanne...
· À Roxanne...
· Beach, The
· To Adriana (aka Sophia)...
· To Agatha...
· To Alexandra...
· To Aniko...
· To Annick...
· To Annie...
· To Antuanetta...
· To Aya...
· To Brigitte...
· To Chandra...
· To Chisato...
· To Christina...
· To Clara...
· To Gloria...
· To Graces...
· To Jackie...
· To Jennifer Aniston...
· To Joanna...
· To Katerina...
· To Kozumi...
· To Lily...
· To Marise...
· To Miko...
· To Misoku...
· To Natalana...
· To Natalie...
· To Nora...
· To Reiko...
· To Sako...
· To Salote...
· To Sarah...
· To Sarah Jessica...
· To Sawa...
· To Tiffany...
· To Viviane...
· To Zoë...

News from all over

· 2006-07-21
· 2006-07-22
· 2006-07-25
· 2006-08-01
· 2006-08-08
· 2006-08-10
· 2006-08-12
· 2006-08-15
· 2006-08-17
· 2006-09-19
· 2006-09-29
· 2006-10-03"br />· 2006-10-13
· 2006-11-15
· 2006-11-21"br"/a" />· 2006-11-30<br />· 2006-12-15
· 2007-01-13
· 2007-01-29
· 2007-02-05
· 2007-02-08
· 2007-03-06
· 2007-03-25
· 2007-03-30
· Dinosaur Shark

Nude actresses

· Antonelli, Laura
· Capotondi, Cristina
· Dawson, Rosario
· Dench, Judi
· Dombasle, Arielle
· Fleury, Cécile <br /"· King, Jaime
· Laurier, Lucie
· Monroe, Marilyn
· Walker, Polly

Nude photos

· Another odalisque
· Another young beauty
· Another young beauty returns
· Aphrodite
· April Fools' Day
· Beach bunnies
· Beachcombers
· Beautiful blog<br /"· Beautiful Lady
· Betty
· Body paint
· Brazilian Women's Soccer Team
· Camila Beck
· Camila Beck again
· Closer
· Cool pool shades
· Couch girl
· Craig Morey<br />· Dancing nymphs at Yale
· Denise
· Dog House
· Don't be cross
· Double pleasure
· Double trouble
· Eye Candy
· For Desert
· Frolicking Girls
· From China with a smile
· From Japan with love
· Fun on the beach
· Girl Leaving Her Bath
· Girls and perfect fitness
· Girl with Hair
· Georgia W. Bush
· Great blog - Beautiful and horny
· Happy New Year!
· Happy Valentine's Day
· Here's Agatha again
· High Heels
· Holding firm
· Hot sex
· Jenny
· Juliet
· Jungle Fever
· Kassenautomat Girl
· Kind Girls
· Lady in Black... and White
· Lady in the Mirror
· l'amour parfait
· la nuque
· Make love not war, Mehmet
· Merry Christmas! - 2005
· Merry Christmas! - 2006
· Mirror, Mirror
· Monkey Girl
· Moon Ladies
· More naked heels
· More pictures of Agatha
· More pictures of Alexandra
· Motocycle Babe
· Musas - another soft-core blog like mine
· Mysterious girl
· Naked Air
· Nude cycling
· Nude fitness
· Nude wrestling
· On the tip of a tongue
· Peach on a beach
· Peeping
· Perfect T
· Perspective
· Phad Thai
· Playing Chest
· Quatre amies lesbiennes
· Sapphic moment
· See you in two weeks
· Serena
· Sexy brunette
· Shaving time
· Shower Girl
· She's cuter than that puppy
· Shy
· Stretched thin
· Sunset Girl
· Syberian Beauty
· Tattoo nudity
· Thai Maid
· Three Cuties
· Tight squeeze
· To Natacha...
· To Yoko...
· Trésors cachés
· Tub Water
· Uncovered
· Waterfall Girl
· Water Nymph
· Wet dream
· Yachty girl
· Yoga fan

Politics

· Abajo Fidel
· Ahmadinejad - a clever and dangerous enemy
· Another suicide bombing
· Armenian Genocide and its deniers
· Armenian Genocide: the Turkish side of the story
· Blogs banned in India
· Cartoon War explained
· Cartoon War update
· Catch 22 of the Middle East conflict
· Christopher Hitchens on Iraq
· Defeat for Michael Moore<br />· Dictator Hugo Chavez
· End of the Neo-Con Era
· Female university professor murdered by religious fanatics in Egypt
· Former Nazi German Concentration Camp of Auschwitz
· Genesis of World War III
· Good news from Iraq
· Great article by Christopher Hitchens
· Hollywood declares war on Hezbollah and Hamas
· Hypocrisy of the anti-war Left
· I agree with Joel Stein
· ''Inconvenient Truth'' about the ''State of Fear''
· Iraq should split up
· Iran's cartoon contest
· Is Chavez ruining Venezuela ?
· Is there a Civil War in Iraq?
· "I was raped, but it was my fault"
· Kim Strangelove
· King Is Dead - Love Live The King
· Leon Trotsky
· Letter from a Turkish soldier
· Miracle
· "Mohammed cartoons" update
· Muslim brothel controversy
· Myth of military casualties
· Myths about religion in the United States
· Myths about the Soviet Union
· Now I am afraid!
· One down, dozens still to go
· Pinochet will soon die
· Pogroms of gays in Baghdad
· Polish Muslims
· Real maps of the World
· Real nature of the Darfur genocide "br />· Requiem for the Pacifist Left<br />· Right-wing and wrong-wing
· Sexual slavery in Europe
· Struggle for Iraq
· Tornado religion
· Totalitarian Disease
· To Wiretap Or Not To Wiretap
· True face of Aristide
· Truth about Iraq
· Turkey and Islam
· Unpopular war or unpopular defeat ?
· Up Yours
· US mid-term elections (2006)
· Violence and the Left
· Vlasov Mystery
· Was Moscow planning an invasion of the Western Europe in 1965 ?
· We are hypocrites
· We Iranian reforms a sham designed to trick gullible Westerners ?
· What's REALLY going on in Iraq ?
· Which leader should Dick Cheney invite on his next hunting trip ?
· Who said it ?
· Why is the Left covering up self-oppression in the Third World ?
· Why I supported the invasion of Iraq
· Why I will not sign this letter
· Women in the military

Sexy news

· Angelina and Brad in Namibia
· Annoying law
· Are some rape victims asking for it ?
· Bare celebrities
· Britney au naturel
· Britney Spears caught without her panties
· Candy stripper
· Celebrity roundup
· Celebrity sex tapes
· Censorship on LiveJournal
· Christina Aguilera in GQ
· Drew caught having sex
· DUI of porn
· Euro-tique
· Female predators
· Gossip - Dannii Minogue
· Great Streakers - Heidi Wardrop
· Heidi Klum's fake bikinis
· Indecent Exposure
· Interesting links
· Is Big Brother too sleazy ?
· It's legal now to be nude in Daytona Beach!
· Kira O'Reilly's "Inthewrongplaceness"
· Lady Godiva rides again
· Lesbian news
· More nude cyclists protests
· Naked body in "History of Tears"
· Naked ramblers
· Naked snake catching
· New blog - Orthodox DYKEtionary
· Nude Aussie athletes
· Nude cyclists protest against oil
· Nude modeling
· Ode to femininity
· Paris Hilton faces slander charges
· Paris Hilton has pissed herself
· PETA girls
· Porn stars in politics
· Power of a blowjob
· Scarlett and Keira bare all
· Sexy gossip - 2006-08-24
· Sexy gossip - 2006-09-30
· Sexy potpourri"br />· Spencer Tunick in Chavezland
· Tammy NYP
· Two cheerleaders caught having sex
· Unrated nudity
· ''Up-skirting'' to be banned in Australia
· Welfare state prostitution

Top 10 Films

· 1981 - Top 10 Films
· 1985 - Top 10 Films
· 1986 - Top 10 Films
· 1987 - Top 10 Films
· 1988 - Top 10 Films
· 1989 - Top 10 Films
· 1990 - Top 10 Films
· 1991 - Top 10 Films
· 1992 - Top 10 Films
· 1993 - Top 10 Films
· 1994 - Top 10 Films
· 1995 - Top 10 Films
· 1996 - Top 10 Films
· 1997 - Top 10 Films
· 1998 - Top 10 Films
· 1999 - Top 10 Films<br /"· 2000 - Top 10 Films
· 2001 - Top 10 Films
· 2002 - Top 10 Films
· 2003 - Top 10 Films
· 2004 - Top 10 Films
· 2005 - Top 10 Films
· 2006 - Top 10 Films

Travel

· Appointment in Samarra
· Beautiful Venezuela
· Best nudist resorts
· Bolivia
· Bora Bora
· Castro's beautiful island
· Countries where I have been
· Denim Revolution in Belarus ?
· Denmark
· Dominican Republic
· Earthquake hits Tonga
· Easter Island
· El Salvador
· Greece
· Guilin Mountains in China
· Hezbollah's Stronghold
· Hezbollah's Target
· Hierve el agua
· Incredible sight in Dubai
· Jodhpur - the Indian Alhambra
· Lesotho's hidden charms
· Letter from Liberia
· More Dubai attractions
· Nepal's Catch 22
· Nepal update
· Niger's beauty
· Samana Bay, Dominican Republic
· Shiite Iraq
· Syriana
· Tonga
· Turkmenistan
· Underwater caves of Quintana Roo
· Viva India!
· War with Iran

in a random "presentation"

Okay, we did two of the parts to the Very Hungry Caterpillar notebook page.  We had a short day yesterday. . .

Now, this is interesting.  Nate, the child I'm watching for 2 more days, has done public pre-school, and is about to go into public Kindergarten.  Then, there are my two youngest who haven't done public school at all.  Nate's Mom is a public school K teacher.

Last week when I had Nate, he kept going home with school papers, and I laughingly apologized to his mom about all the stuff.  She looked at me in all seriousness and told me, that last year he came home every day with at least 10 papers of "junk" -- "mindless busywork".  Then, she said, "he comes home from your house with 'open-ended' and 'thoughtful' projects. . . "  She had no problems witth the stuff I was sending home.

 Anyway, yesterday we started, and we started with cutting (as there is a lot of cutting).

So, I gave directions (they were cutting the "frig") about how we cut along the OUTSIDE line.  I also reminded them to do their best work, but it's not big deal if it's not "perfect".

So, they start straight in.  Nate was done lickety-split!  Not only that, but he cut off the top header.  Pulled out the tape to fix that, and reminded other two to go around the outside line.  (Tealc had just started to cut off the header as he had seen Nate do, so he was a bit upset that he had "messed up". -- fixed that too) 

Now, here's what was interesting:

My initial reaction upon seeing Nate finish so quickly while Tealc and Jackson were still working was to try and rush them to finish (and a little bit of "despair" that they were so slow).

However, Tealc and Jackson were enjoying themselves.  Just chatting together and talking about the whole thing, discussing the merits of holding scissors this way, how it's easier to cut "up" as opposed to "down", etc.

I realized Nate had seen it as a task to be completed; whereas, Tealc and Jackson saw it as something completely different. . . and I kept my mouth shut and let them work on their own. 

Then, when we went to discuss the different aspects of the two projects we did, that was a whole 'nuther thing all together.  Jackson and Tealc were very much actively participating in the discussion, while Nate was rather quiet.  He would not talk unless I asked him a very specific question, but he would only answer the question and would not elaborate.

Please understand that I'm not trying to imply Nate did "poorly", far from it; just noting a difference.

Today we are going to do the tissue paper collage first thing.  I'm rather interested to see how that goes.  I'm hoping that Nate will be more vocal during this exercise.

---------

Oh, and on the topic of the aforementioned.

The lady who created this lapbook, read my blog yesterday. . . (that's so cool!)

She posted files yesterday on her yahoo group, that expand the lapbook.  One was an "opposites"  activity. . .

Now, that is AWESOME,  (not the specific activity, necessarily), but her ability to "see" what is presented in the book!

Truly, that is an ability I don't know that I possess.

She took a book that is a sum total of ~20 "pages", and "saw":

• "nutrition"
• colors
• days of the week
• lifecycle of a butterfly
• numbers to 5
• art work (collage)
• and now, opposites

You know, looking at it after seeing her work, it's readily evident to me. . .but before???  Before it was just a book to read.  *sigh* so sad.

She also added a page for those that won't do the copywork, and she wrote me a response to my comment that I won't be doing the copywork.  (That's even more cool than her simply reading my blog.)

Now, this is the thing, as I have two older children, I have the benefit (to a degree) of "hindsight".  I have realized that I pushed my older two. . .too much maybe.  Because I was comparing them to what went on in "regular" school.

(We won't even go into reasons as to why they do things when they do in "regular" school.)

The thing is, kids aren't necessarily ready and or physically capable of certain things at young ages.  Fine motor skills used for handwriting is a big one.  Now, granted writing is wonderful and a fantastic means of communication.  But why should I suffer my kids to write if they are not physically capable of it.

Certainly, I should teach them to write.  I mean how on earth would they learn if they weren't taught, and if they didn't practice.  However, should I give them an 8 line poem to copy if they are still simply trying to learn how to form letters properly?

I did with my older two.  They dread writing!  (Thankfully, I also taught them to type!)

No, with my younger two, I'm going to be more relaxed, even if it kills me.  The point is not to follow a set course created by some unkowns who think they know best.  The point is for my children to learn, and to appreciate not only what they learn but the process by which they learned it.

And thus, I shall not force my kids to hurry up and get their cutting done.  Nor shall I cause them to suffer and do copywork that is way above the level they can currently perform.

I will, however, let them enjoy their work and challenge them daily to go beyond their ability of the day before.

------------

Hmm, I was going to write more, but I've run out of time.  Maybe I'll add more later.

(It's the name of a book by Eric Carle.)

As I mentioned we didn't finish our "B" week, due to the fact that we are watching Nate.

Well, the thing is he doesn't want to do the "school-work" (math and such), he wants to do the fun work.

 I don't want to give  him all the fun work that I have scheduled for Jackson and Tealc to do, because we do still have school work to do, and I'd like have  something to break up the tedium of the work.  (Although, truth be told, at their level there is little that is tedious.)

So, we are in our second week of "B" and I don't want to share the fun.  Not good.

Well, then I just happened, on Mon, to recieve this link from one of the email loops I belong to.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lapbook 

It was like an answer to my dilemma.  Butterfly starts with "b", and then caterpillar is a "c" word.  . .

Anyway, I don't like lapbooks. 

Nope, I don't, because as we move a lot, I'm here to tell you, lapbooks don't "move" well.

That's why I like the idea of notebook pages.

However, when you find notebook pages they all tend to be rather "blah".  A picture or graphic slapped on and then a written entry.  Now, the principle behind it is rather "sound" and the learning you recieve from it is excellent, it's just "blah".

The nice thing about lapbooks is they tend to be more "interactive".  (Same learning benefit of the notebook pages, but with more pizzaz.)

So, I would prefer a combo of the two.  Just hadn't quite figured out how to do it yet.

However, this lady did.  While it's touted as a lapbook, she gave the option of using it on notebook pages!

Perfect!!!

(And now, after seeing how she did it, I have a better idea of how I want to do it.)

Now, because I'm going to attempt to do this with 3 boys at once, I had to do one myself, just to get an idea of how doable it would be.

It requires A LOT of cutting.  Cutting is a good skill to learn, but this requires a lot.  It really won't be too bad, as I will be breaking it into parts, but I determined to do some precutting to make it a bit more manageable for the boys.  (I cut out all the stickers.)

It also has a copywork selection.  Given the boys' age, I think copywork is a bit "discouraging".  I think I'm just going to give the poem to learn so they can recite it.

I'm giving them 3 days to complete it.  We'll see if they can get it done in that time.  (I'm also curious to see how it goes with 2-5 year olds and 1-4 year old.)

Oh, and I will say, she has a "collage" sheet in her pkg.  I'm looking forward to that.  I might do that first with the boys.  I have tissue paper, so I think I may see how that goes.

Tomorrow the class is going on a trip to Victoria Hill - hopefully more than last time will turn up! Victoria Hill is an old mining site - it hosts what was once the deepest shaft mine in the world as well as George Lansell's first mine...he went on to make a mint out of gold.

The task sheet that I usually give them is too long for the hour that we'll have. So here it is. If you want to listen to the podcast, go here.

Jane Hart's compilation of top tools has reached 100, and very impressive it is, too.

I am pleased to see that 'books and paper' - on my own list - made it on to the list, but not to the top 10, which is:

Read the rest of this entry »

This week has been busy, stressful, what have you!
So, I've been watching a neighbor boy "Nate" for the last 4 days.
For that reason we have not finished our "B" week. It's rather difficult, as he has no interest sometimes, and I just don't feel like forcing the issue. Thankfully, where most years I schedule 40 weeks for the year, for the K year I only have 36 weeks scheduled, so I can take my time.
We'll just finish out the "B" Week by next weekend and be just fine.
We did, however, take a trip to the zoo.
The boys made their yearbook (field trip) pages, but I can't display them, as each child picked pictures that were "revealing". (As in it would give away our location.) I was able to send them to the General though, and he said they were fantastic. (For those family and friends that would like to see them, just email me, you know I have no problems sharing.)
However, I can post some of the pictures here from the trip, so will do so.

The kid in red is Nate. I'm telling you this week has been wet and miserable and cold. Yet, every day he came in shorts, t-shirt and sandals -- which is no problem when we are staying indoors. However, it was all I could do to convince him to wear a sweatshirt when we went out. (In fact, it took threatening not to go.)

Oneill, liked this particular goat, as it just stood there posing the entire time. Would not give up it's stump for anything!

The Bat Cave. This has been the first time ever we've ever actually seen the bats active (they're to the right in the direction that Tealc is looking). Boys thought that was pretty cool.

Jackson was pretending to be a hungry baby bird! (not too far from the truth most days!)

I'm really glad I decided to do the yearbook pages. The boys keep trooping around with their "yearbooks" and I keep catching them looking at them and talking about them. They'll beg me to take a picture of a project they are doing to add to it, or they'll insert some of their art work. Right now there are just a few pages, but the rate they are going it will fill up rather quickly. It's fabulous! I really wish I had done it for the older kids as well.

about the slipped disc I mean...

Back when the boys were toddlers, I managed to herniate a disc - probably due to a mock parachute jump that went dreadfully wrong - my sciatic nerve became trapped in it and I was in constant pain for well over 18 months. The pain in my back has now radiated down into my leg so it looks as if I've managed to do the same silly thing again, hopefully it won't last as long this time...

The boys have both been mega helpful and haven't complained once that they've had to miss workshops and events that they were booked in for. J has been setting his alarm so he wakes at roughly the same time as me just in case I need any help, bless him. The first day he had to put on my shoes and socks as I can't bend! Now I just wear slip on shoes. ;-) I won't even mention how much fun it was to get my underwear on! :oops: I didn't ask for help with that obviously, but it was quite a challenge, lol!

The boys enjoyed having some time at home I think! We all wanted to know how the boys were progressing and there's been lots of chatter amongst his schooled friends this past couple of weeks about SATs so we decided to use the same testing system. J sat his Y6 SATs in Science an walked away with an amazing level 5+, M wanted to do it too so I let him and he managed to get 5 points below a level 5, not bad for a kid who was written off at school when he was 7 years old and a year before he would have taken them at school. (Level 4 is 'normal' for 11 year olds apparently). Off course we didn't have the 'everything engineered towards SATs' and several practise runs first so it was far less stressful than it would have been doing it at school, I was still surprised that they wanted to do it though, lol! I'm very proud of them both. I am proud of them anyway but their determination to do well makes me even more proud, it would be only too easy for them to want to sit around and do nothing all day with the way things are here just now. The results seems to have made them more confident about their work too so I am really glad I didn't say "No, you can't sit SATs because we are home educators". Funny how things work out isn't it, the constant working towards SATs were one of the reasons I dislike schools! :lol:

My neighbours have been brilliant, helping out with a few things that the kids couldn't do, including cutting back an elderberry tree that was beginning to take over our back fence. There are loads of berries on both the trees at the back and at the front, I should probably make some effort to pick them and use them before the birds realise they are there, lol! ;-)

Yesterday we ventured into town on the bus. It was, to be perfectly honest, a huge mistake as far as my back was concerned but we had things we had to buy and I don't like to rely on family and friends for everything so we went. The boys came home clutching a huge chemistry set so lots of fun to be had. As we were unwrapping it, I was laughing in delight at the chemicals supplied telling the boys all the experiments we would be able to do. J commented on how clever I was to know so much, a lovely compliment. Then he remembered that I am a scientist in my 'normal' life, lol! Here's hoping I don't blow the roof off the house and disappoint him. ;-) (I had a bit of an accident at high school with some chemicals, we won't go into detail here but suffice to say the purple stain was still all over the roof 5 years later when my sister was in the same class! :shock: )

J has been busy making a meccano version of the Red Arrows' Hawk - photos to follow. He's done an experiment to determine the weight of ice compared with the weight of water and is now looking at why ice floats.

I bought 'More Brain Training' for the DS and we've been glued to it, so much fun and a whole new way to play 'rock, scissors, paper'!

Well there you go, nothing very interesting I suppose, but life has moved at a different pace. Thank you all for your good wishes, especially Vanda who had popped in regularly to see how I'm doing. Life for us is going to change slightly for a while at least, but hopefully it will still be a fun learning experience. :-)

This week seems to have flown past and I'm not really sure that I even noticed!

The boys have been busy with their work as always, even fitting in time to do a couple of science 'experiments'. Nothing too fascinating but they enjoyed them nonetheless.

Yesterday two of my older boys came around for a visit too, the younger of the two had just split up from his gf and was upset so stayed with us 'til it was time for him to go to work. The older one just popped in quickly as his gf was waiting for him. I can't imagine when the younger two have gfs too, it seems to very far off in the future but I know in reality it will pass in a flash and I'm so glad that I have the chance of having them home with me all day before that happens.

J and I have had long discussions regarding high school and he's adamant that he wants to stay at home so that's good. His dad and paternal grandmother are making all sorts of 'but what about exams' noises at the moment. I keep telling him that GCSEs are being phased out but because its not public knowledge yet he doesn't believe me...men! :roll: In the end J just said he'd do them at college so hopefully that's an end to the fuss again for a while.

The boys decided to give the last drama session of the year a miss and opted for pool and BBQ again instead. I can't say I was sorry as I was shattered and will be glad of the chance to get an early night. Last night two Tom cats were scrapping and made the dog bark waking the whole household. Consequently we were all bleary eyed this morning, lol! How did I ever manage to function after getting up for a baby 3 or 4 times a night? :shock:

More visitors today!! JT, S and M came to visit for a while, the kids all had great fun playing the my boys old train sets and stuff whilst JT and I nattered. They left shortly before lunch leaving the afternoon free for educational purposes.

The boys had free-choice today, M made stuff out of the craft box and drew a lot and J hand sewed a pair of shorts for his bear out of some left over material that I had been using. I'm darned impressed with his efforts if I do say so myself. Especially as he did the whole thing on his own, except for me quickly showing him how to do each of the stitches needed (backstitch and hemming). We had a conversation about how doctors and surgeons needed to be able to sew and how it wasn't really a girly thing. I hate stereotyping on kids activities.

Here are the shorts he made...

J helped me cook dinner and then the three of us cleared up and had a nice chilled evening together whilst getting organised for tomorrows day out. :-)  Really looking forward to it, hope we don't miss any buses this time, lol!

G'day all. I'm beginning a unit on Timor Leste (East Timor) with my Year 8s this week, and planning to do a stations strategy again, including a podcast introducing things. I was lucky enough to be able to interview Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, so that forms part of the podcast as well.

Last week we had Major Daniel from the ADF come and present about his time in Timor, which was fantastic...the boys were mainly concerned with whether he had killed anyone, thrown a grenade into a house etc (no and no if you're interested).

Read the unit

Read the script

Listen to the podcast