PKNA #28 - Metamorphosis + bonus story #26

Banker is back with another issue INCLUDING the bonus story AND featuring some beautifully rendered bonus pages. And if that wasn't enough, Aspargus32 has finished another bonus story.

PKNA#28 - Metamorphosis

PKNA #26 Bonus Story: 5Y - Too Salt to Taste

Also, here's a little treat that a fan drew my attention to: The Secret Origin of the Duck Avenger - not the avenger we know, but one that was made as an attempt to introduce the character to American audiences.



As a fan of the Duck Avenger, the first thing you'll probably notice is that everything is just incredibly, horribly wrong. Donald is called on by his uncle Ludvig von Drake to battle the evil Zondarrians who have stolen the Universal Code from Earth... It's all pretty silly.

But it's interesting to read, and I've actually been looking for these comics for years, after having read the first part as a child. So a huge thanks to the anonymous poster for bringing it to my attention.

Actually - and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this - these entirely silly comics are probably the main reason this site is called "PKNA - Adventures of the Duck Avenger" rather than "PKNA - Adventures of Superduck". Disney has changed the official name of the character several times, so it was hard to determine what was the proper translation when we started out.

I preferred the sound of The Duck Avenger, so that's what I went with. Looking back, I actually suspect that this American mini-comic is the only time Paperinik was actually called by the Duck Avenger name in an official Disney comic. Since then, Disney seems to have settled on calling him Superduck.

Still, we're more than 30 comics in now, so it seems a bit late to change the name of the main character. Calling him Superduck at this stage would just seem weird (to me, at least). Plus, I just plain like the Duck Avenger name. So I think we'll keep it.

Even if the comic it came from IS hilariously silly. Remember to check it out, by the way. :)

Pinterest Addiction & the Fine Print

So I'm cruising though my blog roll, checking in on everyone (that's right, I keep tabs on what people that I have never met are up to- I'm nosey like that!) and what catches my eye?

Do you have permission to pin?

Ummm...what?  Did I need to?  What did I miss?  I LOVE my Pinterest!  How can this be true?  How will I keep track of all of the things I will probably never do?  Why isn't everyone else talking about this (or am I not up to date with the cool kids!)?  Apparently, we all need permission to use or own the rights to photos that are pinned.  Confused.  What's the point of pinning if it's already mine.  I don't need to remember my own stuff.  Well, at times I do because I think I'm headed towards early on-set Alzheimer's (I'm partly serious- it runs in the family)!  on top of that, we are also agreeing to allow Pinterest to use those images we pin however they like. 

I'm still confused, but I'm inviting you to learn more from Laura Chandler.  She posted about this and added some resources (which I will pin later!).  So, she and some others came up with a little logo that will let others know that they may pin things from your blog.

So you all know, I've added one to my site.  I'm not here to make money, just share.  However, if I see you making money off my ideas.... I'll hunt you down and- well, probably nothing.  But, I WILL WHINE A LOT to family and friends.

On the flip side, I will still be using Pinterest, but try to make sure that the things I, personally, pin from blogs or websites are with permission.  hopefully, more bloggers will address this and let us know their wishes.  (I'm not taking down the awesome Hey, girl... signs!)

Piao-Ji Fish Soup

I am saving up for my pilgramage to Sushi Jiro in Tokyo next month
(~SGD500 per head for omakase!) and have been sustaining on hawker centre lunches and home-cooked dinner at my Sis' house. I have also successfully NOT been taking cabs to/from work either - rain or shine, 7am or 11pm. *Pat on own back*


This bowl of prawn/fish soup at $10 a fix, was admitedly, an indulgence. I love Amoy hawker centre on weekends - (relatively) empty and there's this chill vibe you'll never get on a busy weekday. The prawns that day were exceptionally fresh and the soup was very tasty. Add lots of chili padi and tada - the perfect hangover meal! (Yes, Yar's birthday and our heads were kinda throbbing from Royal Room the night before).


It was a good meal but I still prefer my Han Kee fish soup. $5 for generous thick slices of fish - yums. The queue is (a lot) more efficient too. We waited 30 min in line for Piao-Ji with only 6 people in front of us. Oh vell, it was a lazy Saturday and nobody needed to rush back to the office.

PKNA #27 - Mastiffs of the Universe + Evron guide

My apologies for taking so long with this. But hey! New comics!

PKNA#27 - The Mastiffs of the Universe

Bonus #23 - See also under Evron - Extracts from the Infoguide

Bonus #24 - See also under Evron - Extracts from the Infoguide

Potty Training, Mach 2

So - i have decided that toilet training is going to the next level here at our house. I started out after Flynns 2nd birthday with a prett casual approach, thinking that because he is such a great communicator that he would be relatively quick and painless to train. Um.... wrong! He may well be a very good communicator for his age, but after 2 months of trying the casual approach, methinks my son may just have a tad of the lazy about him too. He's quite happy to tell me he needs his bottom changed when he's wearing a nappy, but when he's in undies he'll just run up to me, or right next to his potty, and wee on the floor. Its like yanking down his undies and sitting is too much hassle for him, you know?

Dont get me wrong - i'm not blaming him. In fact i will quite happily and honestly throw my hand up and say that we havent been super consistent. With me working part-time, and the days that i do have off we tend to have very busy mornings ( at the very least ) the whole " lets put undies on/ lets sit on the potty every half hr " thing hasnt exactly been a strictly regular occurence. It has to be confusing for him, Mama being all gung-ho with the potty time one day, and chucking him a nappy and running out the door the day after. Unfortunately though there isnt much i can do about that - i have to work, at least for the next 5ish months before i go on maternity leave.

However, i'm ready and willing to change tack. Of course i've done a bit of reading up on all the toilet training tips and tricks, and after observing how my son is very fast growing up, i think the old sticker chart might be worth a shot.

My Flynn seems to be growing into the typical older child in that he's quite eager to please and he likes having rewards for his efforts that he can show others. ( I remember being in primary school, wanting to do the best i can to please my parents and teachers, but i had a merit award to show for my work well... so much the better ). So last night at bedtime Flynn and i had a little chat about how we're going to buy some special stickers, and when he does a wee or a poo Mummy will put them on a chart with his name. " I show Poppy and Grandma my stickers? " he asked.

Of course you can Pickles - and in that little sentence alone i think this plan may just prove more fruitful than the softly-softly method. If he can get something shiny and cool that he can show his grandparents, and they'll go on about how proud they are, which will in turn make him feel proud well then... so much the better.

Craziness & Reading Comprehension

Today was quite a day... I never made it to work.  My own children have all week off, but my district's break ended to day.  Hubby went to work early, as I was bringing the boys with me (crazy kids- they like to come to work and help me!).  Before I left, hubby called to say that he was in a car accident.  No worries- after a short trip to the ER for x-rays, he is all good.  Not the same can be said for our car.  Grrrr...  I live about 45 minutes away from work (and hubby is closer at 30 minutes).  Winter in Michigan is a crap shoot.  It could be a blizzard or 50 degrees, we just never know.  The temps were above freezing, but some nasty black ice developed on the expressway that we both take to work.  He spun out and hit the median barrier.  He asked that I wait.  I fought it and texted my principal (who has no problems getting texts at 6:15am!).  After going back and forth, she decided that I needed to stay home and take care of my family.  I'm so blessed to have her.  She really is the voice of reason when I'm not thinking clearly or clouded by my emotions.  I'm not sucking up- it's true.  My teaching friends pitched in and set up stuff for my sub.  Because I am crazy organized and a planning freak- I have emergency plans for every day of the week that are modified to fit.  Plans emailed in less than 10 minutes.  ((HUGS)) to my K-1 buddies!

Anyway... enough drama.

My kiddos just finished up a comprehension unit of study in readers workshop.  As much as I love our ISD and the plans that they give us for the units, I still feel the need to fill in and beef it up- my kids are ready and they love deep thinking :)  As a supplement, I used Tanny McGregor's Comprehension Connections and some ideas that I've gotten from the bloggy world (check out Holly at Crisscross Applesauce  , she uses it too).  It is a MUST for grades 1-2.  My literacy coach argues with me about it for firsties, but it's my class and she has more important things to do than focus on little old me :)

I love me some anchor charts and was sad to take them down last week.  However, I'm a strong believer in only having up the charts that are being used every day- no need to let them become part of the wall permanently.  I recreate them every time I teach, but I will take a photo to remind myself of the lesson for the following year.  I feel it's more authentic if the students feel that they helped create the chart as we were learning.  I would refer to these through our workshop mini-lessons and use them to prompt and give students the phrases to use during partnership time.  Here are some of them that my class and I created in response to our new learning:

The writing/reflection came from Abby at The Inspired Apple .

Happy ready (and comprehending)!

Learning To Be A Beach Bum

So you remember all those posts i've made lately whinging about the weather and how it better get its act together and co-operate when we took Flynn down to the beach? Well, we went away this past weekend and i am happy to say that we had glorious sunshine both days - good job Mother Nature!

Mick and I were both kind of excited to see how Flynn would react the first time he saw the ocean. Good news is we got a great " Oh wow Mum! Dats da beach! " and a very excited little smile. Bad news is he wasnt exactly fond of the water until the fourth and last visit to the beach, and by that time Daddy had already headed back to Dubbo ( Flynn and i stayed on an extra day, as i dont work Mondays, and drove home with my parents ). He loved the sand - he kept saying " i playing in the big sand pit! " and had a ball chasing the seagulls and looking for shells, and he was very interested in all the little hermit crabs that Poppy and I found in the shallows - he just wasnt too keen on getting his toes wet. I think it was a combination of just being completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water ( as a kid from the country the most water he sees on a regular basis is in the bathtub... ) and the fact that though the air temperature was lovely, the water temperature was still a bit cool.

I'll admit that though we had fun all four times we went down to the beach, i was a little bit upset that Mick had to miss out on Flynn finally taking to the water. We went down to a small bay not far from our holiday house late Sunday afternoon and, with a bit of patience and a bit of coaxing from Poppy, Flynn not only came in for a swim being carried by an adult but he was eventually running into the shallows all by himself. Once he figured out that he could splash and kick and that the little waves werent going to knock him over, he got into the whole beach experience. And though i was disappointed that Mick missed it, I'm glad that Flynn did eventually take to the beach - its an Australian rite of passage to have summer holidays to the beach, and i want him to enjoy them and look forward to them, the same way I did as a kid.

So after the success of the weekend ( which just wasnt long enough ) we are hoping to be able to go back down in the Christmas break, as long as we can jag some accommodation at the right price. By that time of course we will have a 4 month old aswell as Flynn so 3 or 4 days will be more than enough!

A World of Weather unit & Pinterest find...

Hurray!  I finally finished the weather unit that I started over Christmas break.  I had high hopes that I would kick it out and share with the world.... then, I went back to school and the real world set in.  Basically, I worked on it, as my students were learning the material (at least I know it all works!).  All of the experiments, crafts, and ideas have all been used in my classroom between last year and this year.  I just fancied it up with some cute clip art from Scrapin' Doodles :)  If you're interested, take a peak!  You can click on mt TPT link at the side of this page.

On a side note... I'm on break today and tomorrow (lame as it is, I'm happy to get 2 days).  I've already read 3 books and have developed a sore forearm from playing on Pinterest during this long weekend.  One totally cute idea I found was from Miss Kindergarten:

She originally found it on Playing with Pixie Dust (formerly Frogs, Bees Under the Seas).  The photo link on their site of this project no longer works (which is why I posted Miss Kindergarten's instead of the original).  It pays to read old blog posts over a break!  I'm totally making this next weekend.  Right now, my Kindle is feeling neglected.