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Collin got a tree at school last week on Arbor Day. He was excited to come home and plant it and set about getting the shovel and picking a good spot in the backyard. He was very proud of his work and excited to have planted the tree without any help. He even made sure he pulled the weeds around the tree so that it looked nice. It is really nice to be with Collin and Dylan as they discover all cool stuff that the world has to offer, even something as simple as planting a little scrub pine tree from first grade.

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My son was invited to join the Chess team at his school, very impressive for a first grader in my opinion. I’m sure I can say he is the youngest Chess player in the history of our family. I played in the Chess Club in middle school, but eventually discarded the game for other, less academic pursuits.

His involvment with Chess has sparked a renewed interest in me and it feels wonderful! I have become a full paying member on Chessworld.net, so far I am very happy with the site and the game play. I’m not doing very well right now, but it has been a long, long time since I played any serious Chess. Currently my rating is 1054, no so great, but hey, plenty of room for improvement!

My little man is doing great, he learned all of the moves and most of the rules with out batting an eye, now we have to work on teaching him to think through his moves, think ahead a move or two and make sure he is making the most of each move. To that end I am playing in as many games as I can to improve my skills, I have also purchased a kids Chess book as well as “Chess Openings The Easy Way” by Nick de Firmian. Trying to get my skill at opening a game correctly up to par! I will provide some feed back when I have made some good use of the book.
Lot’s to do, but so much fun and I believe that Chess is a great game to teach kids. Not to focus only on my 6 year old, my 5 year old is playing some too, although he doesn’t have as much interest in it.

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As much as my two boys fuss and fight with each other you can tell that they love each other very deeply, even if they do show it by pestering each other non-stop! They are OK with being away from each other during the school day, but aside from that they are pretty much together all other times. They are very lucky in this regard, and I hope they always remain best friends.

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After receiving what I felt was a inflammatory e-mail attacking anyone who is not of a “christian” mindset, I checked out the trailer for the movie The Golden Compass.

Looks awesome, and I will for sure be seeing the movie, kids included by myself, wifey just watched the trailer and said it looked too violent for the boys! GASP!!

I, too, checked this out on Snopes.com and it is true. I hope this movie is a big box-office bust! You can research this for yourself with this article on Snopes.com. It is very anti-religion of any kind. It is beyond comprehension why these 3 big movie stars would even deem this script as one they felt compelled to use to ‘advance’ their careers. Please look into this movie and preview the book so your children and grandchildren will not be exposed to this kind of so-called literature and its defamation of our religious beliefs.
Linda
PS If any of you have differing information on this movie, I am open to seeing that and forwarding it as well. I admit that not viewing a movie first before sending out an email like this is not my usual way to approach something of which I don’t approve. Your input from other sources would be appreciated. Thanks!

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

Please read! ( FYI)

THE GOLDEN COMPASS, a new movie targeted at children, will be released December 7, 2007. This movie is based on a the first book of a trilogy
by atheist Philip Pullman. In the final book a boy and girl kill God so they can do as they please. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that ‘My books are about killing God.’

The movie is a watered down version of the first book and is designed to be very attractive in the hope unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie and that the children will want the books for Christmas.

The movie has a well known cast, including Nicole Kidman, Kevin Bacon, and Sam Elliott. It will probably be advertised extensively, so it is crucial that we get the word out to warn parents to avoid this movie.

Twila Huddlestone-Keirns, Program Director
Camp Watcha-Wanna-Do
P.O. Box 11166
Fort Wayne, IN 46856
260.609.3155 FAX 260.744.4981

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I am participating (although a bit late) in the Blog Action Day.

I easily found a link to a very pertinent article about how to go green with your kids toys.

My 6 year old has been diagnosed with ADD, however, we have reisted what the doctors have advised (medication) and instead are trying to treat his behavior with positive things, diet changes, and working with him to understand how his behavior affects those around him. I am happy to report that over the past 6 months he has really changed for the better!

What has this got to do with going green and toys? Well, one of the things that the D.O. my son is seeing pointed out is that most of our kids toys are made of plastic, and colored with who knows what from who knows where.

We are not making a conscious decision to reduce the plastic in that our kids come in contact with. It is very hard, EVERYTHING seems to be made out of brightly colored plastic.

Take some time to read the excellent tips over at Treehugger. Take a positive step and help your child, yourself, and our environment all at once!

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Today is day three without Mommy! I miss Mommy. The boys miss Mommy. Mommy is away on a three day ‘girls weekend’. Much deserved for her. I’m trying to do my best here with the boys, but it tough for me. I have no idea how she does it all day, every day during the summer. She is truly an amazing woman. Wish I could say the same for myself, well, not that I want to be an amazing woman..but you get my point.

Mr. Dylan has started to show off some of his art talent. Here is his latest work!

In a supreme act of fatherhood idiocy I showed Collin how to use a magnifying glass to make smoke (fire) come out of a leaf. He was totally amazed and wanted to do it! Wow, bad idea! I tried to stress how he could not do that without me around, but do my kids ever listen? That would be a big “NO”. OMG I hope he dosen’t catch something on fire! I’m keeping the magnifying glass under tight security for a while, maybe he’ll forget! Ya, and pigs might fly tomorrow!

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I uploaded some new drawings by Collin. Keep in mind, these are all free hand and with no help or guidance from anyone.

The set can be found here. I think it is time to get in touch with some publishers and see if we can get his artwork in front of someone, he has so much talent, especially when you consider that he just turned 6 years old! I am so proud of him!

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