Shadow Void

Something From National Geographic.com

Lets101 Quizzes - blog quizzes

Check this out!

http://shadowvoid.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/11/i-want-you-to-see-this.html

Book review for Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Great Lakes Region

I want you to see this

The Home; Center of Learning

It's true the home is the center of learning. Want your kids behave, to have a morals, to love to read, start early with them or you might just be S.O.L. How you raise your kids can dictate how they learn. What habits you have can impact your child. Your likes, dislikes, and fears can impact your child. Let's not forget how you discipline them. You can also pass off your attitudes to them.

So much of what goes in the home is picked on by our kids. Kids, especially little kids know when something isn't right. They can pick up on mom or dad's emotions. They can learn words and language by simply listening to what's being said around them. If you want your kids to read, then you need to read to them while they are young, and if you do read to them then, there is a good chance that they'll continue to read. Children are sponges capable of picking up on a lot. You just have to work with them. By establishing a love of learning, you are really helping them out in the long run. Keep in mind though, they have free will and may decide that they don't care for learning.

Your habits can impact your kids. Again kids have free will so nothing is totally set in stone but we know that some bad habits are easier to pick up on if your parent's have them. If you smoke around your kids, you be setting the stage for them to smoke. I know a family where both the husband and the wife smokes and it seems as if the kids are always sick with colds. If you drink in front of your kids you could be setting the example. Luckily kids do have a mind of their own and can change the possible future.

Kids are also good for picking up on mom's or dad's likes, dislikes, or fears. They will pick up your food choices. What fears you have and the way you react to them can determine if your child also has that fear. Your reaction to a snake, a spider, or a mouse can impact your kids. What worries me the most are the things that a kid can learn from the parent's. More precisely, I am worried about passing hate to our kids.

When I think of all the things that a child can learn from their parents, the one thing that sickens me the most is hate. It doesn't matter what form the hate takes either. It could be racism, a hate for someone's religion, or homophobia. Like I said, it doesn't matter what you hate. Hating someone and not knowing why is wrong. Let me correct myself, hating is wrong. So my question is, why teach it to your kids? ( I know not everyone teaches their kids. ) It's time we ended the hate.

Kids need to be taught morals, respect, love for themselves, responsibility, honesty, and integrity. I know there are some kids who are being taught to show respect to others, but there are others who aren't. They need to know how to handle conflicts in their own lives. They need to appreciate their belongs and the belongs of others too. They need to know that they are okay. They need to know that you love them without any conditions, PERIOD!

 

 

YouTube Video of the week

Youtube video of the week

When I see stuff like this I get emotional. I love it when kids get to have their lives touched in this manner.

Freaky Dreams

I don't remember very many of my dreams. As a species, we supposedly dream every night. The ones that I do remember are usually freaky or they stand out for some other reasons. From my youth, the ones that I remember are the scary ones. Oh for a kid they seemed very scary.

There were some very scary dreams that felt as real as if they were happening in real time. There was the dream where Frankenstein and Dracula appeared in my room in the middle of the night. I use to own this Big Boy bank that appeared to open it's mouth and smiled showing off a collection of sharp metal teeth. Here is a link that shows what the bank looked like. The one where the magazine bench was opening up with an eerie green light coming out of it.

There were the scary, gory dreams. Like the one where I relived the Night of the Living Dead movie from start to finish. I saw my mom being pulled apart by my neighbor's cars that was really unsettling considering that I was in elementary school when it happened.

 

Now to change the subject a bit:

Never and I mean never ask ask someone this question:

"Am I insane?".

Yes, I've recently heard this question asked by a student at school.

Update:

Tomorrow, we have our first field trip and then after the field trip the teacher is leaving. She is going to be gone for half the day. Kind of scares me to be honest. I hate when she is gone. Talk to you later!

Thought This was cool

Daniel Radcliffe Helps Save Gay Youth, Offers Major Donation to Suicide-Prevention Group The Trevor Project via -Towleroad News- [#gay] by Andy Towle on 8/10/09 Harry Potter and Equus star Daniel Radcliffe has made a major donation to The Trevor Project, the non-profit organization that operates the only nationwide suicide-prevention helpline for LGBTQ youth, the group announced today: "The 20-year-old actor joined The Trevor Project’s Circle of Hope, a community of major donors which plays an essential role in providing the financial leadership that makes the organization’s lifesaving work possible." Said Radcliffe: “I am very pleased to begin my support of The Trevor Project, which saves lives every day through its critical work. It's extremely distressing to consider that in 2009 suicide is a top three killer of young people, and it's truly devastating to learn that LGBTQ youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. I deeply hope my support can raise the organization's visibility so even more despondent youth become aware of The Trevor Helpline's highly trained counselors and Trevor’s many other resources. It's vitally important that young people understand they are not alone and, perhaps even more important, that their young lives have real value.” Said Charles Robbins, executive director and CEO of The Trevor Project: "We’re incredibly grateful to Daniel for his truly inspiring and historic generosity and support. He is setting a meaningful example for millions of young people around the world by embracing diversity and demonstrating that he cares deeply about the well-being of LGBTQ youth." The Trevor Project [official site]

Stats from Youtube

I'm looking at my youtube video stats and I thought I would post some interesting tidbits that I've found for each video based on the stats.

My most watched video is Edible Plants In My Yard. It's had 2862 views. I know there are others who have had more success than that. It's been up since May 24, 2008.

My Red-Eared Slider Video has people watching from South Carolina, Pennslyvania, Michigan,Texs, New York, and California.

The most watch videos of mine are Edible Plants In my Yard, Red-Eared Slider, and White Clover.

68 percent of my viewers are males with most of my the guys being between the ages of 45 - 54.

My Tarantula ID video actually had viewers from as far south as Argentina and as far east as Bulgaria.