Endings and Beginnings

I want everybody to know that I'm going to start a new blog and I'm probably going to get a Twitter account.  Look out for it.

This is the last tip of this year.  The new year is almost here.  Just because the year of "Calvin's Tip of the Day" is past, doesn't mean you should fret.  2010 was a great year, but 2011 can be even better.  If you just keep doing your best, looking out for other people, and exercising your brains, bodies, and consciences, then you can have a better year than 2010.  Heck, you can have a better year than your best year EVER.

Happy New Year everyone!

Drop the Shop

Shopping stinks!

If you can get out of going shopping, you should.  Who would ever like to go shopping.  I mean, maybe if I'm going shopping to buy Legos or a book or something for me.  But, going shopping with your mom is totally lame.

Merry Christmas

From all of us at Calvin's Tip of the Day (okay, really just my dad and me!), we hope you had a very merry Christmas!

If you don't celebrate Christmas, then we hope you had a fun Saturday!

Presenting and Early Christmas

If you can't wait to open your Christmas presents, then you need to think of a way to trick your parents into letting you open one early.

Today I came up with a winner of an argument.  Since we're going to be away from home for Christmas and we were planning to open our presents tomorrow night before we leave, I told my parents that I really needed to open a present tonight so that I would have time to play with it.

Genius, right?

Wanna know what I got?  It's awesome.

Getting Carded

I want to talk about Christmas cards today.  I like getting them.  My parents don't send them.  So we don't get very many in the mail.  I think people only send Christmas cards to people who they get cards from.  I wish we got more Christmas cards.  I think I might send them out next year for my family and then we'll get more.

My tip is:  If you want to get Christmas cards, you better send them out to your friends and family.

Books for Your Brains

Read more books.  You learn a lot and your vocabulary will get better.

Even though I've encouraged you to read a lot throughout this year on this blog, as we're coming closer to the end of the year, it's a good time to remind you one more time.

What I'm reading right now:

• Harry Potter (re-reading books 5, 6, and 7)
• The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
• Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer

Delay Gratification

Two hour delays rock my world.

A Holly "Jolly" Candy Recommendation

There's an awesome candy that I love.  It's called Jolly Ranchers.  If you every have a few bucks and are looking for a sweet treat, I recommend Jolly Ranchers.  They're the best.

Bed Time, Schmed Time

Parents always think you need more sleep than you do.  They always want you to go to bed early, even though you know you can stay up later.

When I'm a parent, I will let my kids stay up as late as they want.  You should, too.

Scrooged

I have a tip for you. Live your life charitably. Give things and don't ask for things in return. Be kind to people even if they don't seem to deserve it. Otherwise you'll end up like Ebeneezer Scrooge. Don't be like him. You don't want to wake up one night to a bunch of ghosts and learn that nobody appreciates you or is your friend.

P.S. Come see "Scrooge Variations" at the John Waldron Art Center, Rose Firebay tomorrow through Sunday at 7:30 and Saturday/Sunday at 3, both this week and next.

Electronics and War

Try to go without using your electronics for an entire day. I bet you can't.

Did you know some of the ingredients in your electronics are mined by bad guys in Africa to make money for guns and stuff that they use to kill people and do other bad stuff. My dad told me about that. I hope that we can find a way to stop them. I'd even give up some of my electronics if it would help.

Here's a place you can go to learn more: http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/.

Nerf Me!

In the winter it's too cold to play football with a regular football sometimes.  So, you should get a Nerf football.  That's what I asked to get from my cousin for Christmas.

Nerf rules!

Put Your Arms Around Someone

Hug someone you love this week.  It makes you both feel good.

Decisions, Decisions

You guys know how you posted the comments yesterday about the future of this blog and my writing?  I appreciated the feedback, but I still haven't decided what I'm going to do.  I guess I still have a month to decide, so I'm going to consider my options for a while.  Even though the people who commented didn't like the Twitter option, I'm thinking that I might have a Twitter account next year to go along with whatever I do.  It may be that I'll continue this blog with a Twitter to go with it.  Or I may do a new blog with a Twitter account to go along.

This is just an update.

My tip is that, when you have a big decision to make, you should always get advice from people you trust, but you finally have to make the decision that is best for you.

Between Breaks and An Uncertain Future

You guys are probably wondering what's going to happen to this blog next year and I am, too.  I'll give you some options and then you can rate them and give me some feedback.

Before that, though, here's my tip.  Have fun on Thanksgiving break, but when you get back to school focus on learning.  Just because Thanksgiving is fun doesn't mean that you should stop trying at school.  It's a hard time between Thanksgiving and winter break to keep focused. But you have to do your best.

Now, back to what happens to this blog next year.  I'm a writer, so I want to have a place to do my creative activities, but maybe I want to do something different.  Here are some options:

1. I continue this blog.
2. I start a different blog, not about tips but about something else.
3. I forget about all blogs and don't do one at all.
4. I start a Twitter account on a different topic than tips.

Give me your thoughts about what I should do.  

Awesome Advent

Everybody should have a great season from now until Christmas and try to have a lot of fun times before the new year.  Make sure the rest of 2010 is your best year ever.  You only live once.

Thanks Giving

Be thankful. You should be thankful because it's the right thing to do on Thanksgiving.  You should probably still be thankful the rest of the year, but people won't pressure you as much to talk about it.

No Tip for You!

I don't have a tip today.  I can't be creative everyday.  Give me a break people.

Chuck, Chuck, Bo-Buck . . . .

Chuck is a really cool TV show on NBC.  A guy named Casey is all hardcore.  Agent Walker is pretty and tough.  And Chuck is a geeky super spy.  He has this thing called "the intersect" in his head and it makes him into Super Chuck.

If you like laughing and shooting and kung fu, you should watch Chuck.  We have 24 episodes on our DVR that we're trying to watch . . . from both last season and this season.

Bear-y Big News

If you've ever watched Disney's "The Jungle Book," I think you'll agree with me that Baloo is the coolest character.

That's why I'm excited to announce that I'll be playing Baloo in the Stages Bloomington production of Jungle Book Kids in February 2011.

It's just the bare necessities . . . . .

Chillaxin' on Turkey Break

On your Thanksgiving vacation, which is coming up next week, you should do whatever you want to do.  Hang loose!

I'm going to go to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana, and maybe to Wolf Park in Lafayette.  My grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousin might come visit. And I'm just going to relax and lounge around the house.  Can you think of a better Thanksgiving vacation than that?

I can't.

Fancy Schmancy Lego Videos

Lego videos are really cool.  I really like to watch them.  I want to make them, too.

I'm getting a new video camera for Christmas from my Grandma Marietta.  (I call my Grandma Marietta "Grandma Spooky" . . . but that's a story for another time.)  So, I'll be able to make some pretty awesome Lego videos.

It's a really long and difficult process to make the videos, though.  So you have to be really committed to doing it.  My favorite Lego video maker is called Fancy Pants.  Here's one of my favorites:



My favorite part is when the characters and the Lego blocks look like they're flying or floating.  I saw where Fancy Pants explained that he does it by setting up blocks to support them and then erasing them with Photoshop.

I don't know if I'll be as good as Fancy Pants right away, but I can't wait to try.

You should try it, too!

Back to the Blog, But not Hoarding!

Holy cannoli!!  It's been too long since I've updated my blog.  I'm going to do a better job now.  So, here's a big tip to make up for all the time off:

You shouldn't clutter up your house like the people on Hoarders.  It will make your house really disgusting to live in and everyone will stop being your friend.  I was watching this episode where the woman was trying to say she needed to keep this thing she had hoarded to give to someone as a present, but it was covered in rat poop!  Gross!!

I'm not a hoarder, but after watching that show, I think I'm going to go clean my room.

Are you ready for some . . . .

If you want a sport to play and you don't know which one, I recommend football in the fall.  It's a fun sport, but sometimes you can get hurt.  So, you want to be careful where you play.  Like, my friends and I play football on recess.  Sometimes we have to play on the asphalt.  You have to be really careful not to push people down then.

Costume Creativity

If you can't figure out what Halloween costume to wear, think about what you love most or what you're most scared of.  Then you'll have plenty of ideas.  I personally like to think of book characters or movie characters that I've enjoyed over the past year.

But, my uncle Derry is afraid of clowns.  He should go as a clown.  That would be funny!  He'd be afraid of himself. HA!  Hey, Derry, I hope you enjoy this!

Mo Better News!

This isn't so much a tip as a shout out.  Say hello to my new cousin named Moses.  The picture is very cute.  I can't wait to meet him.  I think he'll be very nice.  I know we'll have fun together someday soon.  Right now he lives in Uganda.  Someday soon he'll live in Indiana.  Yay!

Also, it's a shout out to all those people who helped my Aunt Janelle, Uncle Derry, and Katylynn raise money to help pay for the adoption of Moses.  Way to go.

Getting Whatchoowant

If you want to try to trick your parents into getting something that you want, but that they don't want to get for you, you have to tell them that it's useful and educational.  Also, if you find something for your brother or sister and tell your parents you really think they should buy it for your brother or sister because you love him or her, then you might be able to get your parents to buy the thing you really want to reward you for being a loving brother and to make sure they're being fair to you both.  It's really sneaky to do that, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

Road Rules

To be a good driver you need to be trustworthy.  If you're not, you can kill yourself in a car wreck or ruin your car.  Good drivers make sure that they are not driving too fast.  They protect their passengers.  Bad drivers drive too fast and don't pay attention to the road.  They disobey the law.  Don't be a bad driver.

Being Big and Nice

Playing with little kids is fun. You should do it because it's a nice thing to do and little kids will think you're a nice guy.

Good Reads: Jerry Todd

Jerry Todd books, written by Leo Edwards, are really good. They are set way back in the first half of the 1900s in a town called Tutter, Illinois. Jerry and his gang (Scoop, Peg, and Red) have all kinds of crazy adventures and solve mysteries.

I don't usually like mysteries, but I had to read one for my fourth grade October book report. So I chose Jerry Todd and the Whispering Mummy. . I loved it. It's fast paced, fun, and funny. Those kids from Tutter are just crazy.

I also liked the book because my Grandpa Kip used to read them when he was a kid and then read them to my dad and uncles when they were kids. So I can carry on a tradition by reading them.

Traditions are important. I loved my grandpa and I miss him. This makes me remember him and feel like he's close to me.

My Twenty-Five Cents Worth

My favorite coin is the quarter. They are cool because I collected the state quarters. Plus, if you have four of them, you have a dollar.

What's your favorite coin?