I love this man. This man who throws himself into a wide variety of interests and encourages and teaches the kids about these interests.
(Notice the difference in color between this picture and the one below it. I changed the white balance to a custome white balance and that got rid of the gray. I love this little feature.)
Listening to beginning chess instructions.
The final match.
We have been gung ho on chess this winter. The kids have paid their dues to an awesome online chess site that allows John to give them assignments and analyses where their problem areas are. Everyday they take 20 to 30 minutes to work on chess or they play a game of chess against the computer or they read a chapter from a chess book. John gets worked up just as much as the kids. He devises ways to increase their competitiveness and tries to get them to slow down and think of their moves. he has bought numerous chess books and read many more articles about chess. He has increased his own rating and has stayed up at night because of a rousing game of chess. The kids can name different openings and they talk chess moves with names such as en passant, zugzwang, and rolling rooks. I just give them a blank stare. This has gone on all winter. All winter until now.
(I took all these soccer photos in TV or shutter speed. I am so excited because I allows me a little more control. I am trying to play around with implied motion by freezing it or showing movement. Lots of work to do still.)
Soccer sign ups started the first of February. We have signed the three kids up for spring soccer. Isaac's wonderful coach has decided on a break and John volunteered to coach the team instead. Now he did not give up coaching Job's team but added Isaac's team to the schedule. So the finally for chess is that all kids have qualified to go to state but the emphasis is now on soccer. In between chess matches this last Saturday John organized soccer games with any kid that wanted to play. And he has been organizing neighborhood soccer games at the church next door at least once or twice a week. Not only that but he has purchased books and watched numerous videos on coaching soccer and youth soccer theory. He has stayed awake at night planning practices, thinking how to implement what he has learned. He takes the kids outside to work on different skills such as defending, passing, give and go, and trapping. After the neighborhood soccer game the crew comes to our house to jump on the trampoline and eat hot dogs. I load him up with tortillas chips and water bottles. 
What will the summer bring when soccer is over?
