For a child, perhaps nothing is sweeter in life than having something to call your own.

Last month, the Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation and Rotary District 5960 teamed up to bring `The Dictionary Project` to Anoka-Hennepin School District 11.

The project supplies dictionaries to students, who keep them permanently and are able to use both in school and at home.

`The Dictionary Project` is a national effort that began in Georgia in 1992.

Since its inception, the program has become a non-profit organization and has helped provide dictionaries to over one million children.

District 11 benefited from the project after Anoka Rotary Club member Phil Knutson attended a club meeting in Arizona.

`They were just starting `The Dictionary Project,` said Knutson. `So, I brought it back to our club.`

Rotary District 5960 includes chapters in Blaine/Ham Lake, Coon Rapids, Ramsey and Anoka. The Anoka club also serves Andover and Champlin. District 11 schools are located in all of the cities.

The Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation became involved with the project through Gary Campbell, who is a member of both the Rotary club and foundation.

`He got the financial pieces all put together,` said Knutson.

Both entities contributed funds to the local effort, which totaled $5,000.

Distribution began in mid-December, with all third-grade students in the district receiving their own copy.

`It`s been 3,000 plus dictionaries,` Knutson said.

Each dictionary is 524 pages and is designed for third-grade students.

Along with word definitions, the resource also provides information on such topics as Braille, the planets, U.S. presidents and states, countries, weights and measures, Roman numerals and punctuation.

`I really like space so I like the part on the planets,` wrote Matt, a student at Hamilton Elementary School in Coon Rapids, in a thank-you letter to the Anoka-Hennepin Education Foundation.

`Now I can finally learn about the Declaration of Independence,` wrote Anna, who is also a student at Hamilton. `I think the dictionary will help me in third-grade. I want to learn sign language and it will<