No Crying Allowed

I was on the phone with a friend, and one of her children started crying. I heard it and thought, " He is probably mad at his brother."

Laura ask me to hold, so she could find out what was going on. I heard her talking to her son and then she told me, "He is mad because he can't find his imaginary dog!"


Sometimes, we parents take our child's cry too seriously.

Flip Video

I bought a new video camera for children's church to use, called Flip video. It is advertised as "the shoot and share camcorder." It is made so that it is easy to use and to load video to your computer.

What is unique about it?

It's size- about the size of a cell phone

It's batteries- It runs on 2 AA batteries

It's plug-It has a usb connected to it and you plug it right into the computer to share your video.

It's user friendliness- You can easily record, watch, delete video clips on the camera. It is so easy to move from clip to clip. My 6 year old figured out how to record video and then delete clips she didn't like.


It is addicting-

Mandi, my 6 year old, took off with it last night and was recording her sister and telling her what animal to be. After about 10 minutes, she put it on the counter and said, "This is the last time I am turning it off. Wait, what does that button do?"

Small Steps, by Louis Sachar

I am about half way through the book and I am enjoying it, but the characters are more street wise than Sachar's other books. I will still read it, but I wanted to recommend that you read it first if you are considering it for your kids.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sachar

I am reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School to my kids and every night around supper time, Levi starts asking me if I will be reading that night. This is a first. He always likes to be read to, but this is the first book that is requesting me to read at night.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School is a wacky and silly book about the students and teachers at Wayside School. I have yet to find a kid who did not like to hear it read or read it. I started reading it to kids when I taught fourth grade and I loved reading it to them. There are 2 more books in the series which I have read, but not recently.

Louis Sachar is the author of Holes and it's sequel, Small Steps. Holes is one of my favorite books. He also wrote There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom. It is about a boy who doesn't fit in at school and a school counselor who develops a relationship with him and changes his life. I really enjoyed reading it. It was funny, honest, and touching.

Louis also has a series for beginning readers which is great. It is the Marvin Redpost series. It is written on the 2nd grad reading level, but is very interesting and funny. I enjoyed reading them. They are short chapter books about 40 pages long. Levi read 2 last night, and told me that the endings surprised him.


You can probably tell I am a huge Louis Sachar fan. His website tells about all of his books and has the script of an interview with him. I think I am going to read some of it to my kids.
We will probably be reading Small Steps soon, too.

Club Penguin Comic, by Levi pgs1-5

Club Penguin is an online Disney game that Levi likes to play. Yesterday, I told the kids that it was project day and Levi decided to finish a comic strip that he had been working on. He wants to submit one to the Club Penguin Times. Make sure you scroll down to read the last page.

Club Penguin Comic, by Levi page 6

Familyfun.com

Grace has been enjoying finding recipes at familyfun.com.

I have been letting her pick out one snack a week to make. So now when she gets a chance to be on the computer, she is searching for recipes, instead of playing games. I love that she is doing something constructive with her time.

One thing that is neat about the website is that you can create an account and save the recipes you like.

I hope this is a beginning of a great partnership between Grace and me for meal preparation. We have already had fun.

The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Tenton Lee Stewart

The Mysterious Benedict Society was a hit for our whole family. It is a realistic fiction about 4 kids who are sent on a mission to save the world. This fast paced, wholesome, thrilling book left us all wanting more.

Now the sequel is out. We are so excited. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey became for sale on May 1st. As soon as it is available at the library, we will be reading it.


Read more about the first book at our blog www.homeschoolblogger.com/huchingsonhomeschool

Skippack School

I just finished reading Skippack School,by Marguerite de Angeli, to my kids. Once again, I was inspired by a children's book. It is set in Colonial Pensylvainia, and the school master was a wonderful Christian teacher. I want to be like him. I liked the way he used scripture to train and correct the children. He did it in a loving way and always inspired the kids to do their best.

One particular quote, helped me to encourage Grace after a particularly difficult day.

"He still couldn't tell many of his letters, but Master Christopher said, 'There is time for all, my boy, if only we do not waste it. If today you do not learn, but TRY, the next time it will go better.' "

I was in tears as I read Master Christopher's prayer. I thought not only of my own kids, but also of the kids in my children's church.

"And Eli Shrawder, O Lord, he is not a BAD boy, but he is full of mischief. Help me to show him how to use his time aright. He has a sweet singing voice, too, but thou knowest that sometimes he uses that voice to say mischief---"

One of the Scriptures that I plan to use with my kids and church kids is, "He that keepeth himself is greater that he that taketh a city." I will find a more kid friendly translation and teach them how important it is to have self control, and that it is not an easy thing to do, but with God's help, they can do it.



I had to get this book through interlibrary loan, for those of you that may be interested and live in my county.

Our first green bean!

Dick and I split the first ripe green bean. We ate it raw and it was delicious. There are many more on the plants, but they are not ripe yet.

I am praying for many meals with fresh green beans!

Who's good and who's bad according to Olivia

Olivia, Grace, and Mandi are good, but Levi is bad because sometimes he can't find his baseball uniform.


Ouch! You can tell how I have been reacting lately.

My life is full of gardening mysteries...

Will the tiny beans on the bean plants ever grow big enough to eat? And will they taste good?

Will the cucumber plants live past next week?

What is it that is killing our St. Augustine lawn? fungus or insect ( This is never ending.)

Will the ants that are nesting in our strawberry plants affect the plant? I looked it up on- line and it could go either way.

Where is the best place to start a compost pile for next year's garden?