Madison's First Editorial

This is an editorial that I wrote for Language Arts class. It is about the benefits of listening to classical music. Hope you enjoy!

Have you ever thought that classical music has no point to it? I mean, come on! Why listen to it? It has no words to enjoy and even if it did, it's still weird to listen to classical music, right? If this is what your thinking, I have something important to tell you.
Classical music does have a point to it. There are many reasons why you should listen to classical music.
Did you know that classical music helps you learn easier? There have been tests done to see if music helps you to learn and it has been proven that classical music is the best for your brain.
One test was done with 3 groups of 25 rats. The first group listened to classical music. The second group listened to heavy metal rock music, and the third group listened to nothing at all. While being exposed to the music for a 12 hour period each group was put in a maze to find their way to the food.
It took the group that didn't listen to any music 10 minutes to get through the maze. It took the classical music group 5 minutes, but the rock music group all got mad and ate each other. This proves that classical music helps make your brain smarter, helps you to figure things out, and keeps you from getting angered or stressed out.
Another reason why you should listen to classical music is because it makes you feel better. Classical music is uplifting. Instead of words that make you feel mad or depressed, it brings you music that makes you happy, excited, and even sometimes makes you want to cry.
The third reason is that it was the first kind of spiritual music and many of the pieces were written for the church. Classical music is beautiful. There is a verse in the Bible that says, "Whatever things are true, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise-worthy, meditate on these things." Philippians 4:8
Classical music sure fits this verse well. It's no wonder they used classical music to glorify God!
So if you want to do better on that test that's coming up, or if you want to feel happier and friendlier, or if you just want to hear some beautiful music, try listening to classical music and see what happens.

By Maddy K. November 21, 2008

My First Pointe Class ( by Margaret )

I was so nervous a soon as I walked in the door to the Dancers' Studio in Carthage because it was my first pointe class. I was only eleven years old and I was also kind of hesitant because I was the only one there.

Finally everyone arrived, and we got our supplies out of our bag. First we put these squishy pink gel pads on that were supposed to protect our feet. Then, as soon as I got my pointe shoes out of my bag, I began to get excited because the idea of me dancing with my pink pointe shoes made me feel very graceful. After we put our shoes on, we walked into the dance room. " I can help you tie your ribbons," Danielle, my dance teacher said, as she bent down to tie my beautiful pink silky ribbons.

After we had stretched awhile, we went to the bar. Danielle had us start with the basic steps like plies and tondues. It felt so much different when we did them with pointe shoes on. Then Danielle had us walk across the floor on demi pointe which is between your flat foot and on your toes. Danielle said that we should do this often, " to break our boxes in."

The most surprising part was balancing without using the bar and walking across the floor because I discovered that I could do it. As we walked across the floor, Danielle would correct us by saying " Make sure you are getting all the way up on your boxes." "She also said that we should have tight thighs, knees, and that we should suck up really tall."We also got to grape vine and bouree across the floor, which was kind of tricky since I had never done them on pointe shoes.

Before class, mom had told me that I would have blisters and my toes would bleed.So after class I was expecting blood and blisters, but quess what , there weren't any! Mom told me I was "very lucky" because most girls do get blisters. After that mom said the we had to go home.

While we were riding home, I told mom that I couldn't wait tell next Saturday because I would get to have my pointe class again. That night I had a dream that I was a graceful ballerina performing the part of Clara in the nutcracker. I had to learn fifteen dances in the program and after the last one I fainted because I had been on pointe for too long. Then finally I woke up, and realized that of course it was only a dream and I didn't have to worry because I knew I wouldn't be doing fifteen dances. After that, I couldn't wait to go back to pointe class.

My Disaster Camping Trip (by Madison)

It was the summer of 2004 and my family wanted to go on a vacation. The Givens, who are friends of our family, were also wanting to take a break. They were wanting to go to Table Rock Lake and camp. Mom thought that was a great idea since my family had never been camping before. My dad thought that we should rent a cabin, and everyone else would have been fine with that, but mom said, " No! I want the real thing with the tent and the woods and everything like that!" So we all started planning, packing, and getting excited for our camping trip.

Finally, after about a week of waiting, we left for the camp site. Each family took a separate car although us kids would have enjoyed spending that long car trip together. All the way there my siblings and I planned what we were going to do and of course asked questions. Some were about the camp site, some were about what we were going to do when we got there, and of course the classic questions like, "Are we there yet?" and "How much longer? I have to go to the bathroom!"

When we got there we had to unpack. Everyone had to help even though some of us would have rather gone exploring. Then, after we finally got done unpacking us kids got our wish. We went to look around and when we saw the shiny, blue lake we wanted to go swimming right away.

After about 3 days of our wonderful trip it turned to disaster. It started to rain and rain and rain. The thunder and lightning was soon filling the sky. Finally dad and Reg said to pack up because we were going to leave. And that's when the piercing tornado sirens started to go off. Everybody started freaking out and running around, yelling and trying to get everything packed fast.

After a while, all of us kids didn't have anything that we could help with so mom told us to go get in the van. We wanted to stay together so we all crowded into my family's van. We were terrified because we knew that being in a car while there are tornadoes was not a good idea. The adults were all running around outside trying to get everything so I decided the best way to help would be to keep everybody calm. After a while mom came and got us and said it was time to go home.

When we got home we all laughed at the trip because it really was rather funny, everyone freaking out and running around, but mom still said, "I never want to go camping again!"

My first camping experience was not a great one although I know that the Givens and my family will always remember it. But I have a feeling we won't be going again soon!

Let's Go Berserk!

The vikings lived in the years six hundred through one thousand a.d. When we think of vikings, we think of mean and violent people.That is true, they were mean and violent, but they were also were very clever. In their homes and villages, they would tell stories about their gods and their battles. They were farmers and they grew fruits and vegetables too. They also ate many other things like polar bears, seals, and other animals. Even though the vikings didn't go to school, they were still very clever. One thing they invented was the viking longboat.They used them to sail across the ocean.The boats were able to go very fast and they could also go up on shore. The vikings also believed in many gods like Thor, the thunder god, and Odin, the war god. Those were the main gods that they would pray to and worship. They also believed in spirits and idols. Something that I didn't know was that we got the names of the days of the week from the viking gods. Even though most of the vikings believed in gods, some of them were Christians also. The vikings would often go and attack other places. They stole things and they killed people. When the vikings were mad and furious, they would take their clothes off. We call that "Going Berserk." The vikings were also very good hunters and explorers. They explored many things and found lots of different lands, in fact they discovered North America. The vikings also had many weapons such as swords, shields, spears, and knives. One other weapon that the vikings used was a dragon head. It was placed on the front of the longboat so that it would scare away the enemies. The vikings are a very fantastic subject to learn about. I hope that you will read and learn more about the vikings too.

My Boat is the Best !!!

I learned three interesting facts about Vikings. First, the Vikings believed in gods, such as Thor, the thunder god, and Odin, the god of war. Secondly, they ate animals, fruit and vegetables. Finally, I learned that the Vikings were hunters, farmers, and explorers who liked to trade goods. There are alot of other facts, but these were the most interesting.

Viking Longboat

Vikings had spears, knives, and swords. They also had shields for protection.

Let's Go "A - Viking!"

The Vikings were people who lived from 600-1000 a.d. There was so much more to them then hunting and killing. They were really very interesting people.
When we think about vikings, we usually think about killing and stealing. The vikings behavior was not very pleasant at all. They went to other places and killed anybody and everybody. The stole whatever they wanted for themselves.
They made many different weapons. They used swords and shields made of metal. They also made knives with beautifully carved handles.
The Vikings invented many things, such as a ship called a "longboat", which they used to make surprise attacks with. The ships were long and thin, and could be driven right up onto the shore. This made it very frightening for the people being attacked, they didn't have anytime to run because the vikings didn't take long getting to shore. The ship was also made to move rapidly in the water, for fast get- aways.
Even though the Vikings killed and stole, they really were very civilized. They were not schooled but were very clever. They told stories, farmed, and traded. They loved to explore other places. They had leaders called, "Chieftons" and had different classes, and slaves. They hunted for animals like, polar bears, seals, and fish. They also ate vegetables that they grew, and different kinds of fruit.
The Vikings were very religious people. They believed in many gods. The father of all their gods was Thor, the thunder god. But the most respected god was Odin, god of war. They were superstitions and made idols. The days of the week are named after some of the gods. Thursday being "Thor's Day". But amazingly enough, some of the vikings converted to Christianity.
The Vikings were very interesting and even though we know so much about them, there is still much to discover.

Happy Birthday Bubba!!!

I can not believe my baby is 7 today! What a great little man you are, Chase! You take such good care of me and your sisters. I am so proud of the way you help your daddy when he is working and you help me around the house too! Your doing such a good job at learning to read and doing your math everyday. Not to mention playing the violin and practicing everyday! God has really blessed me by loaning you to me. I can not wait to see what He has planned for you! I am proud to be your mother!

Maddy's Friends

Grace Place Kids (We were kind of being goofy...but just kind of!! :)


We were getting ready to sing for a testimony at Upward.


I thought it would be fun to put these pictures of my some of my friends on the blog.
The first picture is at a graduation party for Isaac and Zac. (The two guys on the front row, on the sides.) We were supposed to be taking a picture for the scrapbook but the guys wouldn't stay still. Ok, it was us girls to, but anyway, someone suggested that we should hit the guys with our shoes so that maybe they would stay still. Ha,Ha, right. As you see in the picture, that definitely worked!! NOT! It just made it worse!!This is the best picture we could find out of all the millions of pictures taken...(there were like 5 camera's.) It was quite the picture! (The people in this picture are, back row: Rachel,Becca,Sydney,Ashley,Sara,Maddy,and Aspyn : front row: Isaac Hayden and Zac)
In the second picture, us girls were getting ready to sing, "Broken and Beautiful" at Upward Basketball for a testimony. We were really nervous and as you can see I had just got done with my basketball game right beforehand. We worked for a long time on that song to get all the right parts sung at the right time. But it was a lot of fun and we made lots of memories.
I'm so grateful for all of my friends at church and I love to spend time with them.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! ALL OF YOU ARE THE "BESTEST" FRIENDS I COULD EVER HAVE!!!!!

(by Madison)

More coffee please!

This is my father. He is better known as "Popo." He is a huge hit with the kids. Can you see why?

We've finished our Zoology Course!

We've been studying about swimming creatures of the 5th day, which is a zoology 2 course from Apologia Science. Today we finally finished up the course and took pictures of our "ocean boxes." We've been working on them all throughout the school year and each time we learned about a new and exciting creature of the ocean, we would recreate it out of clay, paint it, and put it in our "ocean." I think this has been a great program for us to study together as a family because it is includes upper level vocabulary, but is written in such an insteresting and easy to understand, conversational style, that my 6-12 year olds all got out of it what they needed to at thier individual levels. It was fun...but now we must focus on history, or should I say, "HIS-story" for a semester or 2.

Chase's Oceanbox

100_2335, originally uploaded by ckmmmc@sbcglobal.net.

This is my oceanbox. I have a dolphin, a stingray, a turtle, a snake, a seal, a shark, and a jellyfish. I learned that some jellyfish have a bad sting and you should out vinegar on them. Some can kill you. Sharks have bumpy skin. If a shark is coming at you, punch it or kick it. The biggest whale is the blue whale. I really liked learning about dolphins, whales, sharks, and giant squid. God makes some big and some little animals. Coral is pretty and alive.

Madison's Oceanbox

100_2342, originally uploaded by ckmmmc@sbcglobal.net.

In my box I have a shark,squid,fish,dolphin,sea lion, manta ray, sea snake,and a sea turtle. I also have some colorful coral and then a rock on top for decoration :) I think my favorite animal that I learned about was the sea turtle. I never knew there were so many different kinds of sea turtles. The one I made for my box was an Australian Flatback. Another thing that I learned that I thought was cool was that there are these really tiny things called "Sea Squirts". I thought they were really interesting because they swim by "squirting" water away from them. I also found the Jellyfish to be rather scary. I always knew that they had stingers but did you know that if you touched one of thier tenticles, a needle comes out of it and shoots poison into you in one-thousanths of a second??? It's that fast!! But as we were studying them I really started to think that God is so amazing! He gave all the animals in the ocean a different way of living and protecting themselves. God must be extremely brilliant to be able to make all of those amazing things. Just think, he is the same God the made us too!! Studying these different animals has made me see just how great our God is.

Molly's Oceanbox

100_2338, originally uploaded by ckmmmc@sbcglobal.net.

This is my oceanbox. I have a turtle, blowfish, sea lion, jellyfish, shark, snake, dolphin, octopus, and crab. The brown bumps are rocks and the colorfull bumps are coral. My favorite ocean animals are snakes, crabs, and turtles. If you cut off a snakes head, it will still move. Turtles can be very big. There are crabs all over the place on Christmas Island when they are having babies. Jellyfish are mostly water. God gave animals ways to protect themselves like when a stingray stings you. Crabs can pinch food and protect themselves. Coral looks like plants but are actually animals and they can sting you too. Sharks have big teeth.

Margaret's Oceanbox

100_2336, originally uploaded by ckmmmc@sbcglobal.net.

This is my science project. It is an oceanbox. I have a turtle, snake, jelly fish, squid, fish, dolphin, and a seal in it. On the bottom is supposed to be the bottom of the ocean and the little circles are the sand. My favorite part was learning about the water snakes.Did you know that snakes are still poisonous even after they are dead? My favorite animal is the shrimp because it is a very small animal and it is not like any other. The only thing I don't like about it is that its favorite thing to do is to clean other animals off. I learned that God made alot of cool animals and that he provided food and all sorts of things for them to eat.

Violin Book IV Graduation

Madison Kellenberger will be performing a free violin concert on Sunday, April 20th, at 3:30 pm. The concert will be held at First Christian Church in Lamar, Missouri and will be followed by a reception. She will be playing all of the songs from Suzuki Violin Book IV in order to complete her graduation requirements. She will also be joined by Mariah Murphey, Molly Kellenberger, and Chase Kellenberger for some special music. The recital is expected to last 45 minutes.

8 Little Men

Tonight I have the pleasure of watching 8 little boys ages 7 and under while their families are setting up for Upward Basketball Awards Night. I sent my 3 girls to help them, but thought having the little boys here would help the adults be more productive. What a great group of little guys! They play well together, know how to share, and try to include everyone. Earlier I walked into the living room and heard one of them singing, "Jesus is the rock," while he was playing cars. I told them all to come sit up for dinner and was told, "yes, ma'am" by several of them. One of them prayed for us and I decided that he must be really paying attention to Pastor Kevin's prayers because he prayed forever.......and ended with, "and everyone said...AMEN." (Just kidding, Pastor Kevin!) When they were done eating, they asked "if they could be excused," and then each one picked up their paper plates and threw them in the trash. I heard, "may I please... Mrs. Kellenberger" many times tonight. It is funny... most of these children have not been to school to be properly "socialized," and yet they are pleasant, disciplined, FUN, and respectful. Their parents must be doing something right. I have only heard one complaint tonight, that I did not have any dessert. My bad...what was I thinking??? Next time boys, I promise!

Meet "Sammie"...

This is Sammie Rose Kellenberger. She is one of the newest members of our family. She is 9 weeks old and very playful. She likes her toys and she also likes to play with her friend , "Hershey." He is our other new puppy. Sammie is very naughty and likes to get into things that she knows she's not supposed to be in. She also loves to cuddle with you. She is not doing as well with the potty training as "Hershey" but we are trying. We enjoy having two new puppies in the house. (written by Madison & Molly)

Meet Hershey...

This is Hershey. His full name is "Hershey Kiss Kellenberger". He's a miniature Dachsund and he is the sweetest thing ever. We were going to get a girl dog, which we did, and her name's "Sammie," but Mrs. Solum just kept bringing the dogs up to us. What's really funny is that girls are usually easier to potty train but right know Hershey is way easier. He likes to run, kiss you, and play with his ball and bone. He plays tug-a-war with his friend Sammie. He has the prettiest brown eyes and black and brown fur. He is a snuggle bug and loves to sleep on top of you. He is a week younger the his friend Sammie. We got him in Jasper from a kennel. Because he is so little and almost flat to the ground it's very hard not to step on him. We also like his cute little ears in front of his face. Dashounds are the best kind of dogs to have. (written by Margaret & Bubba)

Our new babies!!!

On Thursday night we went to pick up our puppy....but we came home with two puppies! It really wasn't my fault, the kennel lady just kept coming up with these adorable dogs and they all wanted to snuggle with me and I promised my husband I would feed them and love them and I would walk them and bath them and he could use my allowance to buy their food.... and HE GAVE IN !!!! Surely I can blame him, right??? He is supposed to be the level-headed one, right???
Honestly, the dogs came from a Kennel run by Merida Solum in Jasper Missouri. She does a fantastic job of raising several breeds and has lots of experience. She gave us a great deal on a male and a female. So here we go...on to potty training. Wish me luck!
You'll be reading more in the days to come as the kids introduce you to each little sweetie!

The Kindergarten Class

These girls are working on the dance, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair!" As you can see, the two little men, (my son, Chase, and Levi Taylor) get pushed around quite a bit, but I really don't think they mind!!

The 5:45 Class

This is the 5:45 class and they are 4 & 5 year olds. They have been polishing their dance & tumbling skills this year in order to get ready for a recital in May. I am very proud of them!!

The 5:00 Class

This is what I do at 5:00 pm on Tuesday nights. I get together with an awesome group of 3 & 4 year olds and DANCE - DANCE -DANCE!!!! We are currently working on tondues and plies in first position, shuffles, and the difference between left and right. We work on the balance beam, gymnastics mat, and mini trampoline. These guys really keep me on my toes!

One Good Reason to Homeschool

You get to snuggle up with your little brother and read a book on a cold winter's day.

Madison Kellenberger has passed her audition and earned a seat in the Northwest Arkansas Philharmonia Orchestra!!!

After performing a stunning audition with Vivaldi's 3rd Concerto in A Minor, Madison was asked to play with the orchestra for this semester. It is an orchestra sponsored by The Northwest Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and is housed at the NW Arkansas School for the Performing Arts. If she works hard, she could earn her way into the Youth Star Orchestra which is a full orchestra (brass, percussion, all strings, etc.) and they are performing at Carnegie Hall every other year. We are all so excited for her to have this opportunity and can not wait for their first concert in May! We thank God that He has blessed her with the gift of music and the opportunities to develop this gift!

Our new pet!! "Winston"

We'd like you to meet our pet bird. His name is "Winston." He is a budgie also known as an Australian parrot. As you can see, he is very colorful and playful. His favorite toys are pennies, balls, and bells. He likes to ring his bells and often puts them on his head.

He is really easy to take care of because all you have to do is change his water every day and give him new food once every two weeks. You also have to clean his cage once in a while. Sometimes, when we are washing dishes, he will come over and take a little bath. He goes to sleep around 10:oo pm when mom puts the drape over his cage.

We got him in October when his owners moved to Saudi Arabia to work. They used to be neighbors with our Momo & Popo. To be honest, we really wanted their dog, but they took him with them. So now we have the bird instead.

Winston is really funny when he sits on your finger, shoulder, or head. He loves to eat spaghetti and macaroni and will steal them off your plate. We learned that we have to close his cage before dinnertime or he will think he can eat with us at the table.

He is a great pet to have and we love him dearly, especially when he gives us kisses.

Written by Margaret & Molly