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 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 "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.

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)

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.

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.

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!

"The Apple and the Arrow" (reviewed by Madison)

If you have ever wondered who William Tell is, then this is the book for you. It is called "The Apple and The Arrow", and was written by Mary and Conrad Buff. The story takes place in 1291. It is about William and Walter Tell and the becoming of Switzerland. There are a lot of characters in this book but the ones that were real are, William Tell, Walter Tell, Hedwig Tell, Rudi Tell, Marie, and Gessler.

The people of Uri who had a good king and the King was good to them. He left them alone except when it was time for them to pay taxes. But then the good King died and his son became the new king. The son was very different then his father. He was mean and wanted all of his people to realize that they were his people and that he ruled over them. So he made certain people become his governors. The new governor of Uri was named Gessler. He was a very cruel man and very evil. He treated the people of Uri very badly. The people wanted to become free again and get rid of Gessler. The men of Uri held meetings that plotted against the governor. These meetings were very dangerous, for if the were caught they would all be hanged. They plotted and soon all of the people of Uri, except Gessler and his men, knew that there was going to be a revolt against Gessler on the first day of the new year. But people started to find out about the revolt in other towns and so William and Walter Tell went to find out what all they knew. When they got there they were told to bow down to the governor's hat but William wouldn't do it. He said he would only bow down to the Lord God and the King. This made Gessler made so he arrested him and his son. But he then remembered that William was said to be the best bowman in the land, so he tied Walter to a tree and put an apple on his head. He told William that if he could hit the apple in half of the top of Walter's head he and Walter could go free. William didn't want to do it for he was afraid he would miss, but Walter had faith in his father. Walter said that he knew that William could hit it. All of the towns people who had gathered around to watch all knew William could do it too. So William shot the apple and it went right thought the apple and hit the tree. Gessler had said that they could go free but he was a cruel man and didn't keep his promise. So he arrested William but let Walter go free. Walter went back to Uri and told his Mother what had happened. Later on the night a neighbor boy came and said that his father had seen a small ship with Gessler and four of his men in it. But steering the ship was William Tell! Everyone was excited. The Tell's waited all night until finally William came home. He was cut and bleeding and was very tired. After he had some rest he told his story. " They were taking me to another island, but a storm came and everyone knew that I was the only one who could save them. So they cut my chains and let me steer the boat. I knew where I was going and brought the boat right up along the shore, jumped out and then pushed the boat out to the sea. I wasn't for sure if they had drowned but I couldn't take my chances. I ran through the woods and scraped myself up along the way. After about three hours I heard the sounds of horses and men. I didn't know who they were until I saw Gessler. I knew that this was my chance to get rid of him. I waited until he was right in front of me and then I shot my bow and arrow. It hit him in the heart and he fell to the ground. I ran before anyone ever knew what had happened. And then I ran all the way back here." After everyone had heard the story and asked questions, they went to bed.
There were still other governors that needed to be stopped. On the night of the revolt, the men went to the mountain top with some of the children. They prayed and then they lit their fires, but before they had a chance to do anything, someone started shouting, " Look! The Governor's castle is on Fire! We are free!!" So in the end, Uri turns into a free country of Switzerland and William ad Walter Tell turn out to be heroes.
To me, Walter was not a hero. He didn't do anything. His father, William, was a hero because he killed Gessler and was also one of the main leaders of the revolt. William did a lot to save his people and his town. Maybe Walter was a hero because he had faith in his father. Or maybe he was a hero because his father was a hero too. I guess that's for you to decide.
This story was more about William Tell than his son but the authors made the book look like Walter is the main character by placing him on the front page and focusing on him the entire first chapter. That is one thing that I would have done differently if I were the author.
I like the title of the book. I think the title, "The Apple and the Arrow", fits this story because Walter had to trust his dad and believe that he could really shoot the apple off his head. One of the things that I thought of when I read this was that we should all trust our fathers and believe in them.

I really liked the part in the story where Gessler captured William and so William had to shoot the arrow off of Walter's head. If I had written this book I would have made it longer. I think it needed more of the story with more details.
I would not have liked to live in the time that this story happened. It would have been very hard to get food. Not many people could read or write, either. I would not like it if we couldn't read or write, because life would be very boring. They also didn't have any electronics. They didn't have computers, cell phones or any kind of music players. This would have been very hard! Although, people who lived then would have never dreamed of these kinds of things, so they would never miss them.

This story was very interesting to read. I would recommend this book to people who like history and books set in the early middle ages.

Kellenberger & Luthi Fall Birthday Party!!!

Chad & I recently had the Kellenberger and Luthi families over to celebrate fall birthdays. We had a great time just being together and being ourselves. Here are Jared, Calvin, Chad, Nathan, Austin,Molly, and Madison...the special birthday people.





First, we ate chicken & noodles... (We total 14 children & 9 adults.)

Here's Austin, Bubba, Danielle & Margaret waiting so patiently to be excused from the table...

We enjoyed just hanging out together...

Here's Mary and Audrey telling secrets...


Molly and cousin Clint...

Margaret & cousin Danielle...

and Clint has decided that he's big enough to try to walk around...

Jessica enjoyed my chicken & noodles sooooo much that she was all smiles! HA,HA

THEN CAME THE PRESENTS...

Molly is old enough to read her own cards now...

We even gave Cal a special gift... Chad gave him back a saw that he had borrowed from him 3 years ago!

The main event for the night was, THE BOXING, of course. Ryan & Caleb showed us all how it is done.

Winston, our bird, even got a little attention from Aunt Jodi & Jessica.

Uncle Kyle gets a little goofey towards the end of the night.Amber gets in on the act.

Margaret has to show us her tongue too!

And all the excitement was just too much for grandpa to handle. " Night - Night, G-pa!"

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is Sydney and Sara. This was one of the highlights of the party....sliding down the stairs, which was REALLY fun. :D

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is Rachel, Me and Becca. ( I think Becca was saying something exciting)

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is all of us. ( Sydney, Sara, Rachel, Becca, Aspyn, Me, and my sisters)

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is Aspyn.

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is me opening my presents. ( Rachel, Maddy, Margaret)

Maddy's Brithday Party

This is at Pizza Hut. This is Becca ( in the red) and Rachel.

Maddy's Birthday Party

I had my 12th birthday party on Friday night. It was so much fun!!!! I had Rachel, Sara, Becca, Sydney, and Aspyn over. We went to eat pizza then we all came home and talked a little bit. We finally decided that we should slide down the stairs in our sleeping bags, and boy, was that fun!!!
At first we went one at a time on our backs but we found the if you lay on your stomach you go much faster. Pretty soon we had two people in a sleeping bag flying down the stairs!!! It was really fun. After that we went downstairs and played ping-pong. ( I think we are pros. NOT!!!) At like 11:00 p.m we finally went to watch the movie Anne of Avonlea ( the sequel to Anne of Green Gables). By the time that got done it was like 2:00 a.m and of course we couldn't just go to sleep. We had to sit there and talk for another two hours. It was 4:30 before any of us went to sleep. I had a ton of fun and although I didn't get much sleep, I didn't want it to be over. I have to say thanks to my mom for letting me have that party, and thanks to all of my friends who came!!! ( I can't wait to do it again!!)

Madison is 12 years old !

I can not believe it! Madison is 12 years old today!
I tried to stay in denial all day and just act like it wasn't true, but that didn't work. I've been telling her all along to "STOP GROWING UP," but she doesn't listen. I guess I just have to let it happen. Just yesterday she was the little girl in this picture. Now she is turning into a beautiful young lady (who can still catch fish, by the way..). I thank God for her and all her special gifts. She is musical, athletic, smart, beautiful, and boy, can she debate! I'm pretty sure God has big plans for her!

Swim team

Swim team, originally uploaded by ckmmmc@sbcglobal.net.