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Posted in Drama-Ministry, Homeschooling
By Cathy on March 31st, 2009

I don’t know too many people who haven’t seen the classic MGM movie known as “The Wizard of Oz” starring Judy Garland created in 1939. In this charming film based on the popular L.Frank Baum stories, Dorothy and her dog Toto are caught in a tornado’s path and somehow end up in the land of Oz. Here she meets some memorable friends and foes in her journey to meet the Wizard of Oz who everyone says can help her return home and possibly grant her new friends their goals of a brain, heart and courage. Written by Dale Roloff

We had the pleasure of partnering with Drew Baker of Faces & Places Ministries as the team transformed themselves into the whimsical characters from the 1939 movie. It was delightful to watch the expression on the faces of tdsc00571he children at the Barnes and Nobles bookstore in State College! Even the “big” kids couldn’t resist having their photo taken with crew! The wicked witch could be heard laughing all throughout the store. It was a memorable experience as it’s always a pleasure to work with Drew.  He has a heart for ministry and is gifted in the art of drama.

Being the homeschooling lifelong learners that we are, this weekend of course provided us with another learning opportunity. We decided to rent the movie classic to watch it from a different perspective. We will learn about the characters, the history of the times when the movie was produced and all that went into making an MGM movie at that time.   As an added bonus I found some web sites to further enhance our learning; http://www.easyfunschool.com/WizardOfOz.html Easy Fun School has been around for many a year.  We’ve referenced their materials many times. http://thewizardofoz.info/ozteach.html The former is another site you may find useful.

As a Christian I have found many aspects that I can relate to with the Wizard of Oz. One in particular is the incessant cry of Dorothy throughout the film pleading with the others to help her find her way home.  We as believers are also longing for our true home with Christ.  Nothing on earth can ever fill this longing or compare with Him. I’ve created a slide presentation from the appearance if you would like to take a peek.  Just remember as you go about the bizzies of life;

There’s No Place Like Home.


 
 Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Judy Garland [2:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (187)

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Posted in Cathy's Reviews, Time 4 Family
By Cathy on March 31st, 2009

This evening was spent enjoying the company of family, with popcorn and several good movies. Though we are fast approaching April, it was nice to sit by the warm fire in the living room.  After cleaning the dishes from supper we watched the first of two movies.  I am reviewing the inheritancedvdsecond movie entitled, “The Inheritance.” The movie is centered around a young girl named Edith who was orphaned as a small child.  Edith is presently living with the Hamilton family who are extremely well off.  Social status was no different in the 1800’s than it is today. This family, the father and mother in particular have not allowed their status or amount of wealth get in the way of their morality and values. When young Edith was left father and motherless, Mr. Hamilton loved her from the minute he saw her.  Edith grew up to love horseback riding and actually turned a few heads when she refused to ride “side saddle” at the nudging of Mr. Hamilton. She won the horse race when riding against several indignant men of the day.

The Inheritance is also a love story without all of the unwanted scenes that normally accompany movies of today.  It was very clean and wholesome. This movies promotes honesty and humilty for one another.  The setting is upon a beautiful country side where they reside in an old and beautiful victorian-like homestead. There are a couple of evil characters but in the end the message is clear decietful behavior doesn’t win in the end.  All in all this movie is a super investment and well worth the time viewing.


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Posted in Creation, Homeschooling, Vlogging
By Cathy on February 23rd, 2009

We are engaged in highschool level science again this year. There are many routes to takeapologia-marine-biology_1235442192824 on the homeschool road when it comes down to making the choice for what materials you will use. We have opted again for using Exploring Creation - Apologia. Since we are taking the time to document our finds, I thought it might be fun to share some of our experiments with you in the form of photos and some vlogging. In the following video blog we are performing:
Experiment 1.3
:  The Effects of Salinity and Temperature on the Density of Water

Vocabulary Terms:
Density- the state or quality of being dense; compactness; closely set or crowded condition.
Salinity- the relative proportion of salt in a solution.

Results of our experiment:

We used food coloring to measure the density. By adding the blue food coloring to both hot water, cold water and hot water mixed with the salt or saline solution, we observed the following outcome in this experiment;

Cold water temperature = increased density (blue food coloring stayed on the bottom of cup)
Warmer water temperature = reduced density
(blue food coloring mixed with the yellow)
Higher salinity (salt) = more density (blue food coloring stayed on the top)

Watch and Enjoy!


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Posted in Homeschooling, Worship Music
By Cathy on February 22nd, 2009

Practice, brainstorm, pray, concentrate, focus, practice more, more and some MORE! Fine Arts, it an exciting opportunity for students in the Body of Christ to display and fine tune their musical talents. Our family has been blessed to be able to celebrate with a group of wonderful kids! The music pastor at our church never ceases to amaze me with the enthusiasm and encouragement that he imparts to the youth. The youth pastor is also very, very involved providing an array of ideas for the kids year after year. I had the opportunity to record a good potion of the students, but for reasons of time and space, I can only display a short segment here on this site.

Please allow me to quickly post a short outline of what is contained in this 5 minute vid:

Fine Arts Sectionals: 09

1. Youth Choir
2. Large Vocal Ensemble
3. Female Rap Solo
(Annette Nagle)
4. Keyboard Solo
(Annette Nagle)

Relax, Enjoy and SING ALONG!!!