Catherine's Column #4 - Homeschooling Teen

By: Catherine Amaris Munoz

“Love righteousness, you who judge the earth; think of the Lord in goodness, and seek Him in integrity of heart.” ~Wisdom 1:1

Hi, fellow home-schooling teens!! My name is Catherine Munoz. I am a homeschooler from Monrovia, California, USA. I am in the 12th grade. This is my fourth column for the “Homeschooling Teen e-zine”, and I am excited to share more columns with you all in the future!

On Saturday, July 23rd, I went in to the L.A. County Fair fairgrounds, located in Pomona, California. I was there to set-up my display of collected internationally postmarked postcards, which was started only 6 months ago. 13 of these postcards are personally addressed to me, and they are from various countries, including Italy, Germany, China, Spain, and Turkey. So far, I have a total of 25 postcards in the collection, which is what my display is comprised of. (I say “so far” because I am just barely beginning my collection.) It was SO much fun to plan and set-up my display, and if you haven’t yet tried entering something to your local county’s fair, I would encourage you to do so. It really provides an outlet for creativity! By the way, if this postcard exchange project that I am a part of sounds like something you’d also like to take part in, check out http://www.postcrossing.com for more information. It’s free to join, and totally fun: Perfect for homeschoolers! Here is a photo of my completed display, if you are interested in viewing it. =oD

August Music Corner

This month’s featured Christian music artists are:

“Skillet” & “Leeland”

Skillet is an American Christian rock band. They have been together as a group since 1996, with the exception of a slight change of band members. For example: Skillet’s drummer, Jen Ledger, took the place of their previous drummer when she was only 18 years old. Two of my favorite Skillet songs, “Whispers In The Dark”, & “Rebirthing”, can be found on their album released in 2006: “Comatose”. Skillet’s band members “rock”, and they rock hard! Don’t hesitate to listen to their other popular songs. A great one is, “Awake and Alive”, from their newest 2011 album-release, “Awake and Alive”. Check out Skillet if you are interested in hearing some “surprisingly-Christian” rock music!

Leeland is a Christian progressive rock group, which formed in Texas in 2004. The band obtained its title from the lead singer’s name: Leeland Mooring. This group has been nominated 3 times for the Grammy Awards, and understandably so. They are unique in that they have, what I would describe as being, an ethereal sound: almost heavenly! The songs, “Reaching”, and, “Yes You Have”, are particularly home to what I just mentioned. You may find both of those songs on the album titled, “Sound of Melodies”(2006). Look for their album, “The Great Awakening”, which is being released later on this year in 2011. To compare Leeland to another band or artist would be quite difficult, considering their originality. Give them a listen and you’ll see what I mean!

August Movie Review

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” (2011)

My movie of choice for this month of August 2011 is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. I made it absolutely essential that I go to the movies on the opening day, in order to watch the epic and emotional close of the series. Like all of the other Harry Potter movies to come before it, I enjoyed every moment of this most recent movie. Being that I am a reader of the HP book collection, I was pleased to see that the action in the movie was parallel to that within the pages. My favorite part was the last scene, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are shown – 19 years later – sending off their own Hogwarts-bound children. And, what a superb finale! I don’t know about you fellow HP fans/ readers out there, but after a certain point, I lost count of how many times I had been asked, “Does Harry die?” I would just reply, “I can’t say.” Though I can almost guarantee that if you are reading this, you have most likely already seen the movie for yourself, I will not go into too much detail regarding the ending. But what’s so amazing is that the ending is… perfectly unexplainable for words. All I will say is that I just love the whole underlying moral of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series: Good always prevails over evil. I give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 an A+ grade: For entertainment, action, acting, emotion, and parallelism to the book. Sincerely, A totally and completely loyal Harry Potter fan =oD

August Recipe: “Vanilla Frozen Yogurt”

Above photo provided by: http://healthyhoggin.com/2011/01/homemade-frozen-yogurt/

“This month, as summer-time is slowly coming to a close, I found it fitting to include a chilly recipe! Home-made frozen yogurt quickly became my choice of preference over home-made ice cream: it’s so creamy and flavorful, with some added health benefits, too!”

Makes about one quart. Estimated total time required: Preparation- About 1 hour; Freeze time – Usually under 30 minutes, but time varies, depending on ice cream maker’s instructions.

What you’ll need:

3 cups Greek-style yogurt

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1.) Blend the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla together in a bowl. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

2.) Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Enjoy!