Sawrrie Spring Artistry Tournament

Hey Guys!

I have had a lot of questions about when the Art Contests were going to be starting back up from those on the blog, and those off. I had been procrastinating on doing them since they are a lot of work and I have also not had much time to sit down and write anything out. I had decided to do them seasonally and to do either one or two each season.

So, the other day Sawyer, who also runs contests over on her blog suggested that we combine and merge our contests into one so that we have less pressure on each other and those who follow both of our blogs can do them together. I thought that was a good idea so we have merged them into the:

Sawrrie Artistry Tournaments

Sawrrie (see what we did there) because of our names. And “Artistry Tournaments”, because we wanted to be fancy😉

The first one is going to be Spring themed, and we are going to try (doesn’t mean we can) to do two contests this Spring.

The first will run from March 1st, (Today) till the 14th of April, then we will have voting on the 15th-16th and the winners will be announced the following week.

So, For the Theme this next Month & A-Half is:

Spring!

It’s been a while, so here are the rules as a little refresher:

1. This contest is purely optional. You are not obliged to participate, But please let me know if you have told me you are entering, but then you can’t.
2. You are free to use existing pictures as reference.
3. All the art must be original and yours alone. Any forgery or copying will not be permitted.
4. You must stick to the Monthly theme or you’ll be disqualified.
5. You must turn in your drawings/art by the set time or they will not be entered into the contest.
6. Any criticism or making fun of someone else’s drawing/art will not be permitted and you will be disqualified.
7. If there is a Tie I will break the tie after consulting with my Co-Host.
8. You may vote on any one picture but your own.
9. If there is a tie the losers of the tie will be in 2nd and 3rd place…..
10. You may not enter any drawings / art that has been entered in a contest before.
11. You may enter old art that fits the theme as long as it has never been entered in a contest.
12. You may only vote on 1 person per category.
13. No Tracing Or Cheating.
14. Nothing immature, inappropriate, or vile language.
15. Every Contestant Must have a Code-name.
16. The sooner you turn in your art the better. The order in which your turn in your art is the order in which it will be shown on my blog.
17. Nothing too scary or creepy.
18. You may enter as many drawings/art as you want as long as it fits the rules.
19. No retracting of your vote unless a mistake or problem. Ask me if you have questions.
20. If you accidently vote wrong, contact me as soon as possible.
21. There is no age limit on contestants.
22. You Must Have Fun. Don’t Enter Unless You Enjoy It.

And here, are our art categories:

• Drawings
• Digital Art
• Jewelry
• Paintings
• Sketches
• Doodles
• Poems
• Song-Lyrics
• Baking
• Cooking
• Home Photography
• Crafting
• Comics

Anything you think might be art and have questions about that I did not mention here, feel free to contact me about it.

Poems: Each poem must be a limit of 17 lines with a Minimum of 10 words and Maximum of 75.

If there are not many of a certain category it might get combined with a larger category of the same aspects.

Prizes:

Each Contestant will get a certificate that states they have entered and the Winners will get one proving their places. Plus I will post on the Winners of each category.

Also, whomever wins the Spring Themed Contest will pick the Theme for our next contest this spring.

Procedure for Entries:

Step 1. Make a Drawing/Painting/Sketch/Craft/Ect.. Make sure that it matches the theme.

Step 2. The title of the post should be the name of your Drawing/art/craft/sketch/painting/Ect… Also, in the post, Make a Section with your Code-name. The code-name can be anything you want as long as it is not immature or inappropriate. (I suggest using the same Codename every time.)

Step 3. Post that Drawing/Painting/Sketch/Craft/Ect.. on your blog using a password protected post.

Step 4. Post a comment in the chat section of this post with a link to the password protected post. Give me the password in your comment.

Step 5. I will drop a comment in the chat section of the password protected post to let you know that you have been accepted into the Open Contest.

Do not worry If you don’t see your comment approved. I will not approve the comment until after the Open Contest is over to keep your art anonymous until the Voting.

Contest verse!

You guys know I like to have a verse for each contest and I decided on this one for us this Spring:

“The flowers are springing up,
    the season of singing birds has come,
    and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.”

Song of Solomon 2:12

DEADLINE:

April 14th!

1681534740

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Entry Deadline Closes!

Thanks Guys!

If you have any questions, drop a comment below and I will answer as soon as I can!

Booker .T. Washington’s Slavery Complaints

Corrie.S.P.

2/27/2023

English

Review

Lesson: 55

Writing assignment: 500 words on this topic: “What were Washington’s arguments against the slave system?”

The slave system was a terrible thing. Just the idea that you are never to be free is a horrifying thought. No man should be kept in captivity like an animal. But, what were the other points besides freedom that were so bad about it? In Booker .T. Washington’s autobiography, he outlines what he thought were other bad points to the system.

In the first place, the slaves lived in terrible poor conditions. They were not given adequate food, clothing or lodgings. His first pair of shoes were wooden and very hard to walk in, his clothes were mad out of a tough fabric called flax; very itchy and uncomfortable to wear. Food was scarce and that led to stealing on the slaves’ part. His mother he remembered, stole a chicken one time for their dinner. Their house had no windows, they had no beds. The cabins that the slaves lived in did not have much protection from the elements.

Families were split up, there was no structure. His mother’s husband was on another plantation. When he was freed, the family had to move across states to be with him. There was no marriage system, his father was a white man and he never met him or took any interest in Booker’s life. Families could never sit down to dinner like we do today because they had no table, they did not have time for lengthy meals.

He said that slavery inspired a bad work ethic in slaves. They did not do their best jobs in their work since they did not own, benefit, or profit from the work. Once they were freed, they lived very shambled lives. The same applied to the pervious owners of the slaves. They had been relying on the slaves their entire life and when they were freed, the masters had no experience in manual or mechanical labor and work. Many fell into poverty since they could not keep up their plantations. He said many of the slaves had often times become more successful than their masters and many of them even paid for their previous owners’ food and living conditions.  

When slavery was abolished, they slaves rejoiced but then it was a problem to them. What were they to do? They had no money, no jobs, they could not rely on anything they had before, they were just turned loose in a world they did not know. Many slaves left to start lives, but many made agreements with their old masters to stay on the plantations and work for pay there. That leads me to my next and last points.

No money. The slaves were in poverty. They did not have any education so they could only get low paying jobs and many people could not get jobs just because of the color of their skin. Booker himself worked in a salt furnace and a coal mine and he had very long hours, sometimes waking before 3am and in return they had very little pay.

Corrie.S.P.

The Bible & The Persecutor

English

Grade 9

2/22/2023

Review

Lesson 50

Writing assignment: Write 500 words on this topic: “Has any piece of literature affected you in a major way? If so, explain how. If not, explain why not.”

I would say that there are two books that have affected me in a major way thus far in my life. The Bible is the first. The Persecutor by Sergei Kourdakov is the second.

I have been taught the Bible for as long as I can remember. I read it every day, I attend multiple Bible Studies each week and a youth group at a church where it is taught. Nothing has impacted me more than the writings therein.  The ways it has impacted me are all for the better. When faced with a tough problem I think on what Jesus said. I try to do my best to obey the laws written down in it and the commands it gives. My family all believe and I talk with them about it at least once a day. The Bible is, I believe, the most important piece of literature ever written, and it will do the most impact in your life wither you want it to or not. The Word does not go out void, it will leave its mark. Isaiah 55:11.

“¹¹So is my word that goes out of my mouth:
    it will not return to me void,
    but it will accomplish that which I please,
    and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.”

Isaiah 55:11

The things I write of are confirmed by the next book, The Persecutor. The Persecutor is an autobiography written by a Russian man that tells of his life in Soviet Russia and the things he did to persecute Christians. I was tasked to read the book by my school, and I at first did not think I was going to enjoy reading it, but I really did. It was a very blunt look at the persecutions that Christians have to endure, and how strongly they would fight for their Beliefs and Faith. Kourdakov and the men who worked with him, were trained and told that Christians were evil and conniving. They were a poison on Russia and they needed to be stopped. It hit me hard to read about the things that they would do to the Christians and the trials that they had to face for what they had faith in. I have never had to go through anything like that. I am very blessed to live where I don’t have to be under constant attack for what I believe. The book also told how powerful the Word of God really is. When Sergei Kourdakov picked up a piece of the Gospel of Luke, it made him realize what he was doing was wrong. It stayed with him till he escaped from Russia. God saved him during his escape to Canada and safe during his time of imprisonment. Sadly, Sergei was killed a few months before his 22^nd birthday.

He managed to write his autobiography shortly before and I’m very glad I got to read it. To sum up, books can have a very important impact on your life and thought processes.

Corrie.S.P.

Texas Revolution

History

Review

Lesson: 60

Corrie.S.P.

2/21/2023

Writing Assignment: Write a two-to-three-page paper on one of the following topics:

1.Texas Revolution
2. Mexican-American War
3. California Gold Rush

Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. After their independence, Mexico absorbed Texas into itself. Texas was mostly settled by Spanish, Native Americans and Americans.

Americas were encouraged to settle in Texas because the government thought they could help stop the Indian raids. They agreed to 300 Americans moving and settling there. Eventually, there were so many Americans arriving and settling, that they outnumbered the Mexican inhabitants. There were about 30,000 American Texans, to 7,800 Mexican Texans. Eventually The President of Mexico, a man named Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, announced that no more Americans would be allowed to settle there and outlawed immigration in 1830.

In October of 1836, Santa Anna sent General Cos to see if there were any more rumblings of rebellion to stop. But he arrived to late to stop the conflict that started the war. The Texans had borrowed a cannon from Mexico, and Mexico was demanding that they return it. The Texans refused so they sent a small army to retrieve it.

The battle of Gonzales was a small skirmish, not really a battle, only 3 casualties occurred, but it made the Texans finally declare independence from Mexico.  

The Battle of the Alamo (image show above) is the most famous of the war. The Alamo was originally a small Mission, so it only had a small garrison of 100 soldiers. Santa Anna sieged it and he held it for 13 days before attacking. The men at the Alamo knew that no reinforcements were coming, but they fought on for freedom. They fought against over 3000 men in Santa Anna’s army. Some of America’s famous frontiersman died there.

“Remember the Alamo” became a rallying cry for the Texans and they kept fighting. The last battle was on April 21^st-22^nd. Santa Anna was captured and signed the Treaties of Velasco. The Tries said that Texans would no longer be attacked by Mexico, in return for Santa Anna’s life. Thus, gaining their independence. The other treaty was to return all prisoners of war.

Texas became a part of the United States of America in 1845 on December 29^th.

Corrie.S.P.

The Trail of Tears & Death

History

Review

Lesson: 55

2/21/2023

Corrie.S.P.

Writing Assignment: Write a two-to-three-page paper on one of the following topics:

1. Second Great Awakening
2. Westward Expansion
3. Trail of Tears
4. Inventions of the mid-1800’s

Manifest Destiny, The belief that people in America had a destiny and a right to expand through the entire continent of North America. Because of this mindset, they thought that it was alright for them to take the Native American land.

At first, the Indians were not a big problem, they had always been pushed around by settlers, and at first, Americans such as George Washington wanted the Indians to integrate with the settlers and become part of the colonies and states. Many presidents after him adopted the same ideas. Still, as early as 1802, Georgia started speaking out and requesting the removal of Indians.

President Andrew Jackson gave a speech in 1829 promoting the idea of forcefully relocating the Indians. A year later in 1830, the Indian Removal Act was passed. It was supposedly a voluntary act, so that Native American’s who wanted to move could, and others could stay.  But, many of the Indian tribes were tricked or forcefully moved from their land.

There were five main Indian tribes that lived with the states and worked to become civilized. They were so called the Civilized Tribes.

The Cherokee lived in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. The Choctaw lived in Mississippi and Alabama. The Muscogee (Creek) Indians lived in Alabama. The Seminole Indians fought the hardest for their land. They lived in Florida, and one of their Chiefs named Osceola fought with guerrilla warfare against the soldiers of America. The Chickasaw Native Americans actually sold their land in Mississippi but sadly they had to wait 30 years for payment even though they had a very clear agreement.

The Trail of Tears and Death, was the name given to this relocation of Indians by a Choctaw Chief. It was a long hard trail, many Indians died and tribes were hurt very badly.

The Tribes were moved west of the Arkansas territories to a place called the Indian Territories. They were only there shortly, till the Indian Territories were combined with the Oklahoma Territories to form the state of Oklahoma in 1907 with the Oklahoma Establishment Act.

Corrie.S.P.

Andrew Jackson

History

Review

Lesson: 50

Corrie.S.P.

Writing Assignment: Write a two-to-three-page paper on one of the following topics:

Summarize the life and career of one of the presidents discussed this week:

1. James Monroe
2. John Quincy Adams
3. Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was born in 1767 to immigrant Scots-Irish farming parents. His father died shortly after he was born and he was raised by his mother and uncles. He lived a modest lifestyle.

When he was thirteen, he joined the militia that his older brothers belonged to. He joined unofficially as a courier since he was too young for active duty. Shortly after the Revolutionary War started, he and one of his brothers were captured by British soldiers and in the case of his brother, starved to death. He himself, received a scar from a sword wound that would stay with him all his life. His mother lobbied greatly for their release but sadly his brother died just before his release. Shortly afterwards, his mother died as well and left young Andrew Jackson without any close or immediate family.

He decided to go into law, and he studied then took his exam. After passing the bar exam, he set up a practice in Jonesborough, quickly gaining a good reputation. Something that was very good for someone with no family connections or help.

Besides being the 7^th president of the United States, he also served as a Congressman, Senator of Tennessee, and  established his home, The Hermitage, a large plantation with many slaves on it during the years of 1788 through 1804.

During the war of 1812, he returned to active service. Jackson was known for his bravery, success and stubbornness, the last of these which led to his nickname: “Old Hickory”. He was the lead commander at the Battle of New Orleans, the last battle of the War of 1812.  

He ran for president against John Admas in 1821, but the votes were in a three-way tie by the end. The congress put it to a vote and John Adams won. Jackson was furious and he believed that Adams had cheated and spent the next 4 years of Adams’ presidency, stirring up unrest and distrust towards Adams. That was helped along by Adams’ high taxes and Tariffs for his building projects. When the election of 1828 came around, he won by a landslide.

He started the Jacksonian 2^nd Party, and was strongly against debt. He worked relentlessly to get the U.S. out of debt and in 1836 he succeeded.

He married a woman and adopted her son. He also adopted two orphaned Indian boys. He died in 1845 on June 8^th due to led poisoning from two bullets in his leg. His image is on the 20-dollar bill.

Corrie.S.P.

💗Verses of Love💗

Hey Guys!

Happy Valentine’s day! 💌💘💝💖💞❣️💓

I hope everyone is having a great day! I was thinking about Valentines day, and a post I could make for it and then I got an Idea💡. But first, let’s look at what valentine’s day means to people:

Valentines day in our culture is a day of Love. Brotherly, sisterly, romantic, platonic, the Love of friends, parents Love their children, families Love each other. Many people see Valentine’s day as a time to give cards to those they Love, candy and flowers to the person they are dating or their spouse. Hearts and flowers abound. Everywhere you go, you are going to see decorations. In fact, there is this restaurant I go to that has had their Valentine’s day décor up since the beginning of January.😂

Sometimes Valentine’s day is a time of pressure for those who are not in a relationship. They feel like they need to have a date or they are a looser and they get a feeling of being alone. I have never liked that pressure and I have never really cared about the holiday. Sure, I send cards to friends and family, and I wish people a happy Valentine’s day. But I’m not interested in dating or anything right now. And I certainly don’t think that you should be pressured into thinking you re alone or a looser since you are not in a relationship.

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First up! You are in a relationship EVERY. SINGLE. Day. if you know Jesus. You are in a relationship as the bride of Christ. In Christ you are never alone, He does not see you as a looser, you are Loved. Don’t think that you are not Loved. Even if you are not in God you are stilled Loved by Him.

I got the idea to share some verses about Love with you guys.

The first verse I want to share is the “Verse of the Day” that BibleGateway.com gives you. Each day you get a verse when you open the site and today it was:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you Love one another. Just as I have Loved you, you also Love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have Love for one another.”

John 13:34-35 WEB

I am going to talk a little bit about each verse, but not too much since I want you to focus on the verse and not my thoughts.

This verse is so important though! I think that Loving your neighbor as yourself is the hardest commandment, you have to overlook the things that make you dislike someone and think of them as your equal and a person who deserves your respect. It’s really hard to love others but we have to if we want to follow Jesus’ commandments.

“You shall Love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”

Deuteronomy 6:5

This is the second of the greatest commandments.

The 10 commandments can be divided into two sections. The first being your relationship with god, and the second part being your relationship with people.

A way to simplify these last two scripture passages is:

Love God. Love People.

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Here are some Psalms about love. Psalms are a good place to go when you are feeling down or depressed, they are full of love and hope and peace.

“But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who Love your name be joyful in you.”

Psalm 5:11

“For Yahweh is righteous. He Loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.”

Psalm 11:7

“Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let such as Love your salvation say continually, “Let Yahweh be exalted!”

Psalm 40:16

And here is a Proverb:

“Hatred stirs up strife, but Love covers all wrongs.”

Proverbs 10:12

That’s true, in as when you Love someone, you can look past their faults and things you dislike. Even if they are someone you don’t like. I have got to Love my enemies. Jesus said so:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor Leviticus 19:18 and hate your enemy.’⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?…….”

Matthew 5:43-48

One thing I do that helps me with my enemies is through prayer for them.

“Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.”

Romans 13:10

“Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

Answer: No one! Nothing can separate us from Jesus.

“⁷ Beloved, let’s Love one another, for Love is of God; and everyone who Loves has been born of God, and knows God. ⁸ He who doesn’t Love doesn’t know God, for God is Love. ⁹ By this God’s Love was revealed in us, that God has sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.”

1 John 4:7-9

The above verses highlight the greatest Love of all:

“⁸ But God commends his own Love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

“For God so Loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

And truthfully, can any of us say we would die for someone? Especially someone we hate? Who hates us? A person that ignores us? Children who don’t listen?

Christ did.

I want to finish up with 1 Corinthians 13.

“13 If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, ⁵ doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; ⁶ doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part; ¹⁰ but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. ¹³ But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13

Happy Valentine’s day everyone! Remember our greatest gift of Love.

Corrie.S.P.

Washington D.C.

History

Review

Lesson: 45

2/14/2023

Writing Assignment: Write a two-to-three-page paper on one of the following topics:

Summarize the history of one of the following topics discussed this week:

1. History of Washington D.C.
2. James Madison
3. The War of 1812

Washington D.C. has not always been the capital of America. Before the capital was established, two different cities served as the capital. The government met at the Federal Hall in New York city from 1785-1790. And they met in Philadelphia at Congress Hall from 1790 to 1800. Both of those buildings are still standing today.

The Government decided they needed a place for the Government to meet that was out of the jurisdiction of the states. In 1789 they signed The Residency Act to establish a capital city along the Potomac River. This new district included the Georgetown and Alexandria ship ports.

Pierre L’Enfant was the man appointed by George Washington initially in 1789. L’Enfant helped update buildings and his work style is called Federal Style. Federal Style architecture uses the style of Roman and Greek buildings. Many buildings today use this style. L’Enfant was replaced eventually with a man named Andrew Ellicott. The capital is laid out in a grid-like style.

The Federal Government officially moved to Washington D.C. in 1800. They were their own Jurisdiction in 1801 and they got their own Mayor in 1802. The Washington in Washington D.C. is named after Geroge Washington, the 1^st president of America. The D stands for Federal District, and the C for Columbia, Colombia is the personification of the goddess of liberty and it also refers to the Colonies.

The White House, is the presidential mansion. It used to be a red brick building, but in the war of 1812 it was burned by the British in 1814. The once beautiful building was charred, but intact, so it was painted over with white paint and has been known as the White House ever since.

*The featured image is of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.

Corrie.S.P.

Remaking Photography Tag

Hey guys!

I’m sure you have seen the influx of essays that filled your reader this afternoon. Don’t worry about reading them all, (unless you want to) they are the essays I needed to catch up on posting.

I decided to do a fun post as well to make up for all the “boring” school stuff earlier. (hey, at least I surpassed my posting goal of at least twice a week😉)

This tag has been in my drafts foreverrrrrr. I figured I had better get it done.

Rules:

– Link the creator (Hailey)

– Tag 1-10 people!

– Use the Remaking Photography! – Tag photo. (I didn’t see the tag photo…)

– Choose only ONE picture from the photoshoot to recreate

– Keep the chain going!

– And most importantly have FUN!

I decided to do this, since it was an open nomination. Thanks to Diamond, for sharing!

Here are her photos:

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I think this was originally a doll recreation tag. But I decided to use myself because now that I’ve shown my face on here😉 you guys are just gonna have to keep seeing me😈 *evil cackles*

I decided to use this photo:

So here is my version!

📷

📸

🤳

🖼️

Ta Da!

(unfortunately, the images are not showing up very well on my computer since I took them with my phone. Hopefully they are good enough quality for you.)

I wore blue shorts like the bunny, I could have worn a blue shirt, but I wanted to wear my crochet shirt since the bun-bun’s shirt is crocheted. I used the biggest mug I could find since the regular one looks huge next to her, and I used a blue rocking chair.

I also gave myself pigtails since I don’t have the lovely ears of Swirl. (Swirl is the bunny’s name btw)

I almost used this next image, but my arm was not on the arm rest.

And this one makes me look like I’m drinking a cup of my enemies’ souls and thinking dark thoughts😅😂 (I’m not, I promise) I’m actually drinking Constant Comment Bigelow tea brand.

*cackle*

Here are my photos:

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For the people I nominate. You can recreate one of these using a picture of you if you want, but you don’t have to. You could use a doll, or maybe doodle it. IDK, get creative!📸

Sawyer@ https://creativeskate.wordpress.com/ (I think I know which one you will recreate😉)

M!a@ https://miand413439408.wordpress.com/ (because I figure this might break your bloggers block)

Brooke@ https://lowexpectations56373273.wordpress.com/

Becca@ https://becca-blog.com/

Pearl@ https://thehomeschooledgirlcom.wordpress.com/ (I figure since you like photography you can get creative with this one. )

And really anyone else who would like to do this.

Thanks for reading!

Corrie.S.P.

Release from “Prison”: Hellen Keller

English

Review

Lesson: 45

2/13/2023

Corrie.S.P.

Writing assignment: 500 words on this theme: “Which were the key incidents that led her out of her ‘prison.'”

Helen Keller was an extraordinary woman. She could not see or hear. But she learned to read, to speak, to communicate and she even went to collage and graduated with high honors. But she was not always this strong woman. She was once a little girl who was frustrated and mad at the world. Stuck in a prison of darkness and lost. How was she set free?

She was a very smart person. As a child she spoke very early and waked as well. She got a sickness when she was almost two years old, and when she recovered, it left her blind and deaf. As she grew, she was still very intelligent, but she had a hard time communicating. She had simple commands memorized, push meant go, pull mean come. She learned to mime actions if she wanted things done and she had a playmate that got into mischief with her.

When she was six, her family took a trip to an eye doctor to see if anything could be done for Helen’s eyes. He could not do anything, but he sent them to another doctor. That doctor could not do anything either, but he suggested that her parents write to one more doctor who had an institute for children with disabilities. That doctor wrote back that he had found a teacher for Helen and he would send her to them.

Anne Sullivan was then name of the lady who taught Helen to communicate. She was known to Helen as Teacher. She was very patient and firm with Helen. When she first met Helen, the little girl was very violent and prone to tantrums. But eventually with a lot of work, Helen learned her first word: Water. After that she was released part of the way from her prison. She could know the names of things! She learned a lot of names and she said in her autobiography that the summer after she learned to “talk” was amazing as she learned a lot. She communicated through finger symbols that represented letters. The above image is of that sign language. It helped her the strongest I believe.

Another thing that happened to help her was that she learned to read. She learned braille. Braille is a system of raised dots that take the place of letters. With these words, she learned to create sentences and do school lessons. She loved school lessons very much. The only aspect of school that she did not like was Arithmetic. Below is a photo of the Braille alphabet.

The last thing that helped sent Helen Keller free was when she learned to talk. How could this happen you ask? A little girl who could not see lips moving or hear words?

She had heard about another girl like her who had learned to talk, and she wanted to do it herself. She knew other people communicated differently than she did. She learned by placing her hand on the throat, mouth and side of the nose of the person speaking. Teacher and the lady who helped her also told her how to move her tongue and form her mouth. She eventually learned to talk, but it was hard for people who don’t know her to understand. She said that her biggest regret and sadness in life was not being able to speak clearly.

Corrie.S.P.