Communications Festival

In January of this year, Caleb and Seth joined Speech Club.  We are pleased with how much they've improved in only a few months. For the club, they have to write multiple 8-10 minute speeches, memorize them, then recite them during the tournament. They learn about body language as they're speaking, and, depending on the type of speech, they use various voices and gestures.  Caleb is also in debate, which uses logic and spontaneous thinking to defend or prove a point. 

Caleb has had ample opportunity to perform in front of audiences. He's had many recitals and has been playing on Sundays for the church worship team, but... he is not a talker.  Seth, on the other hand, is very expressive, but is intimidated by others and does not like being in front of a crowd and is quiet until he's comfortable in the situation. Thus... the club has been good for both of them.  The last tournament that they attended had a Junior division as well, so Noah, Ellie, and Grace entered. Noah and Grace each did a speech and Ellie entered the Art competition in the Fine Arts catagory. 

Ellie entered the Fine Arts part of the competition with her drawing

Ellie's drawing

Grace-during her Junior Speech

Noah gave a demonstration speech

Noah's finished product- The Captain's shirt

Caleb

Seth

Caleb came in third on his Piano Competition
and second on his Guitar piece

Ducklings!!

Grace and her duckling

We were making our rounds at Big R (the local country feed store) and we heard the inevitable peeping of the new spring chicks.  We love to look at all the different kinds, and the little day old chicks and ducklings are simply adorable.  A few of the kids (Noah, Ellie, and Grace) asked if they could each save their money and get a duckling (we were already getting chicks to replace our current layers).  The last time we had ducks was when we had first moved into our house around 7 or 8 years ago.  The main problem I had with them is that they would end up in my newly created fish pond and make it into a mud pond in just a few hours. I would then empty it, scrub it out, and refill it, only to have them get in it again when I wasn't looking.  They soon disappeared and, promise, I had nothing to do with it. The footprints gave evidence to a raccoon.   

Noah's DIY duckling waterer... a plastic salsa jar and
the bottom of a rubbermaid container

Ellie, my animal lover, and her duckling

Nathan y los platos (we learned that one from Dora ;))

Asher's checking out the ducklings as they took their first
field trip around the living room

Now that we are rockin' the whole farmette thing, I agreed to try it again, with only one catch.  I no longer have a fish pond (it was too worrisome with little ones wandering around outside), but we do have a nice, clean swimming pool. I made sure it was clear to the wanna-be duck owners that if I found any ducks trying their water wings in our pool, they would most likely end up as that nights dinner. Sounds heartless and cruel, and honestly, I do not enjoy eating any animal right after I butcher it, but I wanted to make my point clear.  

Seth and the 2.5 week old duckling that looks really huge!

 When we got the ducklings, they only had Pekin type of ducks.  Those end up with white feathers and are normally raised for meat.  That usually means that they will grow fast, and that they have! They seem to be growing very fast (especially compared to the chicks that we got the same week).

The weather finally got up into the 50's and low 60's for one or two days, so Ellie planned and set up for their second outing... to the kiddie pool for their first swim and a brief stroll around the backyard.

The ducklings loved the lettuce that Ellie fed them

I have to say, they are pretty cute.  Now we just need to figure out where they are going to live.  Right now, they are staying warm in a wooden crate in the garage, but as they get bigger, they will need a home outside. We'll see what the kids come up with...