We're enjoying a deliciously lazy Sunday after being out very late last night and getting little sleep since Thursday. While I did get up around 8:00, took care of my chores and read for a while, I went back to sleep and slept, as the rest of my family did, until after noon. Apparently we were all very tired!And well we should have been. Yesterday was a very long day. We were up before dawn to prepare for thirteen hours of speech competition wherein Bard would present her Programmed Oral Interpretation and Houdin his Persuasive speech three times before three different panels of judges. There were over 200 participants and over 150 judges swarming around the two-building church and fellowship hall that hosted the event. Local newspaper reporters and editors, public figures and politicians were on hand to judge and cover the event.
And all of the participants, from the youngest speaker in the Junior division to the oldest speaker in the debate division, were homeschoolers.
Houdin's speech was on a topic of his own choosing--the dangers of and alternatives to fast food. He had difficulty memorizing the entire speech and, as a result, had to refer to his script often during his presentation, which resulted in a two-rank reduction. Still, the judges' ballots, which he received after the event was over, showed very high mark. Had he not referred to his script, he may have placed second in his category. On the upside, he still has two tournaments to go and might be able to memorize and improve his presentation before then.
Bo and I served as judges for the event, which was a real treat. It's so much fun to listen to the presentations--the creativity, the wonderful literature, and the fine characterizations--and have the opportunity to give them encouragement and written suggestions for improvement.
But the highlight of the day was the awards presentation. Our dear Bard presented a Programmed Oral Interpretation, or POI, a speech weaving three or more pieces with literary merit together, each of them with a common theme. The pieces must be a balance of prose, script and poetry with an original introduction, under ten minutes long, and memorized. Her piece, themed around honesty, included sections of Pirates of the Carribean, a poem called On Lying, and Unicorn in the Garden by Ohio Satirist, James Thurber. There were many competitors and the competition was tough.
We sat through all of the other awards announcements, POI being one of the last to be announced, and...
Drum roll please...
BARD EARNED THIRD PLACE!
The comments on her ballots were glowing and encouraging, and it was clear from her point ranking that the top three places were within just a point or two of each other. She hopes to improve her speech and delivery for the next tournament in order to contend for first place.
We ended the day with a delicious meal and great dinner conversation, getting to know some of the other parents in our speech--or forensics--club a bit better, and winding down from a pretty intense month of preparation.
Oh, and ten-year-old Monet managed to catch his sleeve on fire during dinner while grabbing for the breadsticks--right over the candle centerpiece. I think he has now learned his lesson about the dangers of the boarding house reach.
Next year, Bard hopes to participate in debate as well, and Monet and Sweetheart will join the club.
Thanks for your prayers and good advice!
