Saving the World...

...one duckling (or two) at a time!

You see...we had started out morning with our Bible readings.  We read from the Gospel of Luke 6:27-38.  Jesus spoke to his disciples about the need to pray for our enemies.  I told the boys that I thought that was fitting for the day we are to remember the attacks of 9-11.  We had a great discussion about how we needed to remember the heroes of that day instead of the evil that led to the attack.  However, we must also pray for those responsible for the loss of life.  We must learn to turn the other cheek but also protect ourselves.  There was a balance between the two realms.

We then prayed a Rosary for peace in the world.  Each decade of the Rosary was prayed for the intent to think of those who gave their lives as heroes, those who still protect us today, the conversion of those who seek to harm us, for comfort for those who lost loved ones, and for the every day heroes who keep us safe in our communities.

We had just placed a flag holder to the front of our house.  We decided to go out with our flag and recite the pledge and sing the national anthem.  We were gathering everyone, when Edward came in excited!  He told us there were ducklings in our front yard.  When we looked out the window...there they were...so cute!  We knew we needed to get them back to the pond across the street.

We circled around the two ducklings and we were able to take them after a few pictures along the way!  The only problem...we could not see any of our usual flock of ducks!  I told the children that they had to be around somewhere, so the best thing to do was leave the ducklings.  We returned home to our normal school day after we had our time in front of our flag.

Michael decided to do a little yard work.  He was outside for a while trimming the lawn.  Next thing I know...he is inside with two little ducklings!  I guess they liked the looks of our porch!  The ducklings seemed to also enjoy making a next out of Michael's neck!

I called the local animal rescue and they told us to try to find their nest.  We set out this time with a little more effort to find the flock.  After walking the edge of the pond, we found the flock.  We spent the rest of another hour trying to convince the ducklings and the flock to meet up again!  We left hoping ten feet from each other would be close enough to connect.

While we were in the process of 'saving' our ducklings (Did I tell you we had named them by this time?...Day and Night), we also got a show!  The bass that are stocked in our pond were doing somersaults in the air...trying to catch the dragon flies!  I have never seen so much action!  It was so much fun!

We did manage to complete our school work today!   Michael headed to work....I got a call from him this evening asking if we had checked on the ducklings.  So...I took Hank on a walk around the pond.  From a distance, I saw Day and Night within a few feet of the flock.  I guess they just like to wander a little to show their independence.  We will check on them again tomorrow!

Such an awesome lesson in helping wild animals!  You just cannot plan such amazing lessons!  I love homeschooling!  These are experiences that will always be remembered.  Also, the children wanted to learn about ducks today.  It gave them a good reason to do some independent research.  It is what our school is all about...Reynbow School of Life Long Learning!