Week 2 First Place FeatherFest Photo Contest Winner is a Home-schooled Kindergartener

Right now the Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council is gearing up for their 7th Annual Birding Festival in Galveston Island, Texas, known as FeatherFest 2009. In preparation for the event, a photography contest has been held in previous years for adults.

This year, according to the FeatherFest 2009 website: "A new contest category for youth in grades Kindergarten through eight has been added through a partnership with The Grand Kids Festival, presented by The Grand 1894 Opera House." So the entries came in and during Week 2, a kindergartner named Penelope snagged the 1st place title for the week with a photo of a trio of Sea Gulls sitting on a yellow house called "House Sitting."

Did her parents know she would win? "No, we did not know if she would win. I just wanted to give her a chance to participate in the FeatherFest Bird Photo Contest because I thought it would be a great way to get her interested in birding. And maybe also to teach her to be a little more quiet, since you have to be quiet so you don't scare the birds" Penelope's mother explained.

How did they find out she won? "Well, actually that was kind of funny. We entered the pictures and forgot to check on it. Then her father called me from work saying 'You won't believe this, I was just looking through the newspaper and I saw a picture that I recognized as I flipped through the paper. When I took a closer look, it says Penelope won 1st place for this week. Did you know that?' and we did not know it yet. So we told her she won 1st place for Week 2. She was really excited to see her picture online and then in the paper. She took a copy of the paper and put in a drawer in her desk for safekeeping. I am going to put the other in a photo album for safe keeping. Then she asked to take more pictures. She has wanted to take more pictures every since."

So, does Penelope want to be a bird photographer when she grows up? Penelope replied, very mature for her age, "No, I am going to be a neurosurgeon. Dr. Penelope. And I am going to have a farm with angora goats and rabbits. I am going to build churches and have an orphanage with 10,000 babies."

Wow, some goals. Her mother said, "The only thing she has every said she wants to be is a neurosurgeon. She loves the human body, the brain, and dissections - like those dissection kits you can buy at Walmart with the frog bones that get covered in a jello-like substance from Smithsonian. She also loves to draw, sew, paint, do crafts, and she wants to make 'her own' website 'all by herself.' "

As it turns out, Penelope can also write all her letters, read books, is learning two languages, and just loves learning. She loves using her mother's digital camera which makes mom a little nervous because she does not want her daughter to drop it or bang it in excitement. Penelope says she wants her own digital camera, mini pink laptop, and website. Her mother says "not right now" though since their budget is tight and they are saving up for some piano lessons for her as she loves to sing, dance, and play the piano. He mom says "She really wants a DVD of Shirley Temple so we are saving up for that and piano lessons."

Several other winners during the other weeks of FeatherFest 2009 were also home-schooled children too. It makes you wonder if these home-schooled children are quite a bit more advanced than other children due to all that one-on-one attention and personalized education they can receive. It sure seems like it is working in Penelope's case. I am looking forward to the launch of her website, I have a strong feeling that this child is going to do what she says she is going to do.

Interview: Penelope - FeatherFest 2009 Week 2 First Place Winner and Penelope's Mother