This has to be the most exciting thing Skye has participated in since we moved to Germany!(though cheer is a close second) Quick bit of background on the subject - Odessey of the Mind is an international program that provides creative problem solving opportunities for students from college to kindergarten. Teams can compete in a couple of different areas. Our team competed in the creative thinking area (as opposed to a mechanical). First the kids competed in a spontaneous round. In this round it is just the kids and the judges. No coaches are allowed in the room. It can be either a verbal or a hands on problem and the kids aren't allowed to discuss it with anyone. All we know is that our kids had a verbal problem to solve. The second part of the competition is the long term problem. The kids are given a variety of choices and vote on one of the problems. Our kids chose "Discovered Treasures"category. They are required to come up with a skit that is no longer than 8 minutes and the kids have to create a script, costumes, props, sound effects and a play bill. The skit has to include a past discovery - our kids chose the Spanish Conquistador's discovery of Aztec gold, and a future discovery - our kids chose the famous mosaic bench in Barcelona Spain by Antoni Gaudi. There are 7 kids on our team made up of 5 sixth graders and 2 fifth graders. They made all the props, the script, the costumes and did all the research......It was so amazing to see this all. Just as a note - Olivia and Kelsey also wrote an original song, lyrics and music, for the Aztec skit that Skye and Olivia sing. It is truley amazing to see what kids can do!
We hosted the Isle District Competition at GK during the begining of February. We allegedly lost by 3 points to Shape. HOWEVER there was a discrepancy in the judging methods and upon further review, our team was invited to compete in Europeans. Keep your fingers crossed!!! Our GK team is going to kick butt!!!
For more information on Odessey of the Mind, go to
www.odesseyofthemind.com
This has to be the most exciting thing Skye has participated in since we moved to Germany!(though cheer is a close second) Quick bit of background on the subject - Odessey of the Mind is an international program that provides creative problem solving opportunities for students from college to kindergarten. Teams can compete in a couple of different areas. Our team competed in the creative thinking area (as opposed to a mechanical). First the kids competed in a spontaneous round. In this round it is just the kids and the judges. No coaches are allowed in the room. It can be either a verbal or a hands on problem and the kids aren't allowed to discuss it with anyone. All we know is that our kids had a verbal problem to solve. The second part of the competition is the long term problem. The kids are given a variety of choices and vote on one of the problems. Our kids chose "Discovered Treasures"category. They are required to come up with a skit that is no longer than 8 minutes and the kids have to create a script, costumes, props, sound effects and a play bill. The skit has to include a past discovery - our kids chose the Spanish Conquistador's discovery of Aztec gold, and a future discovery - our kids chose the famous mosaic bench in Barcelona Spain by Antoni Gaudi. There are 7 kids on our team made up of 5 sixth graders and 2 fifth graders. They made all the props, the script, the costumes and did all the research......It was so amazing to see this all. Just as a note - Olivia and Kelsey also wrote an original song, lyrics and music, for the Aztec skit that Skye and Olivia sing. It is truley amazing to see what kids can do!
