I took my home school high school team to the district Odyssey of the Mind competition this weekend. Odyssey of the Mind is an extra curricular activity that promotes creative thinking and problem solving. It was our first year competing. They’ve worked hard at the competition. I wasn’t able to be with them all the way, but part of the requirement is that they do their own work. They can’t receive “outside assistance.” There are penalties assessed for receiving help from anyone who  is not on the team. 

The Team placed first in the district. We now have to decide if we’re going on to the state competition. I hadn’t actually planned for us to make it that far. I assumed we were competing against teams that had done OM for years; knew what they were doing and how to compete. I told one mother that my goal for the team is that they not embarrass themselves. They certainly didn’t. 

I’m very proud of this group of young people. They performed admirably.