East Valley Cre8tive Kids

30/05/2019

Look who’s with us right to the end! Thank you Gabriel Salazar KYMA for telling our story and bragging on my kids!

So proud of them, they are just one of the reasons why I love doing what I do. Congrats to the East Valley Cre8ive Kids for representing Yuma at the Odyssey of the Mind World Competition! Acnice Lizeth Rivera

30/05/2019

Pins, pins, pins! Georgia Dragon or Swan pins are coveted. Star Wars pins rarely come in a set because kids “scam” multiple pins for a single pin. Somehow, someone made Fortnight pins. Harry Potter pins were reluctantly traded because “they’re not that great Mom!” I know...can you spell copyright? 😳

30/05/2019

Pretty Hong Kong team members with their faces painted-appropriate as the Chinese love theatrical masks. Jon and Ami are one of 3 teams to successfully build an arch puzzle-our Gators know how to engineer a build!Angela discovers that paper soaked in turmeric changes color when painted with water and baking soda.

30/05/2019

Now that World Finals is over, we’re allowed to share. An OM tradition at the highly secretive Spontaneous building is to spray teams with silly string as they exit. Teams are under tremendous pressure and stress to score points within 2 minutes by providing creative and original answers to a problem. Sometimes they freeze and other times they triumph. Regardless silly string makes it all better!

30/05/2019

It takes courage...a ton of heart stopping courage, resilience and stamina to put yourself out there in front of World Odyssey Judges. Especially when you are from a rural Arizona City like Yuma. The bar is high and international teams are intimidating. Despite the odds, our team presented a beautiful, clever and innovative performance. I am so proud of them. On my score sheet, these kids are NUMBER ONE always because they gave it 💯%!

25/05/2019

OM Closing Award Ceremony is loud and everyone’s a good sport no matter what the score!

25/05/2019

We did it! Team did great today performing their long-term problem perfectly! We held our own on our score and I am so proud of this team. One of the Judges was just beaming the whole time!

24/05/2019

Done!

24/05/2019

Parents and Coach Adele are ready to spray down the kids with silly string after team exits Spontaneous! The Spontaneous problem solving score accounts for 50% of total. It’s a mental and character challenge. Kids will get between 2 to 5 minutes to solve the problem assigned. Problems could be verbal, hands-on or both. Judges will evaluate creativity, communication, innovation and team work.

24/05/2019

What an incredible honor for our kids to meet the Founder of Odyssey of the Mind, Dr. C. Samuel Micklus, Professor Emeritus at Rowan University. He was heading into the Creativity Festival to check out what the kids had created this year!

23/05/2019

Day 2: Kids must locate their shipment and rebuild a full backdrop, Ring of Fire, 8 foot Elephant, Magic Mirror and Hippie Bus in 2.5 hours.

23/05/2019

Pin trading is how kids get to meet kids from various countries and States. We made 2 new friends from Katar. One is Sudanese and the other is Katarian. Both spoke perfect English!