The Sewing Mom

I met with my Destination Imagination team yesterday for the final time this season.  We went over everything they had done over the past 6 months and all the work they did.  I am very proud of them.  They worked hard and came together as a very good team.  They didn’t place at the tournament, so their season is done, but I want them to know that they did a very good job.

I believe they learned a lot and will make some changes to how they do things next year.  This was their first time to do DI for most of the team.  They also saw so many other teams at the tournament and watched two other teams present their team challenges.  It gave them ideas of not only things to incorporate into their stories, but also materials to use for building sets.

If you’ve never heard of Destination Imagination, it’s a terrific program where the kids are responsible for EVERYTHING!  They choose one of 5 team challenges and work on that for 6 months.  They incorporate any requirements into their story, their sets and props.  They create their own costumes and sets.  There can be no outside interference from parents, siblings, teachers or team managers.  As a team manager, I am responsible mainly for making sure they understand the requirements and the challenge itself.  How they choose to use their time and make their creations is completely up to them.

It is very interesting to watch a team grow and mature over the course of the season.  If we do this again next year, it will be my first time with an experience team.  I hope they will stick together.  Right now, they are telling me they want to, but we all know that when kids move on to junior high, their interests can change.

It was bittersweet yesterday, many of them wanted to continue with meetings.  I am tired and need a break.  But, once I have confirmation from the junior high that they will sponsor us, we may start meeting again as early as August or September.  It will be fun! 

Our regional tournament took place today, I’m exhausted!  My team did very well, although they did have a mishap during their performance they may knock them out of medal contention.

We are home for a little while to get some dinner and have some down time.  We head back in about half an hour for the awards ceremony.  It’s really difficult to say how our team did.  We were only able to see 2 of the other teams presentations, one was excellent, the other, not quite.

When I do get home tonight, I’m going to bed.  The exhilaration and stress of this week have completely worn me out.  Tomorrow?  I clean up my sewing room!