Can you tell me about Odyssey of the Mind?

[Anonymous]

My DC has the option of joining this competition through school but I'm wondering if DC is too young (7yo, second grade). Any advice or your past experience would be helpful. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My info is extremely old. But, I loved it as a child so much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My info is extremely old. But, I loved it as a child so much!

How old were you when you started, if I may ask?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My info is extremely old. But, I loved it as a child so much!

How old were you when you started, if I may ask?

I was about nine or ten, but if I recall correctly, they did it by age level. It required a lot of parental assistance (not my parent, but another child's) even at that age. It was several months to get our project (a series of mousetraps that did all kinds of crazy things) up and going. And, there was a bunch of studying for the math quizzes. I loved everything about it. I am currently 48 though, so.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC has the option of joining this competition through school but I'm wondering if DC is too young (7yo, second grade). Any advice or your past experience would be helpful. Thanks!

Starting in 2nd grade is ideal for becoming acquainted with Division 1, learning the process, participating as a team member, and building connections with other team members. By 3rd and 4th grade, they can start taking on more responsibilities within the team, attempt a different problem type each year, etc. With three years of experience, they will be well-prepared to form a committed team and be highly competitive in 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Having been a coach in K-2, I would say definitely don't expect much ability for the kids to understand the problem or be able to sit still long enough to talk about it. Attention span is about 5-10 minutes and then they want to run around. Some kids who are the more "gifted", quiet, contemplative types can do very well, but your average early elementary kid is likely not going to get much out of the types of meetings to participate in the competitions.
Grades 3 and up are where you can have a lot of fun with it and the kids really benefit from the problem-solving teamwork environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having been a coach in K-2, I would say definitely don't expect much ability for the kids to understand the problem or be able to sit still long enough to talk about it. Attention span is about 5-10 minutes and then they want to run around. Some kids who are the more "gifted", quiet, contemplative types can do very well, but your average early elementary kid is likely not going to get much out of the types of meetings to participate in the competitions.
Grades 3 and up are where you can have a lot of fun with it and the kids really benefit from the problem-solving teamwork environment.

Thank you for this frank answer. For me the concern right now is not wanting to sign DC up for something that he's not going to get much out of and feel bored or left out. It sounds like you might suggest we wait another year or so? DC is capable of sitting still and listening, but DC is also a kid and I would not label DC as gifted. Just a bit advanced for age and enjoys creating fun projects, but right now that's mostly self-directed. Might benefit from learning to work on projects as a team member but might be a bit too early for that, I don't know. DC also just started First Lego League (Discovery, not Challenge).

[Anonymous]

What school are you that has both OM and Lego? I wonder how to get Lego at our school bc I know my child would love it but don’t have bandwidth to lead it. I loved OM but started in 4th. Spontaneous!

[Anonymous]

Waste of time.

[Anonymous]

The Lego League sounds pretty fun!

One of my kids did Odyssey of the Mind, and it was one of the only activities they did that I thought was just sort of meh. I felt like the kids were rewarded for being quirky and over-the-top, even if their project didn't make any sense. He did not love it -- if he had, I would have encouraged him to keep going. But it was a one-year thing for him.

[Anonymous]

It is an an amazing program for out of the box thinkers! K-2 doesn't compete locally. But being on a K-2 team gets them ready for the competitions when they begin in 3rd grade. Very kid driven. So if your kid is not motived OR not someone that wants to preform for a crown than it isn't for them. But it is an awesome program! If your ES has it, you are lucky!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waste of time.

takes precious time away from Instagram, tiktok, ...

[Anonymous]

It is incredible. My ES had it pre covid but it never came back. If you can commit to it you should do it!

[Anonymous]

Oh I can’t say enough good things about it! DC did it for many years until COVID hit us. The experience not only helped DC grown into a happy, confident, capable, creative, hard working, collaborative problem solver and passionate team leader, it also helped DC get into an elite college and land the 1st job. We all agree if DC could only have one EC, Odyssey would be the no brainer!

[Anonymous]

My child's school is starting this year and we are so excited for the opportunity!