DI

Okay, for all you westerners who read this, "DI" is not a thrift store out here. It is short for Destination Imagination. Kendall was involved in one of the groups here this year. It really is a pretty amazing program. They started in January and each group is given some sort of a challenge; could be building something like a robot or a bridge or it could be a creative challenge. That is what Kendall's group ended up with. They had to write and star in a play that had to have something to do with animal communication. They have a team leader (usually a parent) who basically is only there as a facilitator--she kept them on track but everything had to be their doing. They researched their topic,wrote everything, made costumes and props and starred in their production. Theirs ended up being about a group of wild horses who encountered a cougar during the course of their day, and in it, they had to show how horses really can communicate with each other. They did such an amazing job with all of it. Very impressive for a group of 8- and 9-year-olds. After they work hard for a couple of months they go to the regional competition to show their stuff. The first thing they had to compete in was what they called an "Instant Challenge" where they are given some materials and a few minutes to come up with the required challenge. Families weren't allowed to go in for that one, so we only learned later that the kids had to make sock puppets, come up with a short skit, and act it out with the socks on their feet!

Later that afternoon, it was time for the main event. The kids enter the gym and have to stand in one marked off spot to prepare for their performance.

Here they are meeting with one of the volunteers who is going over everything with them and answering questions, etc.

Here they are still waiting. Kendall was looking a little nervous. He had an extra job in the program. He had written a poem about the play that he had to read aloud before they began their skit. It was right about this time that we noticed that he was losing an ear! He realized it too and when he tried to fix it the whole band came off. He gave us this funny look like now what???

It's a little blurry, but here you can see one of his teammates trying to fix the problem. It took awhile before anyone could alert the team leader. But once they found her, she ran for her tape and they patched him up in the nick of time.

Much better! This was right before they moved over to the main square to begin their performance. He doesn't even look nervous at all anymore! He did a fantastic job reading his poem (which I will post at the end of this). I recorded it but the sound was lousy so I decided not to post it here. And this is during their performance where the horses have just begun their day and are prancing around.

Horses have to sleep too, you know! Plus it was exhausting running from the cougar.Here they are getting a refreshing drink from the stream they found.

Great job Kendall! We are so proud of all your hard work.

Here's his poem that he wrote:

A herd of horses was walking by.

The dirt was cracked and

the sand was dry.

They stopped for a rest near a green bush

Then out jumped a cougar!

It made a sound like a whoosh.

The cougar chased them around

until the cougar went away.

Then it was the end

of the horses' long day.

When the horses woke up,

They looked for some food.

All of the horses

were in a good mood.

The lead mare smelled water

They galloped around

They looked in the air and

they looked on the ground.

Then finally they found it--

The Great Water Valley!

There were so many green bushes

they had to tally.

By Kendall Oswald