Destination Imagination in the UK

Last weekend, DD#3 and I flew to Bradford, England for the UKDI (Destination Imagination) National Tournament. I started DI at our international school last year and we had a team of 4 5th & 6th grade girls bring home a 1st place trophy. This year, we had enough interest to have 2 teams of 7th graders, and 10 students competed in the tournament.

DD#1's team, the Monkey Maniacs, brought home the 1st place trophy while our other team, The Homies, came in 2nd. The competition between the two teams was very close, with one prevailing in the main challenge and the other in the instant challenge portion of the tournament.

It was a great weekend for everyone and the kids all did a great job. I think the parents - each student came with 1 parent - had a chance to understand more about the valuable skills learned through the DI program and watched their children shine at the tournament. The kids worked together well, were enthusiastic, and were much more polished than last year. Both the year-long program and the tournament itself are a learning process, both for the team members and their managers, so each year gets better.

While all three dds had participated in DI in the U.S., only dd#3 has had a team here in Germany, although dd#1 has helped as an assistant team manager both years. Because DI was so important to all our girls in the U.S., it's really been a big help in making the girls feel connected here, especially dd#1. And she's very excited to know that her DI team in the U.S. is still going strong and will be able to welcome her back when we leave Germany. It's such a valuable experience for everyone involved, I'm glad that we've been able to stay active in it and I think all of the team members this year got a lot out of it. I hope they can continue it even after we leave Germany.