OBOB 2020

Another year of Oregon Battle of the Books is a wrap!! Matthew was SO excited about OBOB this year and he started reading books last summer to get a good start on the 16 books on the list.

He and some friends had planned to be on a team together, and in all honesty they would have CRUSHED the competition. Sadly it didn't work out that way (the lead of our school's program wanted to have more equitable teams so she separated the boys). Matthew was devastated, as was I (I was looking forward to mentoring such a great group of boys).

BUT... after some tears and lamenting, he picked himself up and decided he was going to do his best, be a leader on his team, and have fun. And he did all of those things... we couldn't be more proud of Matthew for how he dealt with this disappointment. 

I was his team's mentor and like with other teams I had the kids over before holiday break for some team building and some gingerbread house making. It's always a fun way for the kids to connect. 

The house turned out fantastic!

The kids worked so hard to prepare and they were ready for battle day! I didn't take many photos as I was helping with scoring, but I am SO proud of these four!! Matthew, Catherine, Elizabeth and Ella did such a great job. They all were upset to not get passed the first round, but I reminded them how far they came and how hard they worked and that they should be proud. 

Matthew was still upset the rest of the day, but he still got the Red Plate at dinner. 

It was hard for him, but also a good lesson about disappointment and moving on from disappointment. He is already planning for next year and he and his buddy Xavier already know they will be on the same team! :) 

Another OBOB season in the books. Next year will be our last. Bittersweet, but I have lots of fun memories to take with me after Matthew's final OBOB competition next year! :)