Vermont Adventuring

by Ashley Weeks Cart

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Saturday we went on a grand Vermont adventure, inspired by Sunny’s inaugural Odyssey of the Mind competition at a high school just south of Burlington.

Yes, apparently OOTM is even for kids as young as five. And it was as awkward and adorable as you might imagine. I didn’t have a OOTM program at my school growing up, but I have many friends that did and they got to do some pretty rad, nerdy, awesome projects thanks to the program, so when it was offered as a free extracurricular after school for Sunny, we jumped at the opportunity.

James and Sunny road a 6:30am school bus up to the high school, and Courtland and I joined them later in the afternoon. After watching the five minute presentation by Sunny’s team, the kids loaded the bus back up with their cardboard creations, and we Carts headed a little further north to explore Burlington.

Um, what an awesome AWESOME college town. I can’t believe that I’d never been. We ate great food. Had a great time exploring. And I purchased insane amounts of yarn at a great little yarn shop filled with local skeins. I am officially obsessed and looking forward to our next chance to venture north, preferably in more temperate conditions. And with our dSLR camera in tow. Below, a few iPhone snaps of our tour of the Green Mountain State. We heart Vermont!

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^^Courtland was so eager to help and feel a part of the team with her big sister. It was like Lord of the Flies with cardboard in the hallways, though. Mass chaos. A big part of the program is that the kids are self-sufficient and do their projects from start to finish (including loading and unloading the bus) without adult influence/aid. And so, the chaos level was at an all-time high with a group of Kindergarteners let loose and independent.^^

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^^The team, presenting their take on the theme “Wacky Weather.” I particularly loved Sunny’s “TV” where she scrolled and offered up different drawings of weather thanks to those cardboard tubes and a long sheet of paper. She’s pictured above showing off a sunny day. How appropriate.^^

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^^Playing on frozen Lake Champlain was a huge hit. And the people ice sailing? So bad ass.^^

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^^As we passed through Middlebury en route home, James detoured to show me and the girls his summer stomping grounds. The girls had trouble believing that he canoed and swam in that frozen lake – but in just a few years, they’ll experience it themselves. Heyo canoe camp!^^