Quiz Team and Mind Games

Joel had his first official "Quiz Team Meet" this weekend and he did a GREAT job! Quiz Team is an activity sponsored by our church where children (first grade through junior high) memorize biblical facts and then compete against other church teams throughout Ohio. The older kids have many meets throughout the year, but the first and second graders only compete once a year.

Joel started the year kind of slow because Ben and I didn't study with him as much as we should have. But about a month before the competition I recorded all the questions and answers onto a tape and had Joel listen to it at bedtime. Ben and I weren't sure how much Joel had memorized so I was a little nervous about how well he would do. But Joel did an awesome job!

To get points for an answer, the child must be the first to buzz in (sort of like "Jeopardy") and answer the question correctly. Once a child answers five questions correctly in a round, they "quiz out" and are not permitted to answer any more questions until the next round. Joel quizzed out three of the seven rounds!

The meet was two hours away and started early in the morning so just Ben and Joel spent the night in a hotel, hung out at the pool hot tub, quzzed all day and then went to Red Lobster for dinner and to an arcade after that. On the way home Ben asked Joel what his favorite part of the two days was. Joel's response, "Quizzing."

Ben and I are so proud of him! Ben commented that Joel was "in his element" while quizzing; he really seemed to love it. The funniest part was that at the beginning of one round Joel was leaning back in his chair with his head leaned back as if he wasn't even paying attention. The question started and Joel was still just "hanging out" in his chair. Then, just as it was time to hit the buzzer, Joel jerked up and was the first of the eight kids to smack the buzzer and answer. When Ben and I were talking and laughing about it after the meet Joel told us he was just pretending to be tired so the other kids wouldn't think he was going to "buzz in." Joel has obviously mastered the art of "psyching out the competition." smile