Brock is a member of his middle school's Chess Club and as of mid-March, Kade will be a member of his elementary school club. They both were excited to join the North Carolina kids Chess Tournament held on March 1st in Raleigh this year. It rotates from Charlotte to Raleigh every year - so Kade attended this two years ago!
The format was a bit different from two years ago - they scaled it down to six rounds in one really long day (instead of 7 rounds over 2 days) at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Round 1 started at 9am and yay both kiddos won their matches! We brought snacks and tablets to occupy our time between matches. This was our first hangout spot - right outside of Ballroom C where Brock was playing.
We moved to the lounge area while the boys went in to play Round 2. A table with chairs was better for our lunch. Brent kindly drove over to Chick-Fil-A in Cameron Village for lunch!
Kade went against only 4th graders. He did pretty well for not having practiced as much. Round 3 and 4 went pretty smoothly - earning a Draw for one of them. Parents are not able to spectate inside the rooms. Once we help them with which table to play, parents need to vacate out!
Middle school is a different story. Brock went against all 6th, 7th or 8th graders, depending on how well he did the round before. Pretty tough competition!
After Round 6, we waited a bit for the final scoring to come in to see if Kade would be awarded anything. Alas no, BUT Washington Elementary school was awarded FIRST place over all other Fourth Grade teams! We didn't stay to wait for the awards ceremony, but did take a picture with the first place 4th grade trophy (green/purple/black to the left of him).
Kade ended up placing 33rd out of 77 fourth graders. Two Wins, 2 Draws, Two Losses. One of his buddies picked up a medal and brought it to him at school on Monday!
Brock placed 153rd out of 189 middle schoolers. He really did well and I know he got discouraged playing against some really amazing players. We were really proud of him that he stuck in there and did his best. I know he wants to do better and the more he plays, the better he is going to be!
On Thursday, Kade and I made an appearance at his school's annual Math & Science night.
After checking in, we made our way to the special exhibit by NCSU Biotech Syndicate Club where we learned about Synthetic Biology and DNA. Afterwards, Kade got to create his own Double Helix strand from gummy bears and twizzlers!
We headed back to the Cafeteria to build and fly paper airplanes - trying and SUCCEEDING in breaking last year's record with 38 feet!
We were stuck in this area for a long time as Kade made several flying attempts and rebuilt his paper airplane again and again. Of course Kade also had to stop in and say hello to some cool 6th graders (aka Brock's friends all asking where Brock was).
Finally, we were able to move on to another section - Miraculous Mr. Martin's Mathematical Mysteries - where Kade attempted to fold a piece of paper equally 10 times to win a million dollars. Spoiler: it's impossible!
Stopped in one of the AIG teachers's rooms to show off his robot driving skills!
And then right when I was able to get him to leave, his best buddy showed up, so of course we had to stay longer!
We cheered on some friends at the Egg Drop Challenge and was reunited with one of Kade's long lost jackets from the Lost & Found (see black jacket in picture below) and then it was time to head home!
Kade enjoyed a "single" scoop of chocolate ice cream upon exiting. (that's a big single scoop!)
My two big boys helping me after a grocery shopping trip!
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