My after school genius hour group numbers anywhere from 20 – 25 students on Friday afternoons. For the past several meetings, I noticed that the kids don’t really know each other very well. Sure, they are familiar with names, but they really didn’t interact much as a team or teams. So this week, I ran ‘Mission Impossible’. Super big thank you’s go out to Mr. Onuffer for letting us use the physical education equipment in the gym.
Each team received: one scooter, one straight pin, one basketball, one giant scoop, one stilt, one jump rope, one wiffle ball, one plate, and one bowling pin.
Big wrestling mats were set up in the middle of each lane as islands.
The kids were given three minutes to brainstorm and then the fun began! The relays started out slowly, but soon, the competition grew fierce! 
The teams were learning from each others mistakes and successes. The kids went wild!
An hour flew by and every one of the kids said that they had fun! It was pretty cool to see the quieter kids come out of their shells.
They were great sports and did a fantastic job of supporting each other as teammates. I was so impressed, but best of all, I think they impressed not only themselves, but each other.
I think Mission Impossible worked well with Genius Hour because it allowed the kids to think of different ways to use the items for the good of the team.
The winning team:
Some of the Beaty-Warren middle school Genius Hour kids:
What a fantastic day after school! AWESOME! I have the best group of kids for Genius Hour. I look forward to every Friday!
Life on Planet Genius 
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