FIRST LEGO League

Do you know about FIRST LEGO League?

I first learned about it online and so I decided to find out more. My oldest son and I just attended our first introductory meeting and I think we are both very excited about it. If you've never heard of it, FLL is a team-building, STEM competition coopertition that focuses not on winning, but on growing and developing our children's skills.

Wait, coopertition? Yes, I know that is not a word. But it was the one used by the engineer at our meeting. She admitted that it was a made-up word that combines the words cooperation and competition. And she said the goal was not to win, so much as to learn how to work in a team and to develop FIRST's core values in the students.

According to the website, FLL...

"...is the most accessible, guided, global robotics competition, helping students and teachers to build a better future together. The program is built around theme-based Challenges to engage children ages 9 to 16 in research, problem solving, coding, and engineering. The foundation of the program is the FIRST Core Values, which emphasize teamwork, discovery, and innovation. Students emerge more confident, excited, and equipped with the skills they need in a changing workforce."

It sounds like SUCH a great opportunity for kids to nurture their STEM skills, learn to work in a team environment, and direct their energies toward improving the world we live in.

Watch this:




Teams can be found all over the United States...and also in 97 other countries.

The entire event - from the start of the planning to the final competition - all takes place within about five months. Our team has already received its gameboard (shown below), and they will begin to build the modules that go on the board. Then they will build a robot and program it to approach each module and complete a specific task. There are 10 modules in each.

There is a strong focus on teamwork, communication, and problem solving. They want your children to enjoy the competition, while striving to improve themselves, and helping the other teams along the way.

Overall, I think it will be a fabulous experience for my son, but it is a major time commitment that I hope we can meet. If you have a budding engineer, Lego lover, or breathing tween/teen, then maybe this would be for him/her, too!

Visit their website to find out if there are any teams near you.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

• LEGO® Magazines for Young Minds
  
  
• LEGO...Shakespeare?
  
  
• Brick-Stamped Apple Tree Activity

If Your Child is Too Young for FIRST LEGO League...

...then just nurture his or her Lego love with these kits:

KidVentor Toy Challenge

It's time to get your thinking caps on!

Fat Brain Toys is looking for the next best Fat Brain Toy and they're asking kids to invent it. They want a toy that is truly engaging and that promotes real play. No boring activity that other kids will lose interest in after 5 minutes.

Here are the dates you need to remember:

Contest opens: Tuesday, June 27th 

Contest closes: October 17th 

Finalists announced: October 18th 

Fan voting begins: October 24th

Winner announced: November 14th

Winner's toy presented at Toy Faire NY: Feb 17th, 2018

Two experts from Fat Brain Toys, two from MAKE, and two inventors from around the globe will judge the submissions and decide which one’s truly the best. And if they win, they’ll get…

•  a $2,500 scholarship
•  $500 in toys
•  A Prize Package from MAKE
•  Invention presented at the New York City Toy Fair and potentially sold around the world

To get started, visit Fat Brain Toys' KidVentor page to read the short list of a few things your kids should consider as they attempt to flesh out their big idea.

You can also submit your idea on this page.

The Magic Tree House Classroom Challenge

This year, the Magic Tree House will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. Hard to believe, isn't it?!? The popular series is just as fun to read today as it was back then. To celebrate, MTH invites students and teachers around the world to participate in their Magic Tree House Read Around the World Classroom Challenge!

If you are raising global citizens, you probably are already familiar with this series, which has books with settings all across the world. So participating in the challenge is easy. According to the website:

• Magic Tree House adventures take place all over the world. Together, set a goal for how many titles you would like to read about each continent. The books can be read alone, in pairs or groups, with older reading buddies, or read aloud by you. As you help students select books, keep in mind that there are now three distinct lines in the series that are explained on the back of this page.
• Download the starter materials. Hang up the poster to record your students’ progress and place the accompanying seals on each continent on the map as reading goals are met. Hand out the enclosed Progress Tracker Cards to each student, which you can use to track their individual progress.
• Once you’ve reached your goal, take a photograph of the poster and upload it here along with an official submission.
• You will receive a confirmation that you and your students are official Magic Tree House World Travelers and a certificate of achievement will be e-mailed to you.

Three random classrooms will be selected to receive:

• A Skype classroom visit with Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne
• A class pizza party to celebrate their achievement
• A full set of Magic Tree House books

To sign up and download the materials, visit the Magic Tree House Teacher's Club website.

Browse through the Magic Tree House titles in English (like these)...
(aff links)

.,.and in Spanish (like these)!
(aff links)

And don't forget that I do have an activity kit to accompany your reading of the first three books in the Magic Tree House series. It's available in English and Spanish. Click here to read more about it and to download a free sample.