Have I mentioned Legos?

Adjusting to a busy schedule is not always easy. I guess I must have gotten run down last week and got hit with a cold by Friday. So I spent much of the weekend resting and nursing a sore throat. Sarah, on the other hand, was very busy in her other new venture for this year (swimming was the first new thing), Lego Robotics. It is kind of like Odyssey of the Mind or Destination Imagination but with a more scientific twist. 

Sarah's on a team of 7 kids (one of whom now lives in Florida). Teams around the world are given the tasks during the first week of September that they are supposed to prepare for. There is always a science centered theme; this year's is global warming. The Lego part of the competition has to do with building a robot out of Legos and programing it to maneuver through several tasks on a large playing board in 2 minutes 30 seconds. The board has Lego structures on it and tasks which relate to the theme. The other part of the competition is research and solutions oriented. This year the kids are supposed to isolate a situation in the area where they live that might be a result of global warming and research how they might affect change. They also must identify a team who lives in a similar climate and work with them on concerns in their area. (I am not entirely sure I stated the research challenge correctly, but I know it's in the ballpark). 

I believe the first tournament will be December 6 or 7. It is a qualifying tournament to get to go to the State Tournament. The team has met a lot this past 7 days since their Florida teammate was here for a week to start on the project. From now on he'll communicate through video conferencing. It's an exciting opportunity for Sarah to grow in math, science, leadership, group cooperation...the list goes on and on! Plus, it's lots of fun!

Here is a link to the official website for First Lego League if you want to learn more.

 http://firstlegoleague.org/community/HomePage.aspx