So can you talk me through how you run a meeting with robotics? How many sets do you feel the need to have? Do you have specific goals for each meeting? Do you meet more often then once a month? Here's what we currently do with a normal {non-robotic} club: Each month we have a simple theme, which is written on the white board by our entrance to the Lego Room. We also list ideas under it for those who often need a little inspiration. I also distribute books around the room based on the theme & lego idea books to peruse as needed. This is also a room of toys so little ones are free to do whatever. Everyone grabs a base from the base basket upon arrival & digs in. We have a huge lego table everyone gathers around & builds. I tend to build something & when I hear children calling out for a piece they can't find I stop & look for it so that they can keep on building. We have another table where everyone puts their finished project. I keep a basket of paper slips & pencils there so people can label their creation with a caption or name & their own name as parents love to snap photos. It generally takes about 40 minutes for the builds to happen, with some people being quicker & some being slower. When I see more kids not building then building {generally I have one lagger who's my own & very detail oriented} I loudly say that if everyone is done & we put away the loose lego we'll go downstairs for snacks. This is usually when parents get up & ooh & ahh over the creations. We've had some really amazing things built & some others that have had us all guessing. ;) --- How long will a robotic class take? Even on the WeDo level it helps me build on ideas.. I'm excited by the idea of this, but I'm hesitant to say much to my kids until I've really had time to think it out..

For us the competing FLL team {only one in our state} is 3.5 hours away & to complete in the big "deal" at the end of the year we'd have to fly or get on the boat to get off the island. Soo.. But I do get what you mean about the "big pay off".. Right now I'm toying with ideas. We have 4 families who've come to Lego Club with only 2 of those being regular {monthly} members. The other 2 were hit or miss. I'm thinking with the kids getting older now {my eldest is 15} that a robotic club & learning to work in a team atmosphere & bounce ideas off each other would be great. We are the only family in the club who has an Ev3 set, so I'm not sure how this would all unfold, kwim? My original idea was that if I purchased the materials used for an FLL team & we used those then just the one Ev3 might be enough for what we were doing, maybe I'm off my base though. I also have 2 different sets of WeDo for the younger crew so the links {above} for the challenges for that will be AWESOME. All though I suspect that we'll only have 1-3 younger sibblings who'd care about the WeDo where as most will want in on the bigger stuff. For our "regular" members {meaning those who actually come each month without fail} we'd have 4 kids who are old enough for the Ev3 set, another family was much more regular last year & that would add in anywhere from 2-3 children all old enough for Ev3. I can't really afford another Ev3 set because they run $700 where we live. The FLL kits run $250 {brand new} & then if you don't have the educational software {which we don't at the moment} we'd need to splurge on another $150.. We generally have one final meeting planned for December & then we break over January & February. We're looking at possibly breaking for December too based on the business that is summer & end of year silly season..

The nearest place running a robotic club is over an hour away from us, so that's not really an option for us.. I'll peek at the links though! :)

I hope this is the right board to put this on.. We run a non-robotic Lego Club & have for the past 2 years. However, as the kids are getting older I'm seriously considering switching to robotic.. We own the basic Ev3 & WeDo so I'd be able to meet a varying age level of children, but I only own basics.. I'm looking for information {feel free to send me a message or leave info here} for non competitive FLL "type" teams. Basically, I'm not interested in being a part of FLL, rather I'm interested in providing the children with challenges during club meetings that can be solved.. I know the FLL type challenges are sold via some of the educational Lego Sites {in my geographical location} & am curious if I could make that work.. What about non FLL challenges? What about a robotics club in general? I'm open to ideas as I think this through..

I did see the Misfit & wondered about it. You don't happen to have used it do you? I saw a lot of complaints that people were losing the device out of it's holder & I'm not so sure about putting it in a necklace near my chest. It's one reason why I wear my fitbit on my shoe.

They are expensive. :lol: That's probably a dead give-away, but they are. I don't know about in the USA, but here we have to buy the software that makes the lego "robotic" separately to the tune of an additional $100. I think you'd need a few sets & CDs to go around if you were working in group situation. Unless, of course, others all ready have the supplies & are happy to get together.. but then I'd think you'd need some sort of "game plan" to make it worth it.

I have a Fitbit Zip that's many years old & I noticed on the face of the thing the crystals are starting to get messed up. I've been debating replacing it for a while & the option came up to have it replaced as a birthday gift. I was all set for having picked something out until I realised it couldn't actually do what I want. Is there any fitness tracker out that that will count my swim strokes as steps? I don't want a water proof tracker unless it's going to be of used in the pool. The Zip counts steps, that's pretty much it. I have it clipped to my shoe so it's always on me, but in all fairness it does a pretty poor job in counting my biking in step form. I'd like something that can handle the biking as well, but I'm not too keen on the idea of something on my wrist.. I have highly sensitive skin & most plastics on the skin end up giving me a rash.

It won't suit if you're after something secular but we're enjoying The Prophet, The Shepherd, & The Star this year...

I haven't read every reply so forgive me if I'm repeating or barking up the wrong tree.. I'd start by planning your days. Your littlest one is 1, can your 6 & 9 year old have individual play time with a specific roll or "thing" to do with baby. So while your 6 year old was learning phonics with you perhaps your 9 year old is playing blocks with the baby in another room where it can't distract. If you can utilise sibling help it may help you to plan out the days better. Do you want to accomplish specific things in the day? Which things are the most important to you & why? Prioritise. How much can each child do on their own? Even if it's only ONE thing each that might be enough for you to get children set up & keep baby out of their hair until they are done with that activity. FWIW, if I don't schedule out the day & my children don't schedule out their days it's easy to lose track of things.. quickly.

Right now we're using BkSk with one child & a bit of hodge podge with the other. We were using Noeo with them both, but I found that the ages/grades were just off. I don't mind BkSk, but they only have one more level so I'm just not sure what we'll do.. I have the resources to put something together, but I lack the courage as science is my weakest subject. We've tried Apologia {older} & we weren't pleased with it. I get that it's one of the bests out there, but.. I looked into Rainbow, but there's a HUGE issue I have based on the sample alone. I've looked at Elemental & I suspect it would work for us & we'd be fine; I'd be 100% sold on it if it had a few more books dragged into it to be honest. I'm not opposed to a Christian curriculum at all, I just find that they aren't living up to the science standards I want because they are busy focusing on the God who created them. I'd like to think by the time my children are in Middle & High school they all ready know that & don't need to be reminded on a daily basis.. I hate saying that because I don't want to bag Christian materials, but it is what it is for our family.

Can anyone give me a quick review on this & what it covers? :)

BkSk has a similar Core as well.. Could you do it on your own, absolutely! You can even see the book lists & so forth on both companies websites to decide if you wanted to add in any. BUT, here's the thing, I think you'd need to decide if you wanted to use MOH or SOTW. They don't mesh as easily together as you'd expect. The overlap is huge, & it can be annoying {at least to me..} I also found that MOH 1 was very simplistic but by MOH 3 it's rather deeply in depth.. We're using the very SL Core you're speaking of, except we're using the BkSk version. We enjoy it, but we used the previous one in which SOTW Vol. 1-2 were used in one year as well. We'll have time for a US history & Aussie History which we may combine together, or not.. I will say, though, that there are a LOT more resources for US history & the second half of world history then the first half. The other thing I'd suggest considering is if it's worth rushing through anything or if you're enjoying the pace you're all ready at. You could add more literature when you get to the US history segments of SOTW 3 if you wanted.. I dunno, just a thought. I've had this argument with myself a few times over because we need to fit in Aussie history as it's not generally covered in depth in any curriculum available.. so I get it. I think I'm more voicing the argument I have with myself to keep from freaking out unnecessarily.

I audibly gasped when I read it.. not because I think it's bad, but because if that was my 13 year old he'd be in total shut-down mode. Overwhelmed indeed. I'd say it's just an awful lot..

Instead of "What Your Child Needs To Know.." You could go with Rebecca Rupp's book which is similar but has all 12 grades in one.. it would save you considerably.. If you're referring to literature I'd go with the classics that have been illustrated by Robert Ingpen. I'd skip A Secret Garden & obtain a different version though, as I think Mary's eyes are ghastly in the Ingpen version..

Well, I wouldn't call it spooky, but there is a Halloween Feast in the 2nd HP book. :)

I think if the school can't protect your child as is their duty, then I would be seeking outside help. If I also witnessed this kid picking on my child you'd be darn sure I'd not only record it but step in for my kids & then, further, I'd track down the parent & let them have it. Just because this kids Daddy is a big-wig doesn't mean his Daddy thinks this behaviour is cool. What it means is no one has disciplined the child for his actions. When I was working in a school & we KNEW we had a trouble child we had an extra set of eyes on that particular child at all times. That means an extra person was available during "free time" & if the child acted out then he sat. When parents came to collect the parents were spoken to. It took the child bullying a teacher {tripping her intentional in the hallway} before firm action was taken. It just so happened that as he whispered to a friend & then stuck out his leg he missed the pregnant teacher & got the aid. His mother, thankfully, was walking down the hallway when the incident happened. I think it was SEEING it in action when she finally realised that we weren't talking about a few "childish" incidents. Our problems with said child were far & few between once the parents took action of their own. Sometimes, some parents have to SEE IT to believe it.

I'd go with a small, but close, group of friends. We've done that with a large local group.. Then we take cupcakes to the main group event/meeting if the child wants to. :)

We dropped it after 2 weeks. I felt it was undoing everything we'd learned in WWE & I found that one week it wanted you to write a simple summary {as taught in WWE} & another week it wanted you to add fluff & detail to it. I did NOT like it. So I simply shelved it {sold it eventually} & brought out WWE. My child's response was, "There was so much less work in W&R." No regrets in switching back at all.

I'd continue where you all ready are. What's the rush? If moving at a slower pace works for you, run with it. If you change the pace to rush it more, she may remember less & lose her love for history in general. Besides, you'll be repeating it again at some point & you may be surprised what she'll remember when that time comes.

I'm going to say that I never justify why I choose to educate my children at home. I don't. It's that simple. I don't ask people to justify why they send their children to school, or why they have x amount of children, or why they go to x church. I don't ask people about what they do behind a closed door in their bedroom. In short, I simply don't pry into personal matters. Now, is homeschooling personal? No, but if you are judging why I am or am not homeschooling, then you just made it personal. If you want to ask me honest to goodness questions about it, go for it. I have 2 teachers in the family as well. One thinks it's so much better at home because you can accomplish your tasks without all the wasted time of standing in line. She shares resources & ideas & delights in hearing my children tell her anything. She will literally sit for HOURS while my children pull out book after book to show her, notebooking paper, etc. My other teacher relative I can't quite peg.. My hubby {being the blood relative} thinks this one is nosey because he's opposed to home education. Maybe, maybe not. I don't know, & I don't care. What I will say is that this particular relative asks me a LOT about high school, which starts in Grade 7 in my state. Weird, but true. One of my children has a disability so that plays a huge roll in the many conversations I have, all though I've never been asked about improvement, specialist updates, etc. Merely, "But if he goes how will he cope.." so perhaps my husband is right & maybe I've hit that point in my homeschooling where I simply don't care. 10+ years of homeschooling & you've pretty much heard it all. Turn the tables on your relatives & when they bring it up ask them a very personal question about their own lives. When they act taken aback by it respond with, "Oh, I'm sorry I thought we were asking super personal questions about each other's lives in order to validate why we each choose to live the way we do." ;)

Not saying it's GREAT, but Ck12 has options..

Thanks. :) The kits are currently sold out so they aren't an option according the ES website. I noticed that the Grammar Stage seemed to offer more books then the Logic stage which was a little disappointing, but I suppose that leaves room to add more in if one went with the programme. In general, I'm just struggling for a decent science curriculum for Grades 7 & upward.

Okay, Rainbow is out.. But I'm still not sure I'm 100% sold on Elemental.. I'd love to hear other options because I'm running out of options! :lol:

What about SOS or Monarch? They aren't free though, but they would be online schooling with grades & so forth.

Oh, we read that book, for the first time to our children, when our youngest was 5 or 6. He was so in love with Heidi that for months afterwards he'd ask if Heidi & Peter got married & all sorts of fun questions. I went out of my way to get the other 2 Heidi books, & he decided he didn't want to read them because what if Heidi didn't do what he thinks she did?! ;) He was horrified by the Shirley Temple version of Heidi.. must check out this Heidi series..