athomemom Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 How do I go about this? How did you start a club? Any and all info appreciated! My boys will thank you!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I too am planning one for next year and would love all your advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 ~bumping~ Anyone at all? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 What kind of lego club? There are great resources for Jr. Fll and Fll. http://www.usfirst.org/ Many parents are already familiar with those programs and are even looking for teams. Is that what you are looking for? If not, I wold search online. I know some hs moms have started lego clubs simply by word of mouth and using local hs online groups. There are some fun lego projects online that you print for the kids to use. Did that answer any questions? I read your post before coffee. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahRah Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I've done LEGO programs in our area - depending on what you'd like to do, you have a bunch of options: 1. Use local resources for a meeting place - library rooms, rec center rooms, YMCA, etc. may have space for you to reserve free. You'll NEED a large space with a clean floor and/or large tables to have adequate space for the kids to go all out with the LEGO bricks and their building creations. 2. You'll want to plan how you're going to do your program and decide how long you want it to run to accomplish the goals you have if it's educational and not simply recreational. For example, if you want the kids to build freely, but to a theme - as a group, in teams, or individually - you'll want to layout your themes, set-up how much time to build, how much time to share with the others what was built and think about what key areas you're enhancing in the process (ie. communication skills, public speaking, open-ended problem-solving, team work, negotiation, sharing, comprehension of the theme, learning through the theme, etc.) 3. You'll need bricks - and lots of them - especially because it's extremely difficult for groups of kids to keep their own bricks separate once they start building in the same space; that can lead to their frustration if they lose bricks and/or someone takes a mini-figure of theirs, etc. There are places you can buy bricks dirt-cheap - on ebay your best price to look for is $6 a pound with shipping - no more than that! Garage sales are also good, as is Craigslist and Freecycle.....never pay more than $6 a pound for bricks though! 4. You'll need bases - at least one per group, team or person. The base makes a huge difference in containing the "imagination" to the size of the base and contains the crazy mess of the bricks strewn across a large space. 5. You'll want to incorporate clean up time in your program for the kids to clean up all the bricks and get them put away! 6. If you're not going to have the program in a dedicated space where you can keep your supplies, you'll want a big tub (or more than one big tub) to hold bricks AND a wheelie cart to move them around.....dropping the tub just once is all you need to realize the value of the wheelie cart and a couple of bungie cords holding the tub in place! 7. While you may be thinking about doing this for free - realize you are going to have expenses involved and probably should charge a nominal fee - mostly to set up the "vested interest" in attending regularly. Even a few dollars a week or session will help with the kids showing up regularly...without it, you'll wind up with hit or miss attendance, which can frustrate not only you, but the kids who show up no matter what. 8. The LEGO Education site has a bunch of interesting approaches to look through. If you google for LEGO groups, teams, programs, you'll find a bunch of other ideas too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 hee hee - I read this as a Lego Support group (thinking of moms and dads..the $$, the mess, the stepped on Legos at wee hours of the morning....) :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Yes, decide what sort of Lego Club you want. Do you want to do Lego First League - which is focused on robotics? Or, do you want to have an informal club where you're focused on building and make up your own rules? Of course, a support group for us parents would be good too!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 I think at the onset I'd like to try an informal group. We have just moved across the country and I had thought that in a much bigger city with lots of homeschool groups I would be able to find a group for my dss. :glare: Anyways, I figure that now is the time to start a group, I think. For now I would like something informal and just fun for the kids. I'll google too and see what I come up with. Thanks for the help! Keep the ideas coming...:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassyscrapperinid Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 :bigear: this would be wonderful for my son. We have a lego group at the library in a close town, but it is at the wrong time of day so usually we cant make it. =( It would be nice to be able to do something like this. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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