JeanM Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 My dc have done some lego robotics through 4H, but have never done First Lego League. Can anyone give me an idea of how many hours per week your group meets? How much time do your dc spend on FLL outside of the group meetings? Does your group spend as much time on the research project as on the robotics? Oh, and if you have an opinion on the ideal group size, I'd love to know that too. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miselainia Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I copied a couple of posts from a local group that a mom sent out. Hope it helps. #1 I will be coaching a FLL team again this year, this will be our 2nd season. I am looking for a girl between 10-14yo to join us. My daughter is currently the only girl on the team and would really lilke to add another girl. First Lego League is a program of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). It includes a robotics challenge (with Lego Mindstorm robots) for which the kids build and program a robot to solve missions in a 4*8 field and a research project. This year theme is "Senior Solutions" "Can FIRST® LEGO® League teams improve the quality of life for seniors by helping them continue to be independent, engaged, and connected in their communities? In the 2012 SENIOR SOLUTIONSSM Challenge, over 200,000 children from more than 60 countries will explore the topic of aging and how it may affect a person’s ability to maintain his or her lifestyle – solving issues like getting around, keeping in touch, or staying fit. Teams will research obstacles and then suggest ways to improve the quality of life for the seniors affected." The team meets in Pleasant Grove in my home. We meet twice a week for an hour and a half to 2 hours after school or on Saturday morning (depending on everybody's schedule) from the end of August till the tournament in January. We will also meet during the summer (schedule to be determined). The team has a mix of homeschoolers and kids attending charter or public school. The cost is $90 for the season. No experience is necessary (nobody had any when we started last year, including me!) #2 I will be coaching a FLL team again this year (this will be our 2nd season) and I have a few openings. You can read more about it here http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll or look up "FLL food factor" on youtube to see video of robots built by teams all over the world for last year's missions. The team meets in my home. We meet twice a week for an hour and a half to 2 hours after school or on Saturday morning (depending on everybody's schedule, most likely Tuesday, Friday or Saturday morning) from the end of August till the tournament in January. We will also meet during the summer. The cost is $90 for the season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2boys Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Our coach feels that 6-7 kids is the ideal team size. When she has more than that, she has trouble coming up with things for them all to do at a meeting. Our team meets twice a week for two hours at a time. And we take a couple of field trips, and the kids do some research outside of meeting times. As we get closer to the competition, they usually add a third 2 hour meeting per week. The week of a competition, they meet every day. We find it to be a pretty time consuming activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 We started last year - my DH was the coach. We have a team of 5 boys ages 11-13 last year, 12-14 this year. It would be nice to add one or two more members in the same age range. I have a feeling our team meets less than most teams, but it was sufficient for a successful year. They meet two hours once a week with a couple of extra outside meeting activities thrown in here and there. They are expected to work on research for the project outside the weekly meeting. They qualified for the state tournament and won an award at each of the regional and state level competition. They try to focus on the research project during the summer and the robotics after the challenge comes out in September, but there is always overlap. Because of the theme this year - our team is meeting weekly at a senior independent living facility. They are thrilled to have the team there and the meetings are open to the residents. In addition they will be able to meet with the staff and physical therapists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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