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Need help finding extra curricular activities based on childs interest..


housemouse
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I need to find some extra curricular- I am stumped.

This would be for middle school aged children who like chemistry and physics, math, and anything that is war, conquests, battles and such. Nothing that is a sport, not robotics or Lego teams.

Given all this, what is out there that can tie in nicely with these interests. Currently they do not seem to have inkling of trying something new.

 

Thank you for any suggestions.

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Odyssey of The Mind? It calls for creative thinking.

 

Chess club? (Ok, that'd be a stretch, but it IS a battle!)

 

What about a chem class? It could still be considered extra-curricular learning. There are often summer classes thru rec centers that are kind of like camps.

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Both options would be great and neither one is available in our area. I myself tried getting chess club going and trying to bring in a company that does it professionally and I just can not get enough interest to organize anything. Chemistry anything is a lost cause- everything at the rec centers around here is sports and activities for people over 55. My science minded kids are not interested in Zumba even if they were old enough to join in the class : )

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This may be odd, but perhaps form a gaming group (board, not video). Games like Stratego, Risk, Settlers of Catalan or Chess. Get together and play games or solve problems. The kids could even make their own competitions (build a trebuchet and see who can fling a marshmallow farthest, egg drop). There's a PBS show that has kids solving problems by building things. I'll try to find it and post a link later.

 

ETA: Design Squad

 

http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/program/

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This is also a "start your own" group idea, but...  for Christmas this year, I purchased the book Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction. After reviewing a dozen or so of the various projects, I went to the dollar store and spent $10-15 on supplies -- tape, rubber bands, binder clips, pencils, pens, rulers, etc. I would require goggles when working on projects, because the crossbows and catapults actually shoot the distance the books say they will. My kids spend hours working on these fun little projects. With older kids, I'd talk about the physics involved as well. 

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I'm just curious why you wouldn't want a First Lego League or some similar robotics team?  Is it just that your kiddos are not interested?  

 

For us it is because the competition itself is super loud and overstimulating (they've tried to make it into a fun, pro-sports like situation) and for a sensory overload kid, not the best environment. It is also crazy expensive to get started if you don't know anyone with the robotics equipment, it can be incredibly hard to find an existing team to join because it is so expensive to start a team and they are often limited to certain schools where the PTA purchases the equipment, and it is very time consuming, as well as the fact that you need a mentor who knows what they are doing to really get anywhere with it. I could volunteer to be the mentor/teacher but my kids would be at a disadvantage from the start because I am not an engineer. The successful teams have science and engineering teachers or people coaching.

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For us it is because the competition itself is super loud and overstimulating (they've tried to make it into a fun, pro-sports like situation) and for a sensory overload kid, not the best environment. It is also crazy expensive to get started if you don't know anyone with the robotics equipment, it can be incredibly hard to find an existing team to join because it is so expensive to start a team and they are often limited to certain schools where the PTA purchases the equipment, and it is very time consuming, as well as the fact that you need a mentor who knows what they are doing to really get anywhere with it. I could volunteer to be the mentor/teacher but my kids would be at a disadvantage from the start because I am not an engineer. The successful teams have science and engineering teachers or people coaching.

 

 

Those are all great points.

 

Might I suggest looking into your 4H?  They might have a few different options that might fit your needs.   They do so much more than farming/agriculture.

 

The First Lego League Robotics team that my oldest two just joined...is sponsored through our local 4-H along with Cornell.  It is a bit of a drive for us (45 minutes) but...given that most of the other STEM extra curriculars are even further...we figured we'd give this a go.  

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