lego curriculum

[mamapjama]

I thought I once saw a specific lego curriculum available. I have been looking at the Mindstrom kits. I have a 7 year old that is pretty advanced when it comes to construction and electrical type activities.

 

Do you like the lego program? Is there something besides the Mindstrom kits?

Thanks

[Willow]

I don't know of any lego curriculum...but I would like to!

 

Mindstorms....I got this for my then ds11. It was very hard for him, and he is bright, lego minded and computer savvy. He could do it....but it was difficult. It was good for him to be this challenged. Building the robot was a doddle...took minutes, programming it however, that was a challange. I think mindstorms would be maybe too challanging for a 7 year old to do alone.

[jonnia]

I've purchased some simple machine kits with teacher guides from the Lego Education division. They have a number of things for science and math. See here: http://www.legoeducation.com/store/?global=usa

 

Some of their things are a bit pricey, but the resale on intact kits is excellent.

[oliveview]

We bought this program last week for our middle ds. It was his birthday present and he turned 7. I thought the Mindstorms was just too much too fast and this was geared for up to 11 year olds. Even though I might have to turn around and buy Mindstorms in a couple of years, I thought it was better than getting too advanced and frustrating him. As I said, we haven't gotten into it yet but having taken it apart it looks pretty good.

 

http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail.aspx?pl=6&ID=1736&c=0&t=0&l=0

[jensway]

This is not a lego curriculum per say. But this is what we used in our co-op for a class and the kids loved building the different contraptions. It's a good one to start with.

http://www.amazon.com/Lego-Crazy-Action-Contraptions-Inventions/dp/1570541574

[mommysweird]

I had no idea there were LEGO homeschool kits!! Boy our budget for next year just got blown. :lol:

[Nikita]

Carnegie Mellon publishes an excellent curriculum specifically designed to go with the Mindstorms kits. Find it here:

 

http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/content/lego/curriculum/index.htm

 

There is also a fabulous book called NXT Zoo which includes instructions and programming for robot animals. Here's the amazon link:

 

http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-MINDSTORMS-NXT-Zoo-Kid-Friendly/dp/1593271700/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238277965&sr=8-2

 

But I agree with others that 7yo is too young to do much with Mindstorms unless an adult is willing to learn along with him. And be forewarned, it takes a *long* time to learn enough to program a robot to do anything really cool.

 

When he's old enough (around 9 or 10), look into First Lego League (FLL) which is a cool competition where kids work together to build a Mindstorms robot that completes challenges on an obstacle course. I coached a homeschool team for 3 years so my son could participate, and all the kids got a lot out of it. (They also do an indepth research project on a science topic, which all my team members enjoyed just as much as working on the robot.) I think there have been discussions about FLL on this forum before so you may find more info if you search for it.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Nikita

[~Jenn~]

The Lego book looks great! Thanks for the links!:)

[dragons in the flower bed]

There's this:

http://www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/puzzles.html

 

Then there's this thread, I have found the motherlode of Lego lesson plans. (Who thought up such a wacky title?)

[Testimony]

the power functions and battery box. It is for the Junior FIRST Lego League program which is ages 6-9 years old. It is not the same as Mindstorms which is geared for 10 and up. Some boxes have even said 14 years and up.

 

The battery box and power functions have motors and gears, etc. The child can build a battery operated dog. You can make a windmill or a people driving a little tractor. It is great stuff.

 

Go to the Lego Education site. They have stuff.

 

Blessings in your homeschooling journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Capt_Uhura]

Both my 8.5yr old and 5.5yr old really enjoy LEGO Mindstorms. I think it really depends on the kid as to how they take to the programming. My 8.5yr old, who got the kid a year ago, did fine w/ the programming and can even debug his own programs. My 5yr old went through the programming tutorials on his own, can download programs and even debug. If you can, see if there is a LEGO class somewhere DC can take to see if he's interested. But I dare say, if he shows any interest, it can be a fun family hobby until he can do it on his own. Any of the LEGO Education kits are good although as of Jan 2008 there was quite a price hike. There is a new programming kit which is a scaled down version of LEGO Mindstorms, the name is escaping me right now. I think it's LEGO WeDo. That might be a cheaper, get your feet wet option although you can't make mobile, cool robots with it. Another great book is NXT One kit Wonders.

[talexand]

My 10 year old has been using Mindstorms since he was 6 or 7 and is now a quite accomplished NXT programmer. My 7 year old is learning to program with no problems and is very motivated to learn. But I have learned the NXT programming language so I teach them myself with help from books and online sources. A 7 year old will most likely need someone to turn to when things don't work even if he or she is following a tutorial so you or your dh might have to learn alongside. I also teach NXT classes and that is a great way to get going if you can find them in your town. However, most will target kids in 4th grade and up. This isn't because of ability, many bright and driven kids are able to learn at 7 if they are taught 1 on 1. But to learn in a classroom even with 10 kids or less like my classes they need to be pretty self sufficient so that the teacher can leave them alone for a while and check back later to help them again. Many of the younger kids I have taught need more hand holding and encouragement than this so they learn better 1 on 1.

 

My kids really love Mindstorm robotics and it is honestly one of the reasons we homeschool. So that things like programming can be part of their normal education. We have got a lot of mileage out of our kit over the years. That is one advantage to buying it when they are young. If you are committed to helping your child learn, especially in the beginning, it grows with the child. You can start out pretty simple and then over the years move on to programs as complex as you want.

 

I would also keep an eye on the First Lego League program in your area. The minimum age is 9 for the robotics teams. I coached a team with six 9 and 10 year olds this year. My 7 year old was on a Jr FLL team this year, which is legos and science and technology without the robotics, and at the same time he learned robotics at home. He will do FLL a year early, in the fall when he is 8, but that's because he's the coach's son. ;-)