Dealing with the Pressure - Southern CO Regional Tournament

There are so many life lessons whenever we endeavor to do another FLL year. This year, it was about how you act when under stress. It's tough to see these pre-teens and teens have to worry about their robot or be stressed out about being judged on their projects. However, what the kids learn about their reactions and how to deal while under a lot of pressure is invaluable.

During the chaos of robots not working, kids not all the way prepared and batteries at the wrong levels, one of the parents said, "Now you guys can win this whole thing, but if you do it and hate each other at the end of the day, it's not worth it." SO TRUE! There was a lot of negative energy throughout the morning of our regional tournament held a few Saturdays ago. Things just weren't going right and it wasn't any one thing that you could easily solve. The kids had to be taken aside and calmed down. They were frustrated, confused, angry and everything in between. What to do? What to do?

Since we're a Christian group of homeschoolers, we prayed together. We didn't pray for a magic formula, we didn't pray for all the other robots to blow up. We just prayed for us to do the best we could and regain some sense of peace during such a hectic day. This was how they got things in perspective. It didn't solve all our problems immediately, but gradually things got better during the day. Attitudes slowly got readjusted, strategies were redeveloped and the team really pulled together and supported one another. Yes, there were problems, but how a kid learns how to deal with them is a lesson much more memorable than what trophy you got. They learned where to go when things get tough!

During their 6th and final robot run, the kids, on their own, huddled up as a team and said one more prayer for the last of the days events. Now I don't know what was said, but that picture alone made me feel so proud of the kids. They knew what really mattered on a day like today. They ended up with their best robot run of the day and it shot them up in the rankings to get the 3rd Place Robot Performance Award. After their run, they Tebowed.

What is Gracious Professionalism?

FIRST made up this phrase "Gracious Professionalism". Their definition is:

It's a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions. Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process.

We went to show our robot and share our project idea at the Cool Science Festival last month. There were hundreds of people coming and going. As they passed, the Maniacs were more than happy to share what they had done with the robot already. Being an educational event, there were plenty of kids. It was no surprise to us when we had kids here and there say they were also a part of another LEGO FLL team. So these kids coming up to our table knew exactly what we were trying to accomplish in terms of the robot game.

I was impressed when our kids talked strategy with them and we all shared our ideas even though these kids would be our competition within the month. This is an example of Gracious Professionalism. The Maniacs were happy to share what they had learned about the robot game. I was proud!

Senior Solutions Season

This was a teambuilding game where the kids had to transport themselves w/o falling off the wood.

We are well into our third year of FLL competitions. The kids are pretty well and knowing what to do nowadays, however we needed a little more focus on our projects. I asked some parents to help me run team building sessions and now they are helping to organize the solution to our project problem.

Big build day. It's always the most exciting day aside from tournaments.

The kids thought of a great idea during our visit to a local nursing home. We were finding all sorts of things we didn't know about getting old. It was so informative how the kids learned about Alzheimer's disease and we were able to meet a number of residents at varying levels of the disease. They were very kind to stop and talk to us. My favorite part was going into the room of a couple who had been married for over 50 years. Due to heart issues, the husband was not allowed to go home after his stint in the hospital. He refused to go to the assisted living facility unless his wife came. Of course she came along too. Their minds were sharp as a tack so it was quite fun listening to them talk to one another.

Happy 80th Birthday LEGO!

It's a terrific milestone. Just for the occasion LEGO created this video that the kids will enjoy. Talk about overcoming adversity. We could learn a few lessons from this family.

Summer Camps 2012 Highlight Photos of the Season

Teaching is one of my passions. Another is photography. I combine both during my LEGO camps. During camp, you'll see me with this camera, a gigantic flash and now a Lightbender that follows you around camp. The kids all complain about the flash, but it's nice when parents get a chance to see what's going on. I love capturing the moments! This is just a sampling of my favorite photos from this summer. I take a couple hundred each session and even at that, I have to spare the families from most of the photos.

What's more fun than watching ant wars with LEGOs?

A day at the races.

LEGOs aren't just limited to boys, but overwhelmingly, the boys are the ones who sign up for the camps. Here are a few brave girls who have taken on the challenge of building.

WOW! Look what it just did!

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Yes, there are winners and losers in my camps. There are lots of races and other competitions. Here's the reaction of someone who won as he holds his car up for show.

Check out the yellow rubber band. This child was trying to give it the all wheel drive effect. Only in the state of Colorado do you need a 4 wheel drive LEGO car.

"I'm just this close to getting the robot to work!"

Thanks for a wonderful Summer 2012 Season. The kids were a joy to have and watching their smiles & excitement, their minds & imagination working, their passion for LEGOs building upon their curiosity for the world around them makes it all worthwhile!