http://www.educatenxt.com/
Here is a link to a very affordable ($55) curriculum. I bought this after we
had finished our first year of competition, and was so sad I didn't know
about
it before hand. Yes, you can hobble together some great materials on line!
But
if you don't know what you're doing- as in you've never used the materials
and
aren't familiar teaching this programming- this program is simple enough,
clearly explained and step by step enough to work you through the process.
My
only complaint is that it includes a ton of worksheet for the kids, but the
disc
is a power point presentation not the handouts, so I spent a bit of time
copying
papers for the my kids. I finally learned what we really needed and what we
didn't so I was able to stop copying entire chapters. Small learning curve
:)
I also have the $75 (for individuals, $260 for schools) Carnegie Mellon
Robot
Engineering program, and I still use lessons from the Educate NXT. I loved
the
videos of the C.M. program, and we watched them twice so the kids really get
what we're doing, but I really liked the flow and highly interactive,
mini-challenge design of E.N. Personally, I think the two programs together
make a superb program.

When we met for programming lessons with my group, we met for 2 hours, twice
a month. February thru late May. When we got the mat, we went right to work
on
figuring out what design of robot would be best for this challenge board.

Another area you can practice starting now is the core value area, where
the kids gain insight into how they can best communicate with each other
and work together with the upmost respect.  I do think kids (and some
adults) have a lot to be taught, or practiced is probably the better word,
in this area.   You can practice this event by given them any simple to
complex tasks that attempt to solve in 5 minutes.
Here's a page that can give you some ideas-
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze2z83j/ic/id1.html
You have to download the challenges, but they are virus free and chuck full
of great challenges to try with your team.
The most important part to remember is that the challenge itself doens't
matter, it's how they worked together.  Debrief your team after each
exercise-
Was there a clear leader in the group? (let them know it's fine to have a
leader, some kids strength will rise to the top when they feel they can
excel at a challenge, but all team members should feel heard and respected.)
Did everyone feel they had a part to play in the challenge?
Did anyone feel they contributed to the solution?  If not, how can help our
teammates feel free to speak up? Or how can you help your teammates hear
your ideas?
What would you do differently if you could do it again?

We switch off competing in small groups and doing them as a whole group.

We practice productive communication- no blaming or focusing on the
negative. Everything is phrased as a positive as much as possible.  You
don't have to do many of these before your team starts to get a little
better at talking to each other and making sure everyone feels involved.
My kids practice different jobs- one person is the time keeper of the
activity, one person is the rule keeper- (what was the task at hand?), one
person is the idea elicitor- they need to make sure everyone spoke up about
their idea, or ask, "does any one have any other ideas?" Before the group
proceeds to the creation of the task, and each person is responsible for
sharing or thanking another team member for putting their idea out there.
After a while, it becomes habit and they will do it in the instant
challenges without being reminded as well as in the regular meeting times.
:)
  They also learn to talk to each other in a way that helps get more
responses from each other.  My team regularly says, "That's one good idea.
Are there any others?" or, "Can we consider x, y, z idea?" as a way to
introduce ideas without putting your teammate's idea down.  I saw how my
new members this year came to these practice challenges and my old team
members who had practiced these skills were clearly more diplomatic, helped
the entire group work together better and generated more success at the
tasks compared than the newer members. So I do think there is something to
be said for practicing core values. Not to mention, this is a life skill
that can really help people throughout their lives.

I absolutely love FLL! Have fun.
Regards,
Brandy

On Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 9:21 PM, Jeff Lavezzo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi folks,
> I'm totally new to mindstorms and am looking for a FLL group in
> Charlottesville for my 12 yr old daughter.  I'm a software engineer and am
> glad to help with the team. Additionally, my company will sponsor a FLL
> team if I'm involved.
>
> I think there are at least 1 other parent and 12 yr old daughter that I
> know who would join up and at most 2 other parents and three 11-12 yr old
> boys who would join.
>
> Anyone know of FLL teams in Charlottesville?
>
> Thanks
>
> Jeff Lavezzo
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