Hi Gina,
I am not in your area, but I wanted to just send out a vote
of encouragement to you that it really is not hard to start a team, if
you wind up not being able to find one to join. You don't need to be an
engineer to be the adult coach. You really are just a facilitator.
Sure, it helps if you know something, but you really don't have to. And
if you are willing to do the administrative stuff to get a team going,
you might find some parents who could help with the programming part. I
started a team four years ago when my son was 8 turning 9 just before
the FLL season began, and they have far exceeded me by now (and did long
ago) in what they can do. They offer workshops around the state for
new coaches every year to teach the basics, which I think get posted on
the VA/DC FLL website. And there are a lot of online tutorial programs
you can do as well. Even just doing the tutorial stuff that comes with
the Mindstorms kit is super helpful.
Here is one tutorial:
http://www.ortop.org/NXT_Tutorial/
You
could let your son do this, and just be there learning alongside him.
There are a lot of other resources online if you just do a search.
There are also robotics camps around the state that area good intro. My
son and his friends did a one-week robotics summer course at Blue Ridge
Community College a couple of times, and that is how they learned the
basic concepts behind programming. Starting a team is lots of fun and
has been a really rewarding experience for our family. Feel free to
email me if you want encouragement or support or have other questions.
Just wanted to say you can do it! :)
best,
Sonya Shaver
Harrisonburg, VA
Hello,
We attended the expo on Saturday hoping to figure out how to get my son (almost 9 years old) in a Lego group, but had no luck. I've been trying for well over a year to find a group that he can join -- with no success. We live just north of Richmond, in Ashland Virginia. My son is crazy for Legos and would like to someday be an engineer. The only Lego club that operates through our school starts with 4th graders. He is a rising 3rd grader. All I keep hearing is to "start your own group," but I am not really capable of that (sorry, I haven't got a clue about building these things) and my husband is bogged down with his job.
Does anyone have any suggestions??
I would really appreciate it!!
Gina Willett
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