Friday Summary

There was a LOT in one practice on Friday!

Teams split into groups and discussed the research project.

Team 4984 (led by Sue) decided on a topic (falls) and kids are working on identifying who they will ask to be their senior partner. Kids that haven't yet spoken with someone over 60 about aging related issues need to do so.

Team 4982 (led by Sarah) came away with a list of potential partners to ask, and is working on having questions ready.  To that end, each team member should be working on two questions for their partner (politely worded and respectful) designed to help isolate the most pressing issues that their partner faces.

Both teams will decide on a name in the coming weeks (which will be WAY more fun than those numbers!)  The name can be Lego-related, robot-related or theme related (aging, the specific issue they research or even the name of the partner would be good options here).  Think about it and come in ready to do some brainstorming next Friday.

Teams watched the official 2012 SENIOR SOLUTIONS(SM) Robot Game Video.  This goes through each mission in the robot game and explains them one at a time.  If you still don't quite get the robot or what the kids will do with it, this is a GREAT place to start!

Each child came home with a Mission Map Worksheet, and a description of the mission they chose to work on mapping (from the Complete Challenge Document issued by FIRST).  There's a picture of the table on the front.  They need to draw the path the robot will take to complete the mission and return to base.  There are tips for picking the best route and questions they need to answer on the back.  These worksheets will serve as the foundation for prioritizing and starting to program missions.  So, getting these done and keeping them in the notebook used for FLL (so they come back to practice) is VERY important!

Big thanks to Jo, who go the pieces on the game table for the kids to look at.  If you haven't seen the table yet, here's an idea of what it will look like.

The 2012 Senior Solutions Challenge is out now!

http://firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2012seniorsolutions

We will be going over both the research piece and the robot game on Friday.  Please take a look before then to become familiar with what it contains.  

By this point, each should should have talked to someone they know about aging.  This puts us a step ahead -- it's the first piece of the Project.  If you still need to take care of this, put your thinking caps on and get busy.  

Core values -- Each child has been assigned a core value to track through out the season.  Their first task is to illustrate the core value.  One team has also had the opportunity to set some team building goals working with Ms. Greenelsh on a schedule for team activities.  The other team will be doing this as well.

Challenge Milestones -- On Friday, teams took a first pass at setting goals and timelines for the season.  We will be working toward these and refining them as we progress.  

No practice (and no school) on Monday!

Thank you, Betsey Bent & Nancy Smith-Hunnicut!

On August 27th, Betsey Bent and Nancy Smith-Hunnicut from Mission Hospital's Senior Services Team came out for an interactive training with our teams.  They focused on creating an understanding of how age related conditions impact daily activities.  From picking out an outfit that matches, to typing shoes, to threading a needle and picking the right medications, the kids got some first hand experience with issues that many of us will face as we age.  

Thank you, Ms. Bent and Ms. Smith-Hunicut for so graciously sharing your professional knowledge with our teams!

Also from Friday...

While one team was with Robin, the other broke into small groups for a mini-course in programming the robot.  We went through the software basics, talked about figuring out the wheel diameter (by having the robot draw a line we could measure) and even squeezed in some information on turns.  For anyone who wants a review, these two links would make a great follow up:

• Three most common types of turns -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3hFuVPax-k 
• Move or Motor Block? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX4uhMqVQys&feature=channel&list=UL

Thank you, Robin Morrison!

On Friday, August 24th, Robin Morrison generously shared her time with the kids. Robin is an Occupational Therapist with an obvious passion for helping people -- particularly older people who struggle to continue being successful with the tasks they face in everyday life.  

Robin focused on broadening students ideas of aging and living as an elderly senior.  She led the students in several simulations that reflected the aging process, as well current adaptations/solutions seniors use for greater independence.  In one of the students’ favorite simulations, students were asked to try on ski gloves and try to perform a fine motor task such as buttoning a shirt or counting change.  This illustrated the limitations of arthritis. In another simulations students were asked to pinch their noses while eating a peppermint.  This illustrated the relationship between smell and taste, which are sense that fade with aging. These activities were a great way for students to begin to grapple with real challenges and solutions that affect the elderly, as well as making this year’s FLL challenge a more personal experience.  Robin did a session with each team.

Our teams have long appreciated Robin as a regular volunteer.  We're especially glad to be able to rely on her depth of professional knowledge as the kids pursue their Senior Solutions research this year!

Robot Research Questions

Here are the questions that should have come home with the kids on Monday for their robot research (links on the Helpful - Robot tab).

Turns -- Name the three types of turns, and provide a statement about when each turn is the most effective.

Attachments -- Chose three of the attachments listed on the blog.  Learn about how they work, and develop a real life application for these attachments (can you think of how they would be helpful to someone’s daily life?) 

Chassis -- A Chassis is the base of the robot.  Look at the PDF (page 26-30) and determine the two different types, and list the pro’s and cons of each.  Which Lego pieces are typically needed to build a chassis? 

Light Sensors -- What two types of light can a light sensor detect? Which type of light will we most likely be using in FFL?  On a Calibrated Scale what reading would you expect the color black to give?  White? 

First Practice!

We had a fantastic first practice today!

• We had the kids work through a team building exercise (put a towel on the floor and have them show you what they did). 
• We talked about core values, and each team member got a core value that they will help to keep track of throughout the season.  They need to find a way to illustrate the core value (drawing, picture, etc.).  We'll look at these on Monday.
• We started building the table pieces.
• We took a look at the mat and and some different robot builds. 
• We talked about different items to consider for the robot and the mission, and each team member came home with one to investigate before Friday (links are on the Helpful-Robot tab). 

 Team 4894:

Patrick	Attachments	We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do.
Sebastian	Attachments	We share our experiences with others.
Emma	Chassis/Body	What we discover is more important than what we win
Aaron	Chassis/Body	We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
Alex	Light Sensor	We are a team.
Lilith	Light Sensor	We have FUN!
Mo	Turns	We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
Pascale	Turns	We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do.

Team 4892:

Blake	Attachments	We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
Ellie	Attachments	We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do.
Justin	Chassis/Body	We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
Jacob	Chassis/Body	We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
Anna	Light Sensor	We share our experiences with others.
Henry	Light Sensor	We have FUN!
Dominique	Turns	What we discover is more important than what we win
Sam	Turns	We are a team.

Don't worry, we'll have better names for the teams in the near future!  Team identity is one of those things the kids will work on together. 

Additionally, some kids took a bag with a game piece that needs to be built home.  If you didn't get one and want one, or if you want another one, let us know!

Anna – Pets for Help

Ellie – Table

Jacob – shopping

Blake – stove

Lillith/Alex – strength exercise

Thanks to everyone who brought in contracts and registration payments!  If you haven't please try to get those in on Friday!