UNBELIEVABLE

So, my kids' robotics team, the Solar Dragons, went to the regional tournament last weekend. I knew that they were very well prepared, their robot was solid, they had put in a lot of time perfecting their programs, their runs on the challenge table, their research project and presentation, and I knew that they were operating as an exceptional team with respect for each other and for the other teams. What I didn't even imagine in my wildest dreams is that they would WIN THE WHOLE TOURNAMENT! Yep, that's it. They really did it!

First of all, their runs on the robot table went very well. They practiced their approach so many times that there was no fumbling or nervousness at the table, just a smooth running of all the things they needed to do (remove and replace attachments, add cargo, aim robot, select program, run robot). They had decided that they would all run their programs at the table, but according to Lego competition rules, only two of them could be at the table at any given time, so they took a tag-team approach. They helped each other out, and as each kid was done with their turn, they tagged the next.

They also faced three panels of judges. One teamwork panel that asked them questions about how they worked as a team (my favorite moments, when they asked things like "who is your team leader" and the kids said "we operate by consensus", LOL.) One panel was technical judging, where they had the kids run their programs and asked them about their programs and robot design, and a third panel evaluated their research project (they had five minutes to do a presentation, and another five minutes of Q&A - they actually knew their stuff so well, the panel ran out of questions to ask them!). When we saw the research projects of some of the other groups of kids, I knew that our kids would do really well. Many kids from school teams had used their classrooms or part of their school building for the energy audit. While this was probably technically admissible, I think the real goal from Lego FIRST League in setting this as a project for this year was to get the kids out and interacting with the community. Since our team really did choose a big and complex public building to audit, and researched extensively on alternative energy solutions, I knew they'd wow the judges (and they did!).

I am proudest of the fact that they scored a perfect 100 on teamwork. I know they're a great group of kids and they have worked so well together and have had so much fun together, it really showed. Whenever they've made a team decision, it has almost always been unamimous. I think it also really speaks volumes that we have two pairs of siblings on the team (not always the easiest to work with your own family members!) and that the kids come from different educational venues (two different schools plus some homeschoolers). They also got the highest score on their research presentation, something they've put so much time and effort into (see my previous post for a description of what they did). The got the 2nd highest score on the robot table as well, garnering 195 points with their seven mission programs.

So without further ado, here's some pics of these magnificent kids in action!

Here's the table setup in the main competition hall. Two teams compete against each other in timed table runs.



Their first run at the table, Claire and Asa work together to send the robot out on a mission to plant trees.



Time for their technical presentation. Whoops, I forgot to bring the folder with printouts of their programming. Good thing I'm a trained runner!




Waiting for their turn.



Mackenzie and Daniel get the power lines in place, the rest of the team waits behind for their turn to be tagged.




Waiting outside the presentation judging room. It was cold enough to snow and the poor kids were shivering. They're holding the photos for their research presentation.




Presenting to the panel of judges.



We were all so impressed with this kid, Thomas. His entire team backed out, but he came and competed all by himself!



We can't believe it, we won the whole thing!

Lego Robotics!

I've probably mentioned it somewhere in the last couple of months, but I'm coaching the kids' Lego Robotics team for the first time this year. Last year, they had a great time with the months of teamwork and then the big competition (which is really for fun, not seriously competitive for them).
Their coach from last year moved away, so I took it on this year and that certainly has made me appreciate all of the work the coach did last year! I've been meaning to write about it for awhile but... I've been too busy!

All in all, the Lego FIRST League competitions are an excellent experience. They stress teamwork, "gracious professionalism", honoring the process over the end-product, and having the kids do all the work. So the coach literally can't even make a suggestion as to how they should do something (which is very hard for this engineering brain of mine to keep in mind!)

Our team has six kids, ages 8 to 14. Two girls and six boys. I am constantly impressed by their abilities to work hard as a team, put in a ton of effort, and come up with creative solutions. The robotics challenge this year was exceedingly difficult - an order of magnitude more complex than last years'. On top of that, the kids had to select a public building and perform a utility audit of the building, then research alternative energies and make suggestions on how the building could become more energy-efficient. In addition, they need to present this information in a public forum. They'll be doing that today with a presentation at our public library.

Next week we will go to our competition. They'll have three tries with their robot on the challenge table, they'll present their research project to a panel of judges, face another panel for technical judging, and a third panel for teamwork judging. I have faith that they will all do a terrific job, but I'm not sure if I will survive the day without an anxiety attack. My to-do list to get ready for this event reads about as long as the one before my wedding day (without having to make 500 hors d'oevres however). I have to have robots, spare parts, batteries, cables, connectors, presentation materials, kids, t-shirts, paperwork, parents, folders, nametags, sack lunches, and probably a million other things all in the right places. I remind myself, that just like when I do a triathlon (which is also an equipment-heavy event with complicated timing) that it will all be fun and totally worth it once its underway. Wish us luck!

Unexpected Gifts

One thing I like the most about life with children is the unexpected moments when you come upon some scene and just laugh out loud. Don't get me wrong, when you want to take a bath it can sometimes be frustrating to have to remove an entire herd of horses from your bathtub! But at the same time, you have to smile and think to yourself that even in just a few years the horses will be relegated to a shelf at best, a box or Goodwill at worst and their days of galloping around the rim of the tub will be all in the past.

And who will tuck the potholders into bed at night when my little ones are grown?

More Kitten Pics

Smokey:

Asa and Bandit:

Kittens Aplenty, Kittens Galore

By popular demand, here's a bunch of pictures of the kittens I've taken over the last month or so. We're trying to find a good home for some of them. Here they are in all their cuteness!

Garfield, who has also been knicknamed "Mr. Trouble"
Smokey and Bandit waking up from a catnap...

Garfield and Ginger with the kittens' favorite toy monkey

One of my favorites, I love the expression I caught on Smokey's face as she and Bandit were playing!

We rolled up the carpet so the kittens couldn't ruin it when they were small. But they've taken to climbing up and sleeping all the way up near the ceiling!

It's the getting down that's the hard part though...

Mr. Garfield: "Who me? Try to eat your socks?"

Bandit's favorite piece of string

Looking fierce here, but he's really nursing here.

Smokey the curious investigating the underside of the piano bench

Ginger: "I'm a little tied up at the moment"

Ginger" Do I blend in with these striped pajamas?"

Bandit, practicing his black panther impression

The last photo I managed to take of them nursing. I think mama cat has weaned them now.

Celebrating The Halloween Season

Halloween isn't just an event for my kids, it's a season. So the last week or so has been filled with trips to a couple of different pumpkin patches, hayrides, Halloween parties, picking out and creating costumes, carving pumpkins, and of course the big night last night. It reminds me of why holidays exist in the first place - to mark a season, to have a sense of the year turning 'round again, to create family rituals and moments, to let free our creative spirits, to remember the joys of being truly childlike and imaginative, and of course to have fun and eat candy!

So without further ado, here's our photographic tour through the Halloween season...

Stop #1: On a family bike ride, we stopped by the harvest festival thrown by the one of the "city farms" - big community gardens. They were pressing cider, had a blacksmith shop, worm bins and composting, and of course pumpkins!




















Then later that week, it's on to one of the bigger pumpkin patches just out of town, to feed the goats and get some bigger pumpkins...



















Except that their hay ride was taken over by busloads of school kids on field trips... (and I always wonder when I see this, how our school districts can complain about class sizes and not having enough money to buy books, but I digress...). Bottom line, we couldn't even get on the a hayride to get a pumpkin! So we headed to a different pumpkin patch the next day. This one was fun because "Crazy Walt" gives the hayrides, and he sets up pumpkins on top of scarecrows and all the kids go pick tons of tiny pmpkins to use as ammo, so as Walt crazily drives the tractor, the kids are trying to knock the pumpkins off of the scarecrows. It was really fun!

























And of course the hay fort!

























Then it's pumpkin carving with crazy dad, not to mention the curious kittens...






















And last but definitely not least... costumes and The Big Night...

Eight Years of Asa

She's been a dynamo since Day One. Well, really from Day Zero as I know when I was carrying her that this was one active little child. I wrote in her journal at six months that she loved animals and music and was already clapping rythms. In looking back through eight years of photographs, the patterns were clear. She's almost always with someone, finding pictures of her by herself are rare. In so many, she's accompanied by her big brother - what a blessing to have him! In others she's with friends and family. If she's not with another person, she's with an animal - there are photos of her with newts, snails, frogs, chickens, lizards, turtles, horses, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits.... the list goes on. And if none of the above is true, she's playing music or dancing. She's eight years old now - still a whirlwind of music and dance and movement and love for people and animals. Happy Birthday to my peach!

Things That Make You Go Ahhhhhhhhhh

This morning, my daughter was feeling a little bit sick. I came upstairs to find that Mackenzie had installed her in a nest of pillows surrounded by his favorite stuffed animals, using his Nintendo DS. He had brought her a stack of magazines, and then came downstairs to prepare breakfast and bring it up to her. Now she's in his room and he's letting her use his Gamecube and has found her favorite movies for her to watch.


Awwwwwwwwwww.....

It's Okay To Be Smart!

On long journeys, my kids like to play something they call "The History Game", where we ask each other questions from history - could be dinosaurs or the Civil War - and it's always a fun conversation. So at a museum gift shop last week I bought a box of History Quiz cards for each of the fifty U.S. states. I thought it would be fun to introduce some facts that maybe none of us know. It probably speaks to the fact that I came out of a schooled environment that I didn't even notice the slogan across the top of the box said in bold letters "It's Okay to Be Smart!" It was my kids who asked me what the heck that was supposed to mean. They were baffled. Of course it's okay to be smart, isn't it? Why would someone state that?

It's sometimes difficult to explain to them the mindset that comes out of schooling. The competitiveness, set up by grading and calling on students for answers that pervades everything. By the end of the first week of any class, everyone knows who the "smart kids" are. It's even harder to explain the need for those kids to not want to stand out from the crowd, to try and dumb themselves down a bit just to fit in better and not get picked on as much. Who wants to be the "know-it-all", "nerd", or "geek" when you could be "cool" or "popular" instead? This also comes up when we watch mainstream movies. If the movie has kids in it, there's almost always a scene of some sort of teasing or bullying at school. We just watched the wonderful "Bridge to Terabithia" which we all loved. But when I was a kid reading the book I don't even remember the scenes of the bully at school, yet to my kids they really stand out, and seem strange. It's not a part of their universe and never has been, so they don't understand why people always act that way in movies and books. Yet it's so endemic in our culture that I don't think most people even notice how pervasive it is. Like the slogan on the box of history cards, which didn't even register with me. I've ceased to notice how absurd such statements really are. Thank heavens my kids haven't!

What I've Got To Say About Unschooling

Well, I have a lot to say about unschooling. About how it works, what it's like on a day-to-day basis, how it lets me connect with my kids in amazing ways, expands my own universe, sometimes blows my mind. I think of these great posts I could be writing about it, but these days we're just too caught up in the day to day living of unschooling for me to have much time left over to type anything up.

For the next two months especially, I won't have all that much time to be writing about it. You see, the kids asked me to coach their Lego Robotics team this year. You know, I have to say it feels pretty damned good to hear your (11 year old) kid excitedly telling his friends on the phone "Yeah, and my mom's going to coach the team, isn't that cool?". Wow, that just makes my day. But it's a big thing to bite off - I essentially have eight weeks or about 16 practices to help 7 kids ranging from 8 - 14 years old to come together to create a robot, program it to perform 10 complex tasks in under 3 minutes, create a research project, document it, present it to the community, and get ready to enter the robotics competition. So far, the team has been great. I absolutely love this age of kids - one minute they are all seriousness, and so focused on creating their robot, debating the merits of this or that kind of attachment or part. The next minute, they're playing on the trampoline in some sort of incredibly imaginative game. They're so full of energy and creativity. I'm really lucky to get to be a part of it all.

What My Kids Have To Say About Unschooling

Asa: "I love my life!"
Mackenzie: "Unschooling is the greatest thing on earth. Well, maybe except for hippos."