Huge thanks to the folks at the Kalmar Nyckel for sharing these pictures.
Lego Shipbuilding Contest: #30DaysOfArtChallenge
Inspiration and Play: #30DaysOfArtChallenge
While hosting our weekly Lego Unschool Group, the kids needed little direction, so I opened a book on logo design with the idea of playing with three-dimensional branding.
These squids caught my attention, but I wanted more than a collection of creatures.
Three elements came together, almost on their own, and this alien eye cried out for a body and a story.
The eye became a curious and confused scientist. It was observing a world with which it could hardly interact.
Somewhat cruelly, I constructed a scene and story where none of the elements seem to belong. It is an alien world inhabited by beings that do not fit.
The Scientist seems to be asking me for arms or tentacles. I thought about an additional critter or droid to assist.
Something tells me this isn’t the Scientist’s laboratory, but the workplace of another unusual creature.
Perhaps this story requires further exploration.
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More Unschool Macbeth
Shakespeare shows up constantly in our lives.
Lego Shipbuilding Contest Day
And Then Things Got Quiet
For a few glorious minutes, Lego Unschool Club got quiet and the kids entered into a building frenzy.
My son also decided to envision my first tattoo.
Lego Derby
The Zerbeys showed up strong to win multiple awards in the design categories. My younger son won the second-place trophy for all-around best design. I wasn’t sure his bridge design was sturdy enough to make it down the track, but it had respectable times and a judge-pleasing look. I was happy to be so wrong.
My older son started a great idea with a crocodile head, but when he changed his plan, I took over and made it into my own creation to win the adult design award. His own build came in second in his division for design.
Lego Unschool Club is Back!
We’ve had a slow time rebuilding attendance at our Lego Unschool Club. Homeschoolers are busy people and fitting another meet into their schedule can be tough.
With consistency and patience, the club is growing again and we have ideas flying around the work table again.
We’re gearing up for local derby car and shipbuilding contests. The initial creations are inventive and fun.
A Tough One
My sons challenged me with copying a movable piece of Lego art we watched come together on Youtube.
I’m not linking the video yet because it seems to be missing a key instuction. It may be that the omission is intentional as the creator does sell some of his products. If the omission is a mistake, I have reached out and look forward to clarity.
In the meantime, I have spent much of my day trying to solve the problem on my own. As frustrating as it is, I’m starting to better appreciate the complexity of the build.
Unschool Engineering
I watched a lot of problem solving today.
Our Lego Unschool Club met and the challenges ranged from misplaced elements to a young man curious how to build axle assemblies for his race car.
As our guests left, my sons started to experiment with their new Lego Stuntz push bikes.
First, they tried to tow the Knight Bus from Harry Potter. That didn’t work too well, but I notice the Stuntz bike spinning in wide circle. I suggested they attach it to a central fulcrum and see if they could get it to do a circle.
Westen went further and built a track. Now the rapid fire testing of chain type and length, fulcrum height and mechanics, and a number of other variables began.
It wasn’t long before they were fine tuning the setup and mugging for a video.
Another Favorite Day
We restarted and rebranded our Lego Unschool Club today.
Although I offered a variety of Harry Potter sets to explore, unschool principles reign and everyone persued their own interests.
My elder son continued work on his latest stop motion film for his YouTube channel: Z-Boys Creations.
A mother and daughter team tackled one of the older Hogwarts sets.
A young man brought The Lego Christmas Ornaments Book to create a Santa decoration.
One family with younger boys enjoyed our collections of Duplo, comics, and magnetic poetry. And some of the boys went for a walk after their building.
I feel extremely blessed to be able to share the resources that have filled our learning lifestyle. New and familiar faces joined us and I hope to maintain our home as a gathering place for home educating families.
