Tag: lego

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Upcoming Lego Building Events

My sons and I are super excited as we’re heading to Detroit to support State Championship LOAD Robotics representing Delaware at the Lego FIRST Championship. LOAD is a rookie, all-home-educated team that fought hard in regional and state competitions to earn their place in Detroit. As friends and fellow Lego Maniacs, we are so proud of their accomplishments and hope you consider supporting their fundraising efforts. Without the backing of a school or robotics club, they face additional challenges in funding their registration, travel, and accommodations.

Locally, there are always opportunities to get children (and some adults) in front of a pile of bricks.

The Rachel Kohl Community Library, in Glen Mills, PA, has it’s next Lego Club on Friday, April 19th.

You’ll often find us at Brandywine Hundred Library on Mondays, 3:00-5:00 PM, for their Lego Lounge program. Themes are provided with learning resources, but free building is also encouraged. A relaxed, drop-in atmosphere always produces fun creations.

Hockessin Public Library’s long-running Tuesday Lego Club is where my sons first got a taste for the colorful bricks. From 4:30 to 5:30 PM it’s all about exploring one’s imagination with lots and lots of pieces.

On Wednesdays, head over to Claymont Public Library for their Lego Club, 3:30-4:30 PM. The facilitators are enthusiastic and there are always surprises.

On Friday, May 3rd, at Brandywine Hundred Library there will be a Lego Storytime for ages 3 and up from 10:30-11:15 AM.

Route 9 Library & Innovation Center’s Lego Club happens the first Monday of each month, 6:30-7:30 PM.

My son might be more excited about May the 4th Be With You than his own birthday.
At all Lego​ Stores:

Tantive Make and Take
May 3-6: Come in to your local LEGO Store to build your very own Tantive model then take it home, for free! Registration is on a first come, first served basis and quantities are limited. Registration begins April 15 in stores only. The building event is intended for ages 6+ at store discretion.

Bear Public Library will hold their Lego Club on Saturday, May 18th, 2:00-4:00 PM.

Join Appoquinimink Public Library on the third Tuesday of the month for LEGO construction challenges and free play with LEGO blocks of all shapes and sizes. Next meet: May 21, 6:30-7:30 PM, registration opens April 23rd.

God bless and keep building,
Jason

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Lego Sticker Hack

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

The new Harry Potter Lego sets are very nice looking. They have lots of interesting colors, new elements, and dreadfully large stickers. We’ve always had a tricky relationship with Lego stickers. They’re high-quality and will survive a couple readjustments, but they can be a devil to position just right. Often they’ll also limit the reusability of an element, getting in the way of imaginative free-building.

Some of the stickers for the Great Hall set are attractive and vital to the ambiance of Hogwarts. They’re also huge and an extra challenge to place accurately. A friend suggested I use Windex on the element to allow more movement before committing to a placement.

I applied the spray to a paper towel and then wiped it on the Lego piece. I discovered that you can be liberal in how much you use as the Windex evaporates quickly and doesn’t get too slick while trying to position.

Without the usual quick-adhering of the sticker, I was able to get it just right before smoothing it down. I had much easier success with this method than in the past, but decided to test what it would be like if I had made a mistake after smoothing out. A gentle push with flat-edged metal tweezers brought the edge of the sticker up and caused no damage to it.

I’m very happy with the playability, attractiveness, and complexity of this set. And now I can be happy with how the stickers are placed!

God bless,
Jason

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FIRST Lego League Jr. Sessions 8 and 9

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

These sessions have been the most fun for me. They’re when the grown-ups take a step back and the team digs into the building of their Moon Base. We’ve stretched these sessions out to maximize creativity and allow more time dedicated to experimenting and coding with the motorized portions of the base.

Mapping the layout:

The team broke into two groups and got to building each half of the base.

Session 9 saw several rooms come together.

Greenhouse and Food Storage
Infirmary
Breathing Air Storage, Cleaning, and Delivery System
Cafeteria

The team also had a little fun building, coding, and modifying some motorized components.

Cooling Fan
Serious Coding

Some team members took home the WeDo 2.0 sets to further experiment with the task of bringing some robot-building expertise to our next meeting. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they learn.

God bless,
Jason

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In Defense of Lego

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

In my search for positive parenting resources I couldn’t resist listening to this minimalist approach to managing Lego from Dr. Denaye Barahona. To be sure, we are not minimalists when it comes to Lego. Our biggest projects bring us together and can demand a lot of bricks. However, I felt Dr. Barahona went too far in reducing modern Lego to being a “closed” toy too focused on licensed characters and predetermined builds.

You can hear her podcast episode here:

Our 2017 entry for the Kalmar Nyckel Lego Shipbuilding Contest

Only a few years ago I held a similar nostalgia for when Lego had a much smaller variety of elements and imagination was the key ingredient. I looked at a Lego banana and said, “What else could this be but a banana? How can this foster creativity?” It didn’t take long for me to see that banana put to use as a horn, smile, weapon (as all elements eventually find themselves in the hands of boys), mustache, lever, nose, tongue, or any number of curved objects. 

The Friendliest Minotaur

My sons started playing with Lego at our local libraries. Big, unsorted piles and no instructions. They applied their imaginations with ease and learned to break down their builds after a couple hours. These habits served them well as loving family began to shower us with official sets during birthdays, Christmas, and all types of occasions.

I was wary of the licensed sets with built-in stories and characters. Again, it didn’t take long for my sons to twist, expand, and mash-up the characters and stories. My elder son became masterful at using our wide variety of minifigure parts to create his own heroes and villains or copy them from books and movies. He also recreates his favorite scenes while his younger brother builds endless assortments of wacky beasts and insane vehicles.

Sets rarely stay together for long. Sometimes following the instructions is just to check off a line item and the model is immediately disassembled to access new elements.

The 2018 SS Mary Zerbey Memorial Seasteader, built in honor of the wife and mother we lost weeks earlier.
My son’s free build copy of the Haida Spirit Boat in the Copeland Maritime Center’s Watercraft of the World gallery.

Sorting starts at the model level. The larger the set, the more need there is to categorize the elements and place them roughly into piles. Sorting of larger collections does take parental guidance, but it is worth it when they can access the full breadth of the inventory to fuel their imaginations.

Our Unikitties
A collaborative train project by almost a dozen homeschoolers.

Dr. Barahona claims Lego has become a “closed” toy, to be built and displayed. I assert that this only occurs without a little creative encouragement.

However, I would concede that this is not a pursuit for the minimalist.

The question at 6:00 am: What to build?

God bless,
Jason

p.s. – For his “Mind Body Soul Time” today my elder once again chose Lego building.

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Lego Monthly Mini Build

The Lego Monthly Mini Build gives children, ages 6 to 14, a chance to visit a Lego Store, build a unique model, and take it home for free!

First, you must join the Lego VIP program. It’s also free and offers bonuses on purchases and access to events like these.

Then, you can go to this link and register for the next month’s build starting the 15th of each month.

The process has gotten very easy as you can choose your appointment time within a two-day window, avoiding mad rushes and long lines.

The builds have seasonal themes and often include special elements that are hard to find. 

Our first mini build in 2014. Modifications come quickly.

Not only have I found value in the new, free pieces, but this gives you an opportunity to take your children to a store full of wonderful things to buy…AND NOT BUY ANYTHING. Now, I can stop by the Lego Store with my sons and they don’t have an expectation that we’ll be making a purchase. I’ve found that this habit has been of benefit in many stores as I have set and followed through on expectations.

God bless and happy building,
Jason

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Sessions 4 and 5 with FIRST Lego League Junior

These sessions focused on specific challenges that will be faced by living on the Moon.

Session 4: Water on the Moon

The team tackled questions of finding ice then melting, transporting, filtering, storing, and using the water. Lots of ideas came forward and the team members were able to build their prototypes.

Crush, melt, scan, and pipeline to personal water storage.
Vehicular transport of melted ice (I LOVE the colors).
Storage, transport, and filtration machines.
High-speed distillation during high-speed transport.

Then the team built and programmed two different machines using the Lego WeDo 2.0 system.

“Sweep”
Modified build to automatically unload cargo from shuttle.

Watching them work together, exchange ideas, take turns, and have fun while bringing their creations to life is the most rewarding part of any session for me.

Session 5: Energy on the Moon

How will we get energy for our Moon Base? How will we store it? Use it?

The team had to work hard on their ideas and came up with some great builds.

Guest Coach Sadie brought her own fuel.

The team then built and programmed “Grab.” With each session the builds become more challenging and the team has to advance their assembling and coding skills.

“Grab”
“Grab” modified into a crunching machine. In lieu of Moon ice, a minifigure is crushed.

This week we’ll be taking on more challenges involving life on the Moon and I look forward to sharing our solutions.

God bless,
Jason

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Maximum #Unschool Friday

Registered our FLL Jr. team, Delaware International Moon Mission (yes, D.I.M.M.), for our very first FIRST Expo with Hornet City Robotics; off to a homeschooler-organized tour of Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern, Pennsylvania, this morning; then to family camping to make fire, pitch tents, pick up bugs, find danger, fish, play, hike, get dirty, stay up too late, pick up litter, make friends, cook new things, stack wood, and make more fire.

Education happens everywhere, at all times, if you allow it. Don’t permit society to tell you when, where, nor how your children should learn and when, where, nor how they shouldn’t.

God bless,
Jason

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Minifigure Swap Monday

Rule #1 when visiting a Lego Store: Be kind. Okay, that’s the rule everywhere, but it can really pay off when you treat the staff well. They can give you the dirt on events, new releases, and tricks to maximize your time in the store.

Sending mixed “kindness” vibes.

Minifigure Swap Monday occurs at every Lego Store on the third or fourth Monday of each month. It goes on for the whole day and children 6 to 14 can bring in their own minifigure to trade with the store’s collection of loose figures. For this trade, a “minifigure” is defined by five parts: head, torso, legs, accessory (back piece or something carried by the fig), and hair or head wear.

Figures are traded in-whole and you can often find great additions to your collection (we recently acquired some Harry Potter characters).

Jor-El is not comfortable with magical beings.
You may bring home some madness.

Tip: Don’t bring damaged, dirty, or poor condition figures to trade. Your figures will go into the collection for someone else to find. Your never-played-with, duplicate policewoman might just be the fig someone else is looking for. Again, be kind.

Happy trading,
Jason

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Three Sessions with FIRST Lego League Jr.

(For Inspiration & Respect of Science & Technology) FIRST Lego League Jr. (FLL Jr.) is a structured exploration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts for 6- to 10-year-olds through teamwork, loosely guided creativity, a myriad of online and physical resources, and, of course, Lego elements. Teams tackle a real-world problem and build solutions, including a Show Me poster and programmable robot. The FIRST Core Values: discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and fun, are central to each meeting and provide a strong foundation for positive experiences for all involved.

My sons love Lego, STEM, STEAM, coding, and problem solving, forming an FLL Jr. team seemed the due course. Once registered, FLL sends you the Inspire Set of Lego bricks focused on this year’s challenge (Mission Moon), a Team Meeting Guide for the coaches, Engineering Notebooks for each team member (6), and the Lego Education WeDo 2.0 Core Set.

The Team Meeting Guide spells out activities for each of 12 sessions and makes the planning process amazingly simple. Alternative paths for fewer sessions and extended build opportunities are provided to add a lot of flexibility within the program.

As a hardcore unschooler, I was rather proud of how our team was able to walk into a well organized classroom setting for Session 1.

Within 20 minutes (an appropriate time frame to call up the anticipation) the team is discussing challenges of living on the moon and building solutions. 

Greenhouse
Shooting Range

Living Quarters
Power Plant
Recreational Area
Communication Center

Session 2 involved how we would get to the moon and what we would need to take. Instructions for a rocket ship are included and the team works on what essentials it would carry.

Session 3 is when things start to get fun. The team has to design and build storage for all the things they will need on the moon. There are also instructions with the WeDo set to build their first robot capable of pushing or pulling materials from the rocket ship to storage.

Watching them work together and figure out the programming on their own is an absolute joy.

Pushing Bot
Programming
Testing
Motion Sensor Bot

Come back to see what they come up with in Session 4: Water on the Moon!

God bless,
Jason

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Legoland’s Home School Weeks

Legoland Discovery Center at Plymouth Meeting Mall is a must for any Lego Maniac. Home educators have the benefit of being able to visit attractions like this during quieter hours. In the coming weeks (September 10 – 14 and 17 – 21), Legoland will host their Home School Weeks, providing discounted admission and Educational Workshops at no extra cost.

Legoland offers hours of building, playing, learning, entertaining, and downright fun. The variety of activities (laser dodging, challenge building, race car construction, reflex games, padded play zone, 4-D movie theater, free building, and more) offer children the chance to exercise their energy between sit-down build sessions. 

What-A-Great-Experience Education Workshop


Go with friends or make some there as collaborative building can lead to simple masterpieces like this.

And don’t forget to bring your minifigures for trading! They don’t have to have the 5 components discussed in the Minifigure Swap Monday post, but I still like to take figures that are in good shape as other children may be interested. This is how it works: Every employee has at least one Lego minifigure on his or her name tag and must trade with anyone who asks. It may seem weird to get close enough to see what is there, but they’re used to it. I enjoy this especially as the children get to interact with the employees and often end up in fun conversations. And every once in a while, there’s an enthusiastic trader who has a secret stash of figures they may be willing to trade. Don’t just take your construction worker because you have ten of them, you may want to bring something a little fancier in case you get a chance to find something special.

You will come away with some cool new little guys and there is no limit, so fill those pockets.

Check out the schedule for workshops and plan your trip. Don’t forget some type of home education documentation. They’re not strict, but it’s a good idea to be prepared.

God bless,
Jason