So You've Started a First LEGO League Team... Now What?

In my previous article, I wrote about what to consider when starting a First LEGO League Team. Since then, our inaugural season has gotten underway, and we’re learning so much about the sport! From what resources we need to what exactly an FLL team meeting is.

While there have been some learning moments, the most important observation is that the kids are actually using LEGO to build robots, work as a team, and learn real science. As I prep for this week’s meeting, I wanted to share some of what we learned to help anyone else who might be thinking about starting a team.

LEGO League Logistics

All of my initial questions were logistical. How often do we meet? Where do we meet? And, most importantly, what exactly am I going to have these kids do each week? This was my first coaching experience, and I have no functional coding abilities.

You don’t necessarily need a formal meeting space—many teams meet in family garages—but we worked with the school district’s robotic club to secure a room. This makes it a lot easier to hang posters, store extra supplies, and spread out a little bit. Although, as you can see in the picture below, they can’t spread out that much.

It’s a tiny concrete hole with no windows, but it’s our tiny concrete hole with no windows

Since we’re adjacent to the the High School’s FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) space, during competition season we get to watch that team work on their robotics which is always exciting. At that level, they’re meeting many times a week to work on their robot. For FLL at the Challenge level, successful teams meet twice a week. We find that at the Explore tier, meeting once a week is more our speed. Each week, my son and I get there a little early and get out our Spike Robotics Kit, our game board, and our season model.

We registered for our season earlier this year and received our gameboard and season model in early September. One of the first things the kids did was build the above model. It’s hard to tell in the picture but it has hidden elements and play features that connect with the weekly lessons. It also needs to stay mostly intact throughout the season as things get added to it later.

The weekly lessons come from the Team Meeting Guide that also comes with registration, along with engineering notebooks for the kids. The season is broken down into 10 sessions, with each session laid out with goals, leading questions, and tips on how to run the activity. While prep work is still needed each week, this guide significantly cuts down on how long it takes to get ready.

via https://www.firstinspires.org/

At this point, I only need to spend about an hour with the guide before a meeting. As a coach, I know the kids better than the team meeting guide, so I also make a few changes to how we do the activities to accommodate different attention spans and personalities.

Clearing the Air on Coding

Many parents have told me that they’d love to start a team but they don’t know anything about robotics or coding, so I want to take a moment to express something. When it comes to FLL Explore, when you think of coding, I need you to think about shapes and colors, about putting the square block into the square hole. There is no Matrix-like coding here, no thousands of lines, no hackers or flying green symbols on the screen.

The LEGO Education SPIKE app uses a drag-and-drop block system, more visual puzzle than programming language. The kids have a menu of blocks, and they pick the one they want. Certain blocks fit together to perform actions. It is code in the sense that it is causing the robot to do intended actions based on the symbols they’ve chosen.

via legoeducation.com

It comes with a training system that shows both the adults and the kids how to use it. I spent an afternoon with it and felt confident enough for our first session. The symbols make it easier to find what you’re looking for, as opposed to having to memorize bits of code. If you want the motor to change directions, you can click the direction button. If you want to slow the motor down, there’s an easy place to input the speed.

Is there a learning curve? Yes, naturally. But after four sessions, the kids know more about how the program works than I do. Every time they get stuck and solve the problem, their confidence in both robotics and themselves grows.

What Makes a Good FLL Team?

We can cover a surprising amount of ground each session, so starting on time really matters. But, with the amount of activities modern families have, getting to a weekly meeting on time can be a challenge for any family—and we’re understanding. When finding other families to start a team with, parental involvement is a key deciding factor. The other parents I work with are good communicators and understand the commitment FLL requires, and it makes everything easier.

When forming this team, we had a ton of interest from parents in the district. STEM? LEGO? Team? What’s not to love! But we had to let a number of people know that FLL isn’t just a club or an enrichment activity. FLL is a team, and as we discuss in FLL, these kids have a responsibility to their team to show up each week and be ready to “play.” Letting other families know this up front helps narrow down potential team members.

As a person who struggles with anxiety, I wasn’t sure I was the right person to coach this team. And even now, as I prep for this week’s meeting, I’m still not sure. But watching five kids work together to design, build, and code a working robot is such a thrill that I keep coming back each week, and I encourage you to consider it as well. If you’re considering this adventure, feel free to email me or leave a comment below. See you on the game board!

How have you learned to interact with your FLL team? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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