Friday, October 10, 2008

FIRST LEGO LEAGUE: The Unofficial guide: Book Review and Giveaway

Nathaniel loves building with LEGO sets, and I think it would be really great if he could be in a club of creative LEGO builders and be in competitions. He is very inventive and creative. I was very excited to review the book: "FIRST LEGO LEAGUE: the unofficial guide," because this guide has very helpful information on how to start, lead, and have a successful F.I.R.S.T LEGO League (FLL) robotics program. I think that Nathaniel would really get into building ROBOTS.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international program for kids ages 9 to 14 that combines a hands-on, interactive robotics program and research presentation with a sports-like atmosphere. It's a kind of geek Olympics for about 100,000 kids every year—a sporting event and science fair in one. There is so much to know and so many logistics with running a LEGO League, and this guide is a great tool to help you get started, and keep it going. This is not meant to be a simple competition, and fielding a team requires some serious management and plenty of work. FIRST LEGO League: The Unofficial Guide (No Starch Press, August 2008, 264 pp, ISBN 9781593271855) is the first book to offer FLL participants some guidance as they field their teams. Current and aspiring FLL participants, coaches, and teachers will find advice on how to become better competitors, builders, researchers, and team members, and they'll learn how to start and manage a team in a program that can be tricky to navigate, especially for newbies.
FIRST LEGO League: The Unofficial Guide offers in-depth coverage of topics that both rookie and experienced teams will find useful, like team formation and organization; robot building and programming; and the complex structure of the FLL competition, including the Robot Game, Technical Interview, Project, and Teamwork. Using a combination of real-life stories and candid commentary from actual FLL teams, as well as recollections of their own experiences, the authors offer an abundance of helpful guidance and dependable building and programming examples.
Readers learn how to:
*Organize, recruit, and manage a team
*Find equipment, mentors, and funding
*Design, build, and program winning robots
*Tackle each of the four FLL components—from Robot Game to Teamwork
*Use strategies and techniques from FLL masters to increase their scores
About the Authors
James Floyd Kelly has participated in numerous FLL tournaments as both a referee and a technical judge. In 2006, he founded The NXT STEP blog, widely considered the top LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT resource on the Web. Kelly is the author of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: The Mayan Adventure and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide (Apress) and a co-author of The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Idea Book (No Starch).
Jonathan Daudelin has been competing in FLL since age 13. In 2007, his team won the First Place Robot Performance and First Place Innovative Robot awards at the World Festival after their robot achieved perfect scores in all three rounds. He is a contributor to The NXT STEP blog and a co-author of The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Idea Book and The NXT Robotics Competition Workbook (self-published).
Would you like to win a copy of the FIRST LEGO LEAGUE: the unofficial guide book? This contest is open to all readers living in the Continental United States. To enter the contest, what activities or programs do your kids enjoy? OR~ who would you give this book to? Click here to see how you can earn extra credits to win, and click here to see guidelines and the official rules. Contest will end on October 23RD, at 7:00 PM CST.

35 comments:

Sara's Goodies said...

Our older son's favorite activity is anything involving video games. Younger one (not born yet) just enjoys kicking me a lot! The book would be for both of them - maybe big brother can take a break from the computer screen to read to the baby :)

Sara's Goodies said...

Also I'm subscribed to your RSS feed - that's how I found this giveaway :) Thanks!

MOMFOREVERANDEVER said...

well my kids love legos and love to build and create then blow and run it over- but they are kids..
they love team games on the internet and lover reading...

MOMFOREVERANDEVER said...

subscribed to your rss feed

Gretchen said...

My son loves legos, especially when he uses them to build bridges and cities. He is a major video gamer, too.

Daughter well ... she's 16 and just likes to be moody most of the time. I keep telling myself, she'll grow out of it. She'll grow out of it!

Gretchen said...

I'm subscribed, too

Gretchen said...

Have your button on my page. :)

Stacey Moore said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stacey Moore said...

ethan would love this!

thanks!
moore.g@insideconnect.net

Stacey Moore said...

blogged you at:
http://www.prizeatron.com/2008/10/contests-for-october-12th.html
thanks!
moore.g@insideconnect.net

Stacey Moore said...

we have your button!

thanks!
moore.g@insideconnect.net

Elizabeth said...

My son loves legos. He has just gotten into the regular sized ones. He loves making things with wheels (airplanes, lawn mowers, cars, etc.) My daughter, on the other hand, loves dress up and dolls and playing kitchen.

Anonymous said...

At this very moment there are Legos from one end of my living room to the other. Maybe a guide would help.

We also enjoy reading books and riding bikes.

Anonymous said...

I also posted this giveaway at MomGiveaways.com.

The Saunders Family said...

this would be great for my nephew...we got him into legos several years ago and he loves everything LEGO!
mom2maria at hotmail dot com

Anonymous said...

My son is 6 and LOVES his Legos. He's been asking for a while now if I can help him build a "real robot" and maybe using Lego is the way to go. Thanks!

Abby said...

I would give this book to my son who enjoys football, reading and gaming.

ajcmeyer AT go DOT com

Betsy said...

I would give this book to my son. He would love it!

Betsy said...

I am a subscriber.

Renee said...

I would give this book to my nephew. He is a Lego maniac. He take Lego Robotics classes in school and kids college. He would love it.
Thanks
chefskate at aol dot com

Anonymous said...

This sounds odd, but I would give this book to my ex-husband for Christmas. He and my 7 year old son always play legos together.
maquel@emmiekate.com

DVZ said...

Hi everyone, some good ideas before me -- but I'll be a bit different and pledge to give this to one of my assistant coaches. You see, for two years I have tried to connect with the local public school (which usually fields five or six teams). I was even invited to coach, but the principal overrode the invitation. My tax dollars at work, I guess!

As an engaged, homeschooling dad it was a logical next step to just start a team with friends from our HS group. Word got around to a couple of mailing lists, and with the generous support of the public school head coach, my wife and I have seeded two additional FLL teams, and three more for the Juniors.

Oh, and in my spare time we're selling Cub Scout popcorn....

The regional and state tournaments in your area will need volunteers (usually a weekend in December or January) -- it's a great way to become introduced to the FLL program. Around 130,000 students are participating this year.

Lastly, homeschooling parents can start teams for about $100 a participant -- roughly average for the local student participation feeds, at least here in Dayton. If you are interested, see usfirst.org. Post a follow-up comment and I'll get your email.

destee said...

A lady I work with has a son who is very much into legos. He gave my son some of his Thomas the Train stuff since he grew out of it. I'd love this book for him, to show our appreciation.

judybrittle said...

My grandson would love this. He loves building things. Thank you!

judybrittle said...

I'm subscribed

Julie Donahue said...

This looks like so much fun! My 10 (almost 11 ) year old loves to build things and he loves science. His favorite show is MythBusters. He would enjoy this!

Julie Donahue said...

This looks like so much fun! My 10 (almost 11 ) year old loves to build things and he loves science. His favorite show is MythBusters. He would enjoy this!

Julie Donahue said...

I have your button on my blog.

windycindy said...

Hello! What a wonderful gift idea! My youngest son has been a "Lego Maniac" since he was two years old. He has been able to put Lego sets together without instructions for a very long time. He would definitely enjoy this book. I also have a nephew who could enjoy it after my son. Please enter me in your drawing. Many thanks.....Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

petteytiffany@yahoo.com said...

subscribed via google reader

petteytiffany@yahoo.com said...

he is a lego freak and hes 4
petteytiffany@yahoo.com

Brooke said...

I would donate this book to my kids' school library. There are so many lego robotics fans there. It would be really popular. My oldest daughter is still a little young for lego robotics. She's more into kitchen play, but soon!

Rockin' Mama said...

My son loves to read! We could read all day! He loves his building blocks too

jasonncaryn at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

The book would be for me.

Audrey B said...

My boys are just getting to lego age, but my nephews are the perfect contenders for the lego league. They are in middle school and so creative, I remember being surprised that they wanted some special lego kits last year for Xmas and amazed the more I see how creative you can be. I think they would love the book (they are twins)