Building the practice table

The instructions for the practice table are very simple. The materials list:

• One (1) sheet of plywood 4 feet x 8 feet x 1/2 inch
• Six (6) boards 2 inches x 4 inches x 8 feet. Actually, the instructions called for 2x3s, but it was written give or takes 1/2 inch. I happen to know that 2x4 is only 3 1/2 inches wide, so I thought that is what they meant, but they felt the need to be more explicit as they are engineers, and their audience is international. I since learned that no, they really would prefer you to buy 3 inch boards if you can find them. I wish I had tried. My table wouldn't be so heavy.
• black paint
• wood screws
• saw horses

I already have a pair of saw horses and several boxes of wood screws left over from past projects. The table went together without much trouble. My challenge was that I wanted to store it out of the way between meetings, so that my husband could still park his truck in the garage. I came up with a system of pulleys which seem to be working, but it took a little trial and error.

My first configuration did not work.

Too heavy.

My second configuration did not work.

The table did not lift straight up.

The troop chose a crest

The troop finally chose their crest last night. Previously they had attempted to choose a crest at spring camp, but the conversation became contentious. In retrospect it may have seemed to have a lot to do with the fact that they had not slept well for two nights in a row, but two camps formed. A few girls REALLy wanted the unicorn (beauty) and a few girls REALLY wanted the honeybee (hard work).

Wisely, our troop leader decided to table the discussion for awhile. Tonight she presented them will a list of attributes that each crest stands for, and they debated that instead. It came down to two camps again, though. A few girls voted for friendship (lei) and a few girls voted for strength (crane). Since there were only five girls at the meeting, there wasn't a tie, so the winner was: friendship (the lei).

I think this is the perfect crest for our troop. Without our friends: what's the point. It was my daughter Samantha that campaigned the hardest for strength, and I can understand why. She takes a lot of pride in her personal strength, but I think the lei better represents the troop. :)

Robotics links and references

Here is a list of useful facts and links related to the robotics team. I am creating this page as a reference for myself, my team and the Internet community. Please let me know if you find anything useful.

• Core Values: The FLL Core Values are among the elements that distinguish FLL from other programs of its kind. By embracing the Core Values, participants learn that friendly competition and mutual gain are not separate goals, and that helping one another is the foundation of teamwork.
  1. We are a team.
  2. We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
  3. We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
  4. We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
  5. What we discover is more important than what we win.
  6. We share our experiences with others.
  7. We display gracious professionalism and cooperation in everything we do.
  8. We have FUN!
• FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology is an is an organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen in New Hampshire to develop ways to inspire students in engineering and technology fields. The organization is the foundation for the FIRST LEGO League and other competitions. Click here to read the Wikipedia article.
• FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students. Click here to read the Wikipedia article.
  
• The NXT Step: Lego Mindstorms NXT Blog.
• NXT Multi-Bot: I found this link on another blog, and the girls might find it useful in designing their robot, so I'm copying it here, so I don't loose track of it.
• ORTOP: Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program is the organization responsible for organizing our local tournaments and training our local coaches.
  
• Senior Solutions (2012): this year's challenge is themed to finding solutions for seniors who have limited mobility or other issues. Click here to see a video of Scott Evans, robot game designer and engineer, describing the missions in the robot game.
  

What are your favorite robotics links and reference pages?

We got our team number

I received an email today with our team number. We have been registered as

Team 14579 : Scappoose Girl Scouts

The start of the robotics team

A few weeks ago I realized that my daughter was about to turn 10 which meant that it was time to buy her a Lego Mindstorms NXT set. I've been eyeing these sets in the Lego store for years, waiting for my daughter to turn ten so that I could buy it for her. These sets retail for about $250. It's easily the most expensive box in the store. They look to me like great fun, and I hoped that it would inspire her to pursue a career in engineering.

Then all at once, I sort of had a brain storm. I knew about First Lego League, and I sort of knew that there was a team nearby. I decided to look into getting her on a team because at this age everything is more fun with friends than it is with you mom. I couldn't find a team for her, but I did find that the Girl Scouts were promoting the idea of starting teams in troops.

I love the girls in my daughter's troop, so I started looking into the possibility of starting our own team in our own troop. Then I realized how expensive it would be. It costs a lot more to start a team than it does to buy a robot at the Lego store. The Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit at the Lego store now retails for $280, but the robot kit required for a FIRST Lego League team costs $420. Then its another $225 to register the team nationally, $74 for local registration, $75 for a field kit, about ~$50 shipping and handling and finally another ~$75 for the lumber to build a competition table. All together it costs about ~$900 to start a team.

That was well beyond my abilities, so I started looking into ways of raising the funds through participation fees, fundraiser or corporate sponsors. I spoke with my daughters troop leader, and we decided that we just didn't have time. We would have to put this on the calendar for next year. :(

Then, out of the blue, my daughter's troop leader received an email from the Callie Vandewiele, Program Specialist, Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington about some grant money that hey had to start a team, and they just needed a coach! Well, I jumped right on that and we got all signed up with Cathy Swider, Project Administrator, Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program. I am going for my all-day training on 09/22/2012.

I'm very excited and I decided to start this blog to chronicle our adventures.

How did your team get started?

Samantha's fifth year of Girl Scouting

As Samantha enters the fourth grade, she begins her fifth year of Girl Scouting. She is a junior this year. They wear green vests. She got all her books last spring, and I have been home with her all summer, so I helped her earn her first journey and three badges (geocaching, independence and jeweler).

The journey that we worked on was all about energy conservation. We made recycled paper. We did an energy audit of our home, and we organized a bicycle train to school with the girls in our neighborhood. Journey's are hard, but they are worth the effort. They are fun, mostly. My only real complaint about them is that they include too much book work. Scouting is learning by doing. The girls get enough book work in school.

My goal this year is to help Samantha earn all three journeys and all the badges. There are 26 regular badges. There are six council badges: (1) forestry fun, (2) Indians of Western Oregon, (2) Lewis and Clark, (3) Mt. Saint Helens, (4) Oceanography, (5) Oregon Trail and (6) Rose Festival. There is also a make-your-own badge that she can do once each year. We are having trouble deciding what to do for that.

I volunteered to serve on the troop committee this year. I will be the camping coordinator. I need to go get some training and then plan some campouts.

I also received a grant to coach a robotics team. The grant comes from the Girl Scouts, so I hope all the girls in our troop will want to be on the team.

What are you looking forward to doing with your fourth-grader in Girl Scouts?

Samantha's fourth year of Girl Scouting

Last year, when Samantha was ready to start third grade, we didn't have to switch troops. We were able to continue with Troop 10041 lead by Jeannie Lihs and Dana Johnson, but Girl Scouts of the USA was getting ready to change the curriculum. I wa not happy about this. I guess I'm not so good with change. I had a book with all the requirements for all the try-its (badges), and Samantha and I were working on quite a few. I felt a sort of urgency to earn as many as possible before they went away and were gone forever.

Jeannie, our troop leader, felt compelled to do a journey. Journeys were these new curricula items which required approximately 12 weeks to complete. Jeannie chose the World of Water journey to complete with the girls. This journey was divided into four awards. The award patches all fit together on the uniform. They do actually look pretty neat. I have to admit, but I was pretty luke warm on the whole journey idea. Like I said, I guess I don't like change.

In October, the girls toured a fire station with an emphasis on the use of water to fight fires.

In November, the girls toured the water treatment plant.

In December, the girls toured the senior center and sang carols to the residents. We combined with Troop 10052 for this event. Camille's sister is in this troop, and Camille's mom is the troop leader, Kelly Hernandez. We like to do lots of things with this troop.

In January it was time to sell cookies again. This year would be a little tougher. We set a goal of 300 boxes even though I had lost my job, and we couldn't really visit all my coworkers in their offices like last year, but I did email everybody and ask if they wanted any cookies, and several of them did, which was very nice of them. We also knocked all the doors in the neighborhood. We live in a very generous neighborhood. About half of the people we spoke to ordered cookies. The secret to our success was that we kept track of where we had been, and we went back if no one was home when we knocked. The best time to catch people at home: Sunday mornings!

I was so keen on reaching the goal of 300 boxes because I knew that Samantha was going to need a new uniform for next year. Juniors wear green vests. And she would also need new books. I finally figured out that the Brownie Try It book wasn't the only book I was supposed to have for Samantha. There was also a Brownie Guide Book. I should have known that, the Cub Scouts all have guidebooks, but the detail escaped me before now.

I had decided to get on board with the new curriculum and try to help Samantha earn all three journeys and all her badges while she was a junior. To do that, I would need to buy a lot of books, and I wanted to use her cookie money to do it. She was a trooper. She earned over $100 in cookie credits. We were able to buy her uniform, and all her books, and a few pieces of jewelry. I promised that next year I would let her buy whatever she wants. :)

I couldn't find a photo of Samantha in her uniform. This photo was taken on February 12, 2012 in Rainier, Oregon with the Lewis and Clark Bridge in the background. Samantha is posing with her mother and her brother.

In February, the troop toured the Water Resources Education Center in Vancouver. I didn't attend that one, but everyone said they had a good time and they learned a lot.

In April, the troop finished the WOW journey with a project to clean up a beach. They also attended a zoo snooze event at the Oregon Zoo. They were able to make snacks for the animals, spend the night at the zoo, and earn another council's own try-it.

In May, the troop visited a horse riding ranch. The girls learned a lot about taking care of animals. We did not visit the cemetery this year. Bea Crawford had to be out of town that week or something, but we ought to be able to go back next year.

In June we had a very nice bridgeing ceremony at Veterans Park with Kellie's troop., and we went to spring camp again. This year it wasn't near the ocean. This year we went to a Girl Scout property called Mountaindale. We slept in an enormous lodge. It was only about ten years old. It was beautiful. Camp was great. The theme was a carnival, and they had a rock climbing wall that was a big hit with everyone. Samantha loved it. I gave it a try, but I didn't love it. I loved the hiking. There were lots and lots and lots of trails all around. And I liked the 80s night dance. That was A LOT of fun. There were tons of moms there rocking out, remembering high school, and all our daughters were looking at us like we were crazy. :)

In July, the troop toured John's Incredible Pizza. They also walked in the Pow Wow Junior Parade. They looked SO good in their full uniforms!

In August, the troop went on their first "real" camping trip. That is, we camped in tents rather than cabins, and it was just our troop, not the whole service unit or council. It was great fun. We worked on the junior ranger badge and had a great time. The girls definitely want to do more of this.

What did you do when your third-grader was a Girl Scout?