Finishing Details

Today was our last meeting of the JFLL team before we meet at the challenge on Thursday. Kevin came and did a presentation about trucking logistics, the theory of JIT delivery and how that all affects manufacturing, costs etc. We worked on finalizing the words for our presentation and then refined the model slightly.
I love the JFLL program and always wish we could do more with it as it is such an excellent way to explore different concepts.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind ~ William Kamkwamba

From Amazon:
Discarded motor parts, PVC pipe, and an old bicycle wheel may be junk to most people, but in the inspired hands of William Kamkwamba, they are instruments of opportunity. Growing up amid famine and poverty in rural Malawi, wind was one of the few abundant resources available, and the inventive fourteen-year-old saw its energy as a way to power his dreams. "With a windmill, we'd finally release ourselves from the troubles of darkness and hunger," he realized. "A windmill meant more than just power, it was freedom." Despite the biting jeers of village skeptics, young William devoted himself to borrowed textbooks and salvage yards in pursuit of a device that could produce an "electric wind." The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an inspiring story of an indomitable will that refused to bend to doubt or circumstance. When the world seemed to be against him, William Kamkwamba set out to change it.
~Dave Callanan

Almost there...

Today we broke out the lego and the kids got almost all of the components of their display built. We meet on Monday again to finish the presentation board. And in just a few days....we're off to the challenge.

Windmill Virtual Lab

Discovery Educaton has an excellent virtual lab where kids can explore and determine the best design and recommend a location for a windmill. The lab allows kids to control the number, shape, size and pitch of the blades as well as windspeed.

Windmills in the Rain

As part of our project about windmills we went to see one in action and we got a chance to interview the general manager of a local windmill manufacturer about his business. Unfortunately it was raining and not so windy, but it was fascinating in any case.

Off the Grid

Off the Grid simulation

From Teacher's Domain:
Imagine that in order to play computer games, listen to music, or talk on the phone, you first had to find a way to generate the electricity to power your electronic devices. Most people in the United States access electricity simply by plugging into a wall outlet or flipping a switch. Their homes are connected to power plants through the electrical grid, an extensive network of cables and wires that carry electrical current. However, whether by choice or by circumstance, some people are detached from this grid. This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain presents three such scenarios and challenges users to design systems that will generate electricity by harnessing the wind.

Make a Pinwheel Turbine

Home Science Tools has instructions for making an operational pinwheel wind turbine.
You can find more information and activities on their site here.

Brainpop Wind Energy

My kids love the Brainpop videos. They are informative, enertaining and engaging.
This one on wind energy is free.

Check out the extension activities, FAQs, and quizzes at the bottom of the page.

How a Wind Turbine Works

Wind with Miller

Wind with Miller is a comprehensive site for kids with lots of interactive options and great information. And you might learn a little of the Danish language as well.

Transportation - Library Resources

Let's go : the story of getting from there to here by Lizann Flatt,
On the move: green transportation by Kathy Furgang,
Transportation solutions by Daniel Gilpin,
Wings, wheels, & sails by Bobbie Kalman,
Transportation by Rob Bowden,
Transportation: present knowledge, future trends by Robin Kerrod,
Go!: [the whole world of transportation] by Samone Bos,

Bill Nye Human Transportation (DVD)

Transport in Japan

This website is an excellent website aimed at kids which details much of Japan's transportation system.. While its origins are in Japan, the information is applicable worldwide.

National Geographic on Wind Turbines

KidWind Projects

A great resource for extending learning about windmills.

The site includes project outlines, full curriculum, math and science explorations and worksheets, as well as a link to a simulation exercise in which the taskforce is charged with deciding about building a windfarm and where it might be best built.

Wind, Wind Turbines and Windmills - Library Resources

Some of the resources we used for our research.

Wind energy by Rob Bowden,
The pros and cons of wind power by Richard Spilsbury,
Generating wind power by Niki Walker,
Wind and water energy by Sherry Neuwirth Payne,
Feel the Wind Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2 by Arthur Dorros
Green power : eco-energy without pollution by David Jefferis
Wind energy by Graham Rickard,
Harness the wind: the story of windmills by Joseph Brown,
The wind at work: an activity guide to windmills by Gretchen Woelfle,
Projects with air by John Williams,

Discovery project earth. Infinite winds (DVD)
Discovery project earth. Engineering the future (DVD)
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Wind (DVD)

American Wind Energy Association

Multi grade curriculum materials from the American Wind Energy Association, including a teacher's guide.
We've used the grade 2 - 3 materials which include a small skit, some information about historial windmills, worksheets on wind energy, graphic organizers, stories and hands on activities.

Time Lapse Video of Wind Turbine Construction

Windmills and teamwork

Again this year we are lucky to be participating in the Junior First Lego League program. The topic this year is transportation. The kids need to pick an item and learn about how it is transported through the manufacturing process to the final consumer.
We are working with a team of friends and the kids have chosen windmills as our item (having seen the very large windmills being transported along the highway recently).

This program is an excellent way to teach teamwork skills, project management, research and presentation skills and to use as a starting point for interesting rabbit trails. We will be learning more about windmills and green energy in addition to transportation. We have arranged for a visit to a wind turbine test sit and an interview with the manager of a local wind turbine manufacturer. We are hoping for tours of a shipping dock and a trucking company. And the kids are interested in learning more about the large scale model of an Amsterdam Windmill which is at a local park, so we will be checking out the archives at our local museum to see if we can learn more about that.

Today we got together to share some of our research and to explore a bit about how windmills work. One of our team members is away, so next week we will be jumping into the building and presentation with both feet as our presentation is in early April.

Teamwork and JFLL

• We are a team.
• We do the work. Our coaches and mentors help us learn, but we find the answers ourselves.
• We share our experiences and discoveries with others.
• We are helpful, kind, and show respect when we work, play, and share. We call this gracious professionalism.
• We are all winners.
• We have fun.
~ Core Values for JFLL

One of the reasons we love the JFLL program are the core values that the program is built around. I think they are an excellent tool for helping kids navigate any of the issues that can come up in working in a team situation.

Starting a JFLL team outside a classroom situation presents challenges a bit different than those a teacher might encounter in a classroom. As homeschoolers we have, for example, found competition and independent learning are not usually issues we face. But we do need to put energy into fasciliating teamwork and ensuring everyone is on the same page around academics, commitment levels and what the team culture will be.

We've been lucky in that we have had great success with both teams we've been involved in, but it could easily go the other. It starts, I think, with thinking about the kids our kids would enjoy working with. The JFLL is not just about playing with lego. There are academic components as well, and so it helps if the kids and/or the families are on the same page about how that will be handled, how much commitment the team will require and how much teamwork will be required for those areas. This can often be challenging in a homeschool situation, because we it's not always easy to identify which kids and families might be a good match. Approaches to academics can vary widely among homeschoolers.

At our first JFLL team meeting we talked through how the meetings would run, how we could make decisions as a team and what the expectations for the group are. In the past we have done teamwork exercises which are a fun way to get to know each other. This past year that didn't seem necessary for our particular kids but it is definitely a tool that can help get the team members comfortable and give coaches an idea of what areas might need a bit of attention.

The JFLL core values have been important tools in teaching our team how to listen to all input, how to evaluate an idea while respecting the person who offered it, how to work towards concensus, and how to step back and make sure that the process is workng for everyone.