Meet Your New Overlords

I prefer my overlords with googly eyes.



Ever since our trip to Ocean City two years ago we have been planning to visit again. I've been watching online for a good deal. It came this week, so we made last minute plans to hit the road. I scheduled a light week for the boys to allow us to get packed. JT has been doing quite a bit of independent work on Thinkwell for math and his Coursera literature class, so I didn't need to do too much with him.

EM has been working his way through his new robotics book. On Wednesday we made the first major project at the end of chapter two. The Vibrobot was made from things that we had around the house: Styrofoam cup, wire, batteries, cork, pens, and a 1.5 volt motor. I love the fact that this book has projects that EM can easily do in a short period of time with great results. He was so excited when his vibrobot starting hopping around on the paper. He ran to find his brother to show him.

robot art

As the robot was moving around, EM started evaluating its performance. The book directions suggested using three markers. EM thought the vibrobot was moving a little too jerkily with three so he wanted to make it four in order to add stability. The end result was fantastic. I really like the fact that he was ready to jump right in there and hack the directions with confidence. EM struggles with some of his school work, especially the reading and writing, so it is great to see him finding a place where he can really shine.

I'm going to keep this week's post short since we are currently in the hotel at Ocean City and everyone is waiting for me. Next week I'll give a detailed post of our trip. We're going to be visiting the Wetlands Institute and will be exploring the shore.

Off to the beach!