For Christmas, the boys both got some pretty cool LEGO kits. These suckers might be expensive, but when you have a particularly mechanically minded boy, like I do, it's just an investment for the future. With a lot of guidance, Asa has learned to first follow the instructions and create the intended creation, keeping his imagination in check. We've taught him that this stage is for learning.
At first, he would see a new gear or pulley or motor and immediately want to ditch the kit and use the part for an invention of his own. With time, he learned that you must find out how to really use the piece in order to fully understand its possible applications. Now, he takes a kit to his room and hides away, following the instructions, and emerging with a finished product a day or so later. After he finishes the project, he then rips it down andfor parts and lets his imagination to run wild.
The last kit he completed was the remote control excavator, ages 12-16. After he finished the project (which was insanely cool, by the way), he got to work trying to. He literally spends hours each day creating, building, ripping apart, rebuilding, and soaking it all in. In the last few days, he has used the remote control component to build a RC car. He used two motors, one to turn the front wheels side to side and one to make the back wheels turn. It is slow moving because he used a jack screw to turn the wheels.
No comments:
Post a Comment