In college, I was a summer camp counselor where robotics was an activity. (Found that job
off of ChiefDelphi, believe it or not.) We'd only get about five or six hours of time in a two-week session with the kids--four hour-and-change sessions, plus some wiggle room on rehearsal night. So it wasn't nearly as deep as any FLL or class program would go, but it did teach me a thing or two about creating a rewarding process:
1) Hardware first. We were using RCXs back then, and it was always much easier to wow with a robot that was mechanically done but needing the IR remote to move rather than a brave little toaster with exceptional software and sensors.
2) Design challenges that scale up. The best one I did was the last one, where the kids had to design a robot that could
drive forward and hang from a pull-up bar. Once they got that, I had them automate it (the bar sat on white poster board with a black line under the bar). That let the kids that were really clicking keep going while the ones that struggled a bit more could keep grinding on the hardware part. (That ran the clock out, but if they had figured that out then I might've made them drive back, then maybe add a turn in the mix, then...you get the picture.)
3) Don't fear the booklet. Two of those robots (the two nearest the camera) used drive bases straight out of the Constructapedia that came with the RCX kit.
I'd get in touch with an FLL team or the affiliate partner in your area--you might be able to finagle some old mission sets that would yield a lot of new challenges. (Heck, we ran a full season and didn't touch half of the missions last year!)
But even if the principal just dumped it on you, look on the bright side:
this is your pipeline. Make the best of it!
