[Mr MOE]

Preschool kids are a terrific age group to introduce to some of the concepts of FIRST.

As Kyle mentioned, MOE 365 has put together a nice read aloud program. What is not on the website are two contests that we started this year. One is a double-sided handout where kids get to draw their own robot. We supplied crayons and have kids submit their drawings. We plan to put some of the neatest drawings into a separate coloring book.

We also started a book report contest for students in 4-6 grades. That is not the preschool area, but provides another idea.

At a Martin Luther King celebration a few weeks ago, a demo at Hagley Museum, and our First State FLL Tournament, we had a simple 4-Vex bot driving area. The kids LOVED it. We created the square driving area with 4-pvc pipes and fittings duct taped together. We sprinkled a few racquetballs on the floor in the square and taped off two "goal zones" on one side of the field. The kids had a blast and we were running the Vexbots straight for 4-5 hours (bring extra batteries). The kids do need to be supervised to ensure they take turns. We did not allow them to extend the antennae of the controllers - they really did not need to and after one youngster tried to flip his bot off a raquetball by using the antennae, we thought it was best to sheath them.

Lots of fun can be had, but you need to engage these kids directly. Read to them, have them color pictures, do a craft, or drive a Vex bot.

Good luck!