In the spring the kids took some Engineering for Kids classes that were right down the street from our apartment. All the classes were offered in German and English. It was a great chance for them to meet other kids and explore subjects that I would not have been able to teach them, like Robotics. Elora and Oliver took a Robotics class where they got to build and program lego robots throughout the course. Oliver loved it and was so excited to go every week.
Marion took Junior Robotics and had such a great time. Everyone got to know Marion really quickly as “The girl who refuses to ever wear stickers or name tags”. She loved her teachers and the other kids in the class and would run right in every week. Her robots were different animals like alligators, birds, and lions. She was a little disappointed that there was only one cat, but she really enjoyed building the animals each week.
Elora and Oliver also took an Aerospace Engineering class, and this one was Elora’s favorite. There were homemade rockets, hot air balloons, lunar landers, and more. The blend of crafts and science was right up Elora’s alley.
Marion took junior Aerospace Engineering and had a great time. She would proudly show us her creations each week, and it was fun to hear the kids talk about neutral buoyancy on the way home from class.
While the kids went to class, me and James got to hang out. Sometimes he didn’t seem to know what to do at the park without the big kids to play with. I don’t think I am quite as fun as his siblings! One week he found a ladybug and was so excited. He just sat watching and playing with it for a long time. It was also nice for him to have mom all to himself to push him on the swings with no distractions!
I loved the teachers who ran the program. They really loved the kids, and they even got to know James because he was always excited to come into class at the end and see what the kids had made that day. On the last day the Engineering for Kids robot mascot came. Marion refused to be in the class picture with the robot, but James was fascinated by the big robot and did not want to leave his side! Marion loved bringing flowers to her teachers each week. I am sad because they have moved locations and now the classes would actually be a trek as opposed to a walk down the street, so we did not sign up this fall. Maybe next year we will decide it is worth the trek again because the kids really did love the experiences they had in their classes!
The kids proudly showed off their certificates and final rocket projects when we got home on the last day of class. Great job kids!
