It is easy to get started with FLL Explore!  However, it can be a bit confusing as there are 4 sites that you will interact with – FIRST,  Sterling Volunteers (formerly known as Verified Volunteers),  and the local program site, NorCal FLL Explore plus the local partner site, Playing At Learning.  You will need to create accounts with the first two sites.

Want an easy guide for registration with FIRST? Check out the FIRST Registration Video. Also, FIRST has 2 flyers that might be helpful :  How does the FIRST LEGO League Explore program work?  and a Start a Team  overview flyer

Steps to Starting A FLL Explore Team

• • • STEP 1:

      Find 2-6 Team Members (2nd-4th graders) and 2 Adult Coaches

      To start a team, you will need Team Members who will want to learn, build with LEGO, and share their ideas! Then you will need two coaches to act as guides and enable your team to reach their full potential. Team Members must be between the ages of 6-10, and Coaches must be 18 or older. People with all backgrounds and abilities are encouraged to join a FLL Explore Team as a Team Member or Coach and can start with no STEM experience!

      First, you need to find a group of kids interested in participating. Teams can consist of 2-6 members, ages 6-10. You can form a team from any group of interested kids, after-school programs, neighborhood groups, youth organizations, or just a group of friends.

      Next, you need two adult coaches  – one of them can be you (if you are an adult). You don’t have to be a scientist or engineer to be a coach! Teachers, parents and adults from all areas can all make great coaches. The coach’s role is to assist the team in independent learning – not to directly assist the team in the problem-solving process.

      If you are new to coaching children in this age range, starting with a smaller team might be best.  In NorCal, the average team size is 4 members.  A note that 3 team members can be hard to manage, particularly if 2 of the team members are close friends – the 3rd team member might feel left out and/or hard to feel a part of the team – not impossible for the Coaches to manage through but definitely it is important to understand and work on the teamwork and team dynamics.

      Need FLL Explore Coach Resources?   Click Here for Coach/Mentor resources for FLL Explore provided by FIRST
      Connect with other NorCal Coaches – Join the NorCal FLL Explore Googlegroup
      Connect with other FLL Explore Coaches from around the world – Join the FLL Explore Share and Learn Facebook group

       

   

  • STEP 2:

    Understand Season Budget & Order Materials

    There are cost associated with starting and maintaining an FLL Explore Team. You can take a closer look at all of those costs on our FLL Explore Budget and Funding Page. If your team can not afford the costs listed, there are grants and fundraising ideas available through FIRST, funding opportunities through DonorChoose, and you can pitch to local businesses and companies similar to Little League, Youth Soccer and similar team sport teams.

    Many teams only have 1 LEGO Spike Elements (or WeDo 2.0) robotic kit to share amongst the team. If you have additional funds, it can be useful to have additional LEGO pieces as well as an additional robotics kit.  Note that in NorCal, the team can also use the more advanced LEGO Spike Prime robotics kit – but none of the materials are designed for this, so it would be more on a Coach or Mentor to help the team members adapt the session activities to use the Spike Prime.

    Need more Fundraising help?   Click here for a Fundraising Toolkit provided by FIRST
    Not sure what you need to order?   Click here for a list of what is included with your FLL Explore Team Registration

• STEP 3:

  Complete Team Registration with FIRST

  In order to be recognized as an official FLL Explore Team, your team will need to register with FIRST as they are the entity that manages the US national team registration. Registering your team with FIRST also gives you access to season materials, discounts in their store, and permission to register for and take part in a Northern California FLL Explore Festival event.  Register your team with FIRST.  You will need to create an account on firstinspires.org site, invite coach(es) to join the team, build your team roster all from the FIRST Dashboard.  Additionally, all adults working with the team are required by FIRST to pass a Background Screening and complete the Youth Protection Training.

  FIRST Coach Checklist

  Need help with registering a team with FIRST?   Click here for a short video on how to register a team on the FIRST dashboard
  Need help with the Youth Protection Program?  Click here for more resources about the Youth Protection program
  Need help in completing the required Background Screening with Sterling Volunteers (formerly known as Verified Volunteers)?  Click here for step by step instructions on how to complete the screening
  Need help with completing FIRST Team Roster?   Click here for more resources about completing the FIRST Team Roster using the Youth Registration system on FIRST dashboard

   

• STEP 4:

  Learn and Understand the Season Challenge

  Each year FIRST releases a new challenge based around a STEM-related problem or topic. Challenges are released in August and start with a kick-off video explaining the challenge. Each team is encouraged to learn and research the theme throughout the season. You will be surprised at how much information these kids pick up! To learn more about this year’s challenge and get related resources view the FLL Explore Season Resources.

  Most teams meet 1 or 2 times a week for at least 45 minutes and typically, up to a maximum of 4 hours a week, across 8 to 12 weeks. The program is very flexible and determining with your team what is the best meeting time/place/schedule is highly specific to your team.  It is a best practice to set a standard meeting schedule for the season ahead of time so that team members/parents and coaches/mentors can commit to attending the majority or all of the team meetings.

  The FLL Explore program has outlined a 12 session activity season and many teams find that they need more than 1 meeting to complete each of a specific session activities.  Note that your team may find that they need to accelerate/skip sessions – that is okay. The FIRST LEGO League Explore program is very flexible, non-competitive and all teams are encouraged and celebrated on what they have accomplished.  We do not compare or evaluate teams against teams.

  Depending on when the team meets and for how long, you might need to include time for Snacks and Breaks.  Depending on the ages of the team members, attention span can vary quite a bit, so taking that into account when planning sessions is important.   FIRST LEGO League Explore is a team-based program.  There are LEGO building activities but is much different than 1 child sitting by themself building a LEGO model either from instructions or based on their own individual ideas.

  Additional Resources that Coaches have found useful:   FIRST YouTube Channel,  Facebook FLL Explore Share & Learn,  NorCal FLL Explore googlegroup, FIRST program-specific Forum

   

• STEP 5:

  Register for an NorCal FLL Explore Festival

  Your teams can show off all their handwork and creativity at one of the NorCal FLL Explore Festivals. These events can occur virtually or in-person across our region and generally we plan for the events to occur December through April  each year. In order to participate in one of these events, your team needs to complete event registration. To learn more about the registration process, visit the NorCal FLL Explore website –  2022/2023 Season Festivals & Registration details

  Typically, when you register,  there is an opportunity for the Coach to purchase Team Medals and/or additional Trophies for the team members.  It is important to note that this is only an option available when you register into a Festival – medals/trophies are not generally available to be purchased or ordered after the fact or separately.

  Event Registration dates and details are posted on the NorCal FLL Explore googlegroup – make sure to join (AND update your membership settings to receive email!)

  In NorCal,  we use the Playing At Learning.org site to host our event calendar as well as manage the FLL Explore Festival event registration.  If you create a login (not required) on the Playing At Learning site, that will enable you to see a receipt for your Festival Registration orders.   Create / Login Account,  My Account page.

  NorCal FLL Explore Festival Season Timeline and list of upcoming NorCal FLL Explore Festival Events

   

• STEP 6:

  Prepare for your event!

  Once all of your registration is completed with the national organization, FIRST, and you have completed the local requirement to complete the Team Info Form,  your team can focus working together on their LEGO model, their Show-Me poster and getting ready for their event.

  At a NorCal Festival, each team will have a dedicated team table (called their Team Pit Table), they will have a short ~10 minute Q&A with a panel of 1 to 3 Reviewers, and then, have both scheduled and ad-hoc Team Activities.   We plan for our events to be between 8 and 16 teams (minimum size is 6 teams) and last between 4 to 5 hours.

  When visiting the panel of Reviewers,  the team will be offered a chance of giving a short presentation (this is optional for the team!) of up to 5 minutes – shorter is better! Then, the reviewers will encourage the team to describe their Model, their Poster,  how the team worked together and generally how their team’s season went.  FIRST has put together a Reviewing packet that includes suggested Reviewer Questions along with a Team Feedback Form that the Reviewers will fill out.  The coach will receive the team’s filled out feedback form after the event – typically through email.

   

• STEP 7:

  Celebrate Your Season!

  Many teams get together once more after their Festival to have an “end of season”celebration party.  Typically this would be where the coach can remind the team members of what they have accomplished together, as well as, recognize each individual student for their contributions to the team.   Many teams have this at a pizza parlor, ice cream parlor, school, or hosted by one of the parents with possibly a potluck.

  In addition,  Coaches may want to share the Festival Feedback form and/or use the feedback to help guide the team going forward.