Week 2 - Beginning Building and Programming

    I need to begin by explaining I only see the first through fifth graders an hour per week, once a week.  Kindergarten is only for a half hour a week.  Now the Kindergarten time is probably just about right. However, one hour per week is just not long enough for the other classes.  Moving from the classroom, where I had more time and could shift my times around as needed, to such limited time constraints is definitely a challenge.  An hour works for an easy build and easy programming challenges, but not the more complex work I would like to move to.  After just the first day of instructing, I can see that more complicated projects will take several weeks.  I had several students that  were unable to complete their builds.  They had more success in completing their projects if they worked with a partner.  I plan to require that for the rest of the classes this week.  I know things will get quicker as we get into the routine and remember where parts are, but I will need to get better at assessing how much time a build will take.  My challenge is to teach as much as I can in the limited class time.  The upside is I won't have any trouble filling my lesson plan book.