In November 2024, York Region Educational Services collaborated with Castlemore Public School to deliver a series of engaging LEGO Robotics lessons for students in grades 3 to 5. The workshops offered unique opportunities for prospective teachers, as well as interactive and stimulating challenges for the young students.

In each lesson, the students were divided into groups of 4; each possessing a laptop and a LEGO Education SPIKE kit to explore. With our teachers’ instructions and guidance, the groups successfully constructed and programmed their own robotic arms. Once the builds were completed, the students learned how to connect and control their robot through Scratch—a programming platform perfect for beginners. Beyond the offered lessons, students had the creative freedom to explore and customize the code for each robot, seeing their creations come to life!

The sessions at Castlemore PS were facilitated by our experienced teachers, with the help of teaching assistants from the University of Guelph-Humber and various high school co-op students. Our teaching assistants had the incredible opportunity to attend and take charge; leading the lesson and guiding the class! 

Vineet Sharma, a UofGH student studying social work, describes his experience below:

I am grateful for the incredible opportunity to attend and lead the LEGO Robotics workshop at Castlemore PS! This experience allowed me to explore new ways of fostering creativity and teamwork in educational settings, as well as giving me hands-on experience with teaching. Christina was very supportive and gave me all the necessary tools needed to lead the final class of the day. Combining my personal experience from summer camps with the thorough curriculum provided by YRES, I was able to facilitate a successful class where all the students were engaged and having fun. It was both inspiring and refreshing, and I look forward to participating in more initiatives like this that support youth development and education!

I’m grateful for the opportunity of being able to attend a LEGO Robotics workshop and to contribute to creating engaging learning environments for youth! As a Marketing Coordinator, this was definitely a unique and refreshing experience and I look forward to more initiatives like this in the future!

— Nicole Mejia, Marketing Coordinator @ YRES

Interested in bringing a LEGO Robotics program to your community or organization? Visit the YRES website for more information!