Feeling Cruxy?

Robot Clipart ©MyClipArtStore: http://www.myclipartstore.com.  ​

Robot games and downloads for climbing lessons aimed at 2-12 year olds.  Towards the bottom of the post are printable "cruxbots", take home pages describing what kids learned, and a kids climbing poster about pinches.

If you're a robot and you know it pop-up book

Posing with the cruxbot

More Robot Resources
Free Robot Mandala coloring page
Robot Guided Imagery Relaxation ​
Omazing Kids Robot Yoga Ideas
​PBJ's Robot Pinterest Board
​PBJ's Robot Jelly Announcement Post

Crux Bots
The crux is the most difficult move or sequence on any climb.  To help kids identify and label the crux, I have each child climb a problem (follow the colored holds or tape) and tell me when they get to the tricky spot.  I put duct tape on the back of a laminated cruxbot and tape it to the trouble spot.  The climber comes down to look at the holds around the crux and make a plan to send (complete from start to finish) the problem.

I used these Sillybot robots, but you can really use any clipart or cutout.  I've done Space rockets (blast through the crux), and Jungle crux monkeys using monkey cutouts from the dollar store and using marker to write "crux".  I've also thought about using Super Hero bursts.  Kids can use their super strength to power through the crux and their X-Ray vision to step back and find the best sequence.

Cruxy Robots Climbing Lesson Ideas

Vocab Words:  Crux, preview, match
Skills: Route reading, perseverance, critical thinking
Wall Angle: Vertical
Hold Type: Pinch
Breath: Countdown to Calm (Power down breath)
Theme: Robots
Equipment:  Laminated robots, Cruxbots, Eeboo Tell Me a Story Cards (Little Robot’s Mission), Learning Resources gears and base​.

Power Pads-​

• Place a balance cushion or poly spot on the floor for each child.  These will be power pads where climberbots go to recharge.  
• When the teacher says "power pad" everyone does a practice fall and comes to sit on their spot. 
• Before they can leave the power pad they need to do 3 power down breaths.  Breathing in as they hold up 1, 2, 3 fingers and then out as they put their fingers down 3,2,1.  If they can't coordinate their fingers, they just open/close their fingers and count to 3.
• If students are tired at any point they can choose to join the class or sit and breath on their power pad.   
• If they ever feel like their heart is beating too fast, they can sit and breath until it slows down and is ready to send blood to their muscles.

Introduction-

• Review tape, finding start, finish, following color. You can have kids practice miming the route from the floor to make their “sending plan”
  

Problem Solver-  

• Match on start with both feet off of the floor before making first move.  Follow the route all the way up. Match on finish. Do a “sent it” dance and then downclimb/controlled fall.  Try a few problems with open feet and a few with tracking.
  

Crux Hunt-

• Split kids into groups and have 1 child climb a problem.  They decide on the crux and place a laminated crux robot there.  The next child will climb it and either move the crux or leave it if they agree on the most difficult part of the problem.
  • While kids are watching the climber, discuss how the crux could be different for each of them.  Everyone has different talents so a tiny crimper could be hard for 1 child while a switching feet is the difficult part for another.
• After they have all climbed it, discuss why it was hard.  Was it a big reach? Were there no feet?  Was there more than 1 crux (you can use multiple crux robots)?
• Continue placing the crux robot on different problems.
  • Kids in the “audience” can remind the climber to stay on the route  If they see the climber touch a hold that is off route they can make an alarm sound to remind the climber to follow the route.  Everyone cheers when they get back on track.
  • Do you need to quit when you get to the crux?
  • Talk about making a plan for how to get past it.  You can find an easier hold, use the strong part of your foot, use your core, apply any techniques you’ve learned.

Don’t Squish Steve-

• Tape small laminated robots to some of the hand holds on a problem.  Have one kid be “it” and close their eyes while the class chooses which robot is “steve”.  The “it” student climbs the problem and when he grabs the “steve” hold all of the kids say “Don’t squish Steve!!”.
• Practices following tape (all of the bots are on the same problem), and encourages watching others climb.  
• Can also only put them on footholds to encourage kids to watch the climbers footwork.

Traversing Story-

• Tape robot story cards throughout the wall.  Everyone traverses from card to card.  When the instructor points at a child, they can tell a story about their card.  Continue adding to the story and removing each card as you go.
• Build a robot with words on it (hold types, route reading sequence, etc)

Robot stretching-

• Use halting robot voices while stretching.  
• Do all stretches with jerky movements.
• Use robot yoga poster
• ​Run stretching as an obstacle course with robots following the leader around

Sleeping Robots-

• sleeping giants game, but they must dance like a robot during loud music, start to lose power during quiet music, power down when music turns off.  
  
• ​Kids must stay in forward fold without moving as long as possible
  
• Play once with movement on floor, and then while climbing (fast, slow, freeze, fall)

Glitchy Robots-  

• When they hear the chime, they have to freeze like a robot on the wall and stay still until the sound stops

Printable files below

pbj_crux_robots_4_tall.pdf
File Size:	3167 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Printable take home page below

i_am_a_robot_jelly_to_go.pdf
File Size:	1092 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Printable PDF below

pbj_crux_robots_2_wide.pdf
File Size:	3223 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Poster download below

pbj_robot_pinch_poster.pdf
File Size:	3962 kb
File Type:	pdf

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