Apple Camp- Coding with Sphero Robots

     My Mom signed me up for Apple Camp this summer vacation. The 3 day session I attended was 'Coding with Sphero Robot'. At Apple Camp, I had a great time but also learned many coding related things like functions, conditions and many more! Now let's get to know what I did.


What's a Sphero Robot? Find more the details here:  https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HK8S2ZM/B/sphero-sprk-robot 

Session 1

     Before Session 1 commenced, I received my t-shirt and bracelet/flash drive (shown on the right). Then we started to hear the ground rules - the first one itself was the 'Ground Rule'. It basically said that the Spheros should stay on the ground. After that we teamed up into pairs and started free driving the Spheros. Next we got a bit more complicated and started block coding the Spheros to go in a square. With that we made it into a function which basically you have to define with code and name it. Then you can use that Function many times without having to write it all over again and again.

Session 2

     Session 2 was fun because we broke the ground rule and tossed the Spheros in the air in a game called animal toss. The game's code says that when the excels 3gs to make a random animal noise. Then you have to guess the animal noise. If you get it wrong you need to act out the animal and then sit out. After that we learnt about if-then and if-then-else statements. A simple example of an if-then-else statement is if hungry then eat a sandwich else don't eat a sandwich. 

Session 3

In our last session we combined with another Sphero group to make Sphero stories. We teamed up again and started storyboarding our Ideas down with an Apple Pen. Then my team and another team teamed up to make a police chase. There was 40 different pre-made functions we could use to make the story. It didn't turn out well, but it was good for a story being made in 40 minutes. Lastly we all got a certificate of attendance.    

You can also sign up for Apple Camp for free at your nearest apple store just click the link below to sign up. The slots get filled-up quickly, so you know. https://www.apple.com/today/camp/

The Three Types of US Governments

Local Government

     Local governments control towns or cities. In local governments the mayor is usually in charge but sometimes a city manager takes the job. A city manager is chosen by the city council because they think he or she would do a good job. If he or she doesn't do good it is easy to fire them. If there is a mayor it is harder to fire him or her because the citizens elected him. Did you know, that the government of New York is in charge of 8 million people! Pretty big responsibility, huh!!!  

State Government

     The state governments control the state. In this kind of government the Governor is in charge but he doesn't make the laws, the state legislature does that. The governor just approves the laws or vetoes ('veto' means not approved) them. Most of the state legislatures are bicameral meaning they have 2 houses (for the senate and the house of representatives) but Nebraska's state legislature is unicameral meaning it has 1 house. Nebraska is the only unicameral state in the US. The Government decides the speed limits for the roads, the state school standards, and gives out  all sorts of licences like marriage licences, doctor licences ect. Another part of the government is the state court where the jury decides if someone has broken the law.

Federal Government

Checks and Balances

     The federal government controls the US. This government has 3 branches and no one is incharge. They can all check each other and so the power is balanced. This is called Checks and Balances. The 3 branches are the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. 

The Executive Branch

The Executive Branch consists of the President and the Cabinet. The cabinet is made out of the Vice President and the head of 15 executive departments. The President chooses the cabinet and Congress approves the choices. The President also appoints the Supreme Court justices, and the Congress approves those choices. The President can veto bills (laws) made by congress. 

The Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch (Congress) consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress makes all the laws and it also can declare war. Congress has the power to override a veto on a bill if 2/3 of Congress vote the law to pass the law passes. 

The Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch consists of the Supreme Court. It is the highest federal court in the US and no other court may overturn its decision. It is also the largest balance to the Executive and Legislative Branch. The Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional and stop them from being passed. It can also declare presidential acts unconstitutional and then the president has to stop.

So this is my knowledge on the forms of US Governments.  

My Camping Trip to the Prospect Mountains

On the weekend of 4th of July, I went camping for 3 nights with 4 friends of mine.

Preparation

     The preparation included a lot of shopping. We had to buy camping forks, a rolling trunk, and a few grills for barbeque. I helped Mom make a google sheet to organize the things we were bringing. My Dad told me there were a wide variety of activities to keep us busy in addition to the board games we were bringing. He also told me that there was a playground and a swimming pool. Each night and chilly morning we had campfire and the best part is that me and my friends got to make it. The last thing we did before we left for the camp was we packing. We had to pack enough clothes and materials to last us 3 days including few extras. I packed newspapers, collected dryer lints, and toilet paper tubes for the fire starters. You may be getting bored by now so now I'll tell you about what exciting stuffs we did at Camp.

Day 1   

     We arrived at our campground at around 6:30 PM. When I saw the firepit I was a bit disappointed because it was so small. On the bright side we had 2 firepits. I also checked out the cabins - there were two bunk beds and one larger bed per cabin. When we started the fire I brought out a few pieces of newspaper. When I put some newspaper in the fire the flames went up higher for some time and then slowly came back down. In the night we started playing a board game (Yes! the name of the game is 'The Board Game'). 



But we couldn't finish it. Then it was time for bed. All the boys slept in the tent my Dad put outside the Cabins. The Camp Manger paid us a visit reminding of quite time from 11 PM. I couldn't sleep well that night as two kids were first time in tent and kept on talking until I finally fell asleep.

Day 2

     I was the first kid to wake up (mostly because my Mom woke me up and Camping is not for sleeping late!!) Then we started the fire. It went horribly. The wood wasn't catching on fire, we had to use a lot of instant flame oil, and newspaper. 

When that challenge was over we went to the park to play. I learned how to play volleyball there. Then we played basketball, I scored a few hoops. Then we did 'Tie-Dye'. My Mom told me to use dark colors because light ones did not come out good. Then we went to the air conditioned game room to play. There was a Foosball table, a Ping-Pong table, an Air Hockey table and some board games. While Moms played Ping-Pong the Dads enjoyed the FIFA match which English side won over Sweden 2-0. When we came back we had lunch and then started playing 'The Board Game' again but we couldn't finish it yet again! Then we went swimming but before we could get in a lifeguard shouted, "A child has thrown-up in the pool. All the physical waste is out of the pool but, we need to test the water. It will be done in 1 hour but you can only come after 2 hours because when we are done checking the chemicals it is time for adult swim". So we went back to our campsite and started the fires for the grill. Me and Dad's friend made one of the fires and my Dad and his another friend made the other one. My fire grilled the Veggies and Paneer and my Dad's fire grilled the Chicken. Then we ate dinner and played 'The Board Game' and this time luckily we finished it. Some one brought up the marshmallows and corn to roast. We ate that and went to bed. That night I slept well.

Day 3 

     I was the first to wake up (the birds woke me up this morning with their chirping). When the others woke up it was tad late, so we didn't make a fire but instead we went on a hike, we choose the Redwood Trail (about a mile hike of moderate pace). We ended up at the Pond that had the Paddle boats. A sign said to call the office to use the boats. The guy on the phone said to come back after a few hours as Monday wasn't on their schedule. So we went back to our campsite and had lunch. The Dads watched India vs England T20 match on their iPhone while helping Moms get the lunch ready. Kids played a few turns of badminton while Moms were

talking, soon it was time to to go back to the paddle boats to ride them. When we were done using them I was so tired! Yet we all went to the game room to play. We came back after a couple hours and it was time for the last dinner and fire. The fire used the last of the crate of woods and newspaper. Before we left we killed the fire by pouring water on it. We came back home little before midnight. It was so much fun! 

 I'm now more excited for my weeklong Scout Summer Camping Trip that starts in August!!!