Lucas got into trying to solve the Rubik’s Cube a little while ago, and with intrinsic motivation persevered through algorithm after algorithm till he cracked it.  The cube is like a fidget spinner with a purpose.  It’s a problem to solve.  It requires dexterity and focus.  Some kids are labeled with an inability to focus, yet when they are faced with a problem that they want to solve, their brain and hands work together, for a loooong problem solving time.

I even made Lucas follow the instructions in Mandarin for his first 2×2 solve 🙂 It’s just what I do to make life harder for him:-)

Of course, once the 2×2 and 3×3 was cracked, the 4×4, 5×5, 6×6, and most recently the 9×9 had to be conquered.  The pyraminx and some 12 sided pentagonal one has been conquered too, just been advised this is called the megaminx 🙂  Solving cubes has become a bit of a pursuit 🙂

Then he taught me how to do the cube 🙂 Completing it once took me all day, and was enough algorithm and permutation exercise for my mind, needless to say I have not had the urge to do it again 🙂

Since a group of his mates have entered a Speed Cube comp being held in Brisbane next month, Lucas has been injected with a next level motivation.  SPEED is his next mountain to conquer.

I don’t have a competitive bone in my body, and actually loathe competitions organized for kids…..spelling bees agggghhhhh!!! We had big chats about comps.  What are they all about? When I enter a fun run, I know that I will be close to last, but it doesn’t stop me from taking part, keeping fit and having fun with community.  I enter 50km trail races, not as a race, but just as a goal to finish it, and again be part of a encouraging community of like minded peeps. As long as I beat the cut off time, I have no desire to get faster.

So what about a Speed Cubing comp??? The title itself emphasises speed, not the same vibe as a ‘fun run’.  Lucas’s record (not average as we are learning all about in the Speed Cube world :-)) from a random scramble of the 3×3 is currently 30.75 seconds.

That is freakin awesome, I can’t do one side in that lol 😂.  I think the average in this comp though will be about sub 12 seconds, and one of the competitors Felix Zemdegs who has registered in this Brisbane comp and who is a bit of a legend Cuber has an average of 6.54 seconds, and held the world record of 4.22 for a while. Both Felix and another previous world record holder Collin Burns (5.25 seconds) are in this video here, a great video explaining what is involved in speed solving a cube…and quite motivational for Lucas too, knowing that when Collin first competed, Lucas is faster than he was then 🙂 Like the video says, you don’t become a world record holder overnight 🙂

After all our chats, Lucas was still keen to enter, to be part of the buzz of likeminded peeps, to participate and have fun, and to give him a goal to exercise his mind and improve his solving speed.  We have hiking goals that we have to get fit for, I study and keep my Mandarin up to exercise my mind… this is his mind goal: his motivation to learn, and practice to get faster.  He has learned beginners’ algorithms to solve the cube, he is now searching websites and YouTube videos for advanced permutations to solve the puzzle more ‘efficiently’.

The ‘maths’ outcomes in the curriculum that are explored in solving the cube range from early learning concepts to advanced maths.  As part of my TESOL certificate that I completed this year, I had to create a unit of work for a Upper Primary English as a Foreign Language class, that integrated another subject area. Being around my Cuber, together with making the connections to the maths curriculum outcomes covered by learning how to solve the cube, are what inspired me to create a whole unit of work spring boarding from solving the cube, integrating EFL and Maths. I won’t go into detail here of the curriculum links and the skills built…the unit plan has it all in there, so click on the link for a download of the lesson plan, the lesson plan has all the links attached to it that were used to create the plan 🙂 Lucas and Aurora helped me make the videos that go with the unit, and of course want to be my teaching assistants if I ever go to Taiwan and actually teach the unit…they said ‘Great lesson plan Mum, but how you gonna fix the kids’ cubes when they bugger up?’  🙂  Even though the plan is for teaching English as a foreign language, it was based on regular resources, so would be useful for any teacher or homeschool parent, not just as an integrated EFL plan. TESOL 502 Ass 2 CLIL Meet the Cube Unit of Work

This Ted Ed video shows how advanced maths, and even how music fits into all this…it’s a bit mind blowing, it’s like a video that might explain the molecular chemistry involved in making a cheese and vegemite sandwich…totally superfluous to what you need to know to make a sandwich 🙂 But it does open up the mind to where a cube can take you in Maths 🙂

Then there is all the learning about the World Cubing Association, their rules, their events, scheduling, procedures, registering and paying…he’s paid the fee himself.  Then all the maths involved in the recordings of times and calculations of averages required to assess who goes to the next level…the learnings are limitless.

When a kid that finds it hard to focus is focused on something like this,  you just have to let them ‘be’ and ‘be’ there for them….and make sure they put the cube down every now and then to balance exercising the other parts of their body and to hang the washing out 🙂

Next, is me coming to terms with the fact that I am going to have to spend 2 full days hanging around in a room with hundreds of speed cubing geeks! Not my first choice of how to spend my full weekend…but our kids have had to spend days of supporting their Dad in Ironman events, or Mum and Dad in long trail runs…I think I can manage a weekend supporting Lucas 🙂 I think I might even have fun 🙂