I groan every time one of my boys walks in with that rectangle box containing a block of pine that is supposed to be transformed into a vehicle worthy of racing. We have the tools for the project but it's the battle of technique and design that always get in the way of this being a fun experience. LeRoy seems to think that telling a ten year old to pick up a tool and cut a piece of wood is like telling them to slice through butter so when they get tired of shaving away a sliver at a time the project turns from one of possible fun to just plain frustration.
This year we did it different.
The box sat on the kitchen island for a full 2 weeks. The night before the race Justin mentioned that he needed to get his car done. He drew the shape that he wanted and then sat in near tears at the time it would take to shave his block of wood into his dream car. The next morning, to avoid a meltdown, we made a phone call to our home teacher who teaches shop at the high school and poof, a car was born in the 20 second cut of a band saw. The cut was so smooth that Justin didn't even have to sand it down. At 4:15 he sprayed a light coat of black paint onto his wood and then dug through all my old scrapbook stuff to find some stickers. At 5:00 he carefully placed his stickers, shoved the little nails through each tire, attached the tires to the frame and by 6:00 he had it all detailed so that it would not lean to the left or right and was ready for the races . . . a full hour early! It was the smoothest pinewood derby prep ever.
After each boy registered and received their Pinewood Pro Derby License they began a very long night of cheers, jeers, a few tears and finally awards. Justin took 4th place out of 14 cars. Way to go Justin!
This year we did it different.
The box sat on the kitchen island for a full 2 weeks. The night before the race Justin mentioned that he needed to get his car done. He drew the shape that he wanted and then sat in near tears at the time it would take to shave his block of wood into his dream car. The next morning, to avoid a meltdown, we made a phone call to our home teacher who teaches shop at the high school and poof, a car was born in the 20 second cut of a band saw. The cut was so smooth that Justin didn't even have to sand it down. At 4:15 he sprayed a light coat of black paint onto his wood and then dug through all my old scrapbook stuff to find some stickers. At 5:00 he carefully placed his stickers, shoved the little nails through each tire, attached the tires to the frame and by 6:00 he had it all detailed so that it would not lean to the left or right and was ready for the races . . . a full hour early! It was the smoothest pinewood derby prep ever.
After each boy registered and received their Pinewood Pro Derby License they began a very long night of cheers, jeers, a few tears and finally awards. Justin took 4th place out of 14 cars. Way to go Justin!
Oh, and he also received his Webelos rank, which I will admit had not one thing to do with his parents help. His leaders walked him all the way through this one. I felt a little guilty as he pinned the mothers pin on my jacket wondering if I should hand it over as a leaders pin instead. And, I didn't realize how tall he is getting until I saw the pictures of him standing next to me.
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