The Plan

Planning is one days' 15 minute session.

Sit down with your son and 1 plain pieces of paper, one print out of the following list, and picture printout (http://www.abc-pinewood-derby.com/images/magnum-front-big.jpg), and a pencil.

Lesson:  How to make a plan and write one down 

Kids are eager little puppies, but they have yet to learn how to plan something.  When they wipe the table, they have too much water in the sponge, wipe in random shapes, wipe the same area a few times, and miss others. The can mimic the motion, but do not understand theory or technique or much/any practice.  

They have not yet learned to plan a complex long-term problem - to plan, identify their personal goal/end product, to set a time schedule, and then identify the steps to get the project done.  In this case, he won't know where to start, so you have to spell it out for him.  This is their first time probably.

Here are the steps you will have printed on one piece of paper. Draw an arrow going from the top to the bottom so that the goals. Use an analogy that the boy will understand. How about a pizza analogy since all kids love pizza and generally know how its made.  If you want to make a pizza, how do you make a plan? They will spit out some elements to a pizza - cheese, dough, ovens, their favorite topics. But that's about it.


What is your goal? (Have a pizza). Do you know how to make a pizza (some of it, but probably should learn about the important steps). When would you eat the pizza? Do you have all the stuff you need to make the pizza? (no). What kind of pizza are you making? How big? What ingredients do you need in order to make that kind? Where would you buy the ingredients? How would you get to the store? How much would that cost? Who is bakiWould you be okay with your parents showing you some extra tips to make your pizza extra yummy, crispy, and nice looking?

1. Set Goals*
2. Concepts: ideas about Pinewood Derby cars, the science behind it, and our personal
3. Physics: learning fun stuff about how things work
4. Supplies: what do we need to do to make a car and what does dad need?
5. Prepping the wood
6. Cutting new axles holes/groove
7. Rough cut: The first cut
8. Weight pocket: Putting the weight in the right place
9. Second cut: Removing bad weight
10. Fine cuts: making it look like a car
11.Sanding: making your car smooth
12. Axle/wheel prep: making your car fast
13. Weighting your car
14. Painting
15. Polishing
16. Testing
17. Lubricating
18. Finish Car
19. Race day prep
20. Goal: race a car that we are proud of because we learned new stuff, did our best, and completed it on time*

This is the order you will do from when you start until the day of racing. Give this paper to your son so he can use it as a checklist and tape it to his room wall.

Next take the printout picture of a car, so that you and your son can learn the same language so your son/you don't get frustrated with communication issues. This is so it isn't "you know, the thing, the end part, no the other part".


Label the following things:
Front
Bottom
Back
Top
Pilon (the part of the wood where the wheel is mounted)
Weight pocket (not pictured, but this is where you will drill out to fit your weight in)


Wheels (the wheel has multipled parts)
Wheel hub (the little well where the nail head rests in)
Wheel tread (actually there is no tread, but this is the flat part where it rolls)
Wheel bore (the hole inside of the wheel where the axle goes)
Wheel cone (the part of the wheel that will be next to the body of the car)


Axles (the nail that mounts the wheels)
Axle head (the nail head)
Axle shaft (the long part)

The third piece of paper is so your son can write down any ideas he has as you go through this.

Next session: Goals