Parenting Survival Tips

Pinewood Derby - Sectional Race Results Are In...

Ok Parents -

First - thank you Hans for your support! Now - this is not at all what I had expected when we went to the Pinewood Derby Sectional Race this Saturday so read on.....

I took my own advice thinking it was brilliant and put my boys cars on the shelf and we did not touch them all week. On Saturday, we arrived 30 minutes before the race allowing just enough time to add some graphite, check in and weigh in and we are good to roll...only to find out that when we went to weigh in their cars my older son's car had lost .5 grams and my younger son's car had gained 1 whole gram! How could this be? Both cars were stored in the same place inside the home and both weighed the max weight at the first race of 170.1 grams....hmm....does anybody have any insights as to how this could happen and how the 2 cars stored in the same place could be impacted so differently?? very strange!

Well, we ended up borrowing a drill and taking out 1 gram from my younger son's 1st place car so that he could make weight to race again - oh  - the pain it cost me to see his sad face! But, he ended up making weight and was able to enter the race against his peers and two other outposts.  It was a very close race the entire time and he ended up bringing home the 4th place ribbon! Congratulations Luke! My older son was racing against some veteran pros and so it was fantastic to see him bring home 6th place. Way to go boys!

It was an exciting race all the way to the finish line and both boys are now elgible to compete again at the Division Race coming up on the 16th - where the competition becomes quite fierce! I may have to rethink my strategy of just letting the cars sit for 2 weeks??? hmm....any and all advice is quite welcome! :-)

Until next time....let it roll......

Julie
aka: Derby Mom

Pinewood Derby Race Tips

Hi Parents,

Is your son or daughter building a Pinewood Derby car this year or thinking about it for Boy Scouts or Royal Rangers?

Well, both of my boys are in Royal Rangers and this is our 3rd year at the races coming up next weekend. Every year, as a single mom and feeling totally out of my element building race cars, I continue to learn new tips and tricks and thought it would be a good idea to share my learnings with other parents who might be new to the Derby or looking for ways to improve your car performance.

The 1st year, both boys did well and went on to compete at the district level and the key learnings from the first year were:

• Design Counts - the shorter the height the better!
• Weights are Key - keep adding and deleting weights to get right at the 5.0 or 6.0 gram maximum (depends on your org regulations - but always strive to hit the max allowable weight) - you can even just add a screw or two into in the bottom or drill a hole as a quick way to add or delete a small amount of weight.
• Graphite is a MUST! I don't think it is possible to use too much graphite - so prior to every race I load up the graphite on the wheels and axels.
• Don't forget to do a practice run! - Before the race, it is a good idea to do a few trial runs on a smooth surface to see if your car is rolling straight or not and if not - take out your screwdriver and slightly adjust the axel screws (just a half turn usually is enough) and then keep running test drives until the car rolls straight.

2nd year key learnings:

• Weight placement - it is critical to drill out the bottom of the car and glue or screw the weights into the bottom of the car so nothing is dragging to slow down the car.
• Thinness of the wheels matters - ok - we learned the hard way by spending more than 10 hours slowly shaving and polishing the wheels to get them as thin as possible - read on....

3rd year learnings:

• It is legal to buy the already shaved wheels and you can save yourself hours of time!
• Find friends that have power tools and enjoy building to help you out!

        Thank you so much Grandpa and Paul! :-)

For more Pinewood Derby Tips or to order supplies from the pros check out these websites:

1) Scoutarama

2) PinewoodExtreme

3) Pinewood Derby Rules & Kits

4) DerbyChamp

5) Derby Supplies

Well...be sure to check back next week to see how my boys did at the races!

Good luck on your cars and be sure to comment if you have any Derby tips to share!

Julie
aka: Derby Mom

New Site for Networking Parents - TBD.com - The mid-life MySpace

The mid-life MySpace: TBD

Recently I have been using an application on Facebook called "workin' it" to network with family and friends, but I just came across this new site TBD.com which is considered to be the "Facebook for Grown-ups".  Mark Miller wrote an interesting article in the Chicago Times today and I would welcome your comments. The mid-life MySpace: TBD

Robin Wolaner, founder of Parenting Magazine, recently launched a new website, TBD.com (to be determined), a reference to Wolaner's belief that boomers are embarking on new adventures in life. TeeBeeDee is a place where they can do what she calls "purposeful networking" -- comparing notes, getting ideas and inspiration.

TeeBeeDee joins a growing field of interactive ventures appealing to people who want to network online, but are just a bit older than the typical Facebook or MySpace user.

Other boomer-oriented social networks include Boomj, Boomertown, Rezoom and Gather. And AARP -- the granddaddy of 50+ media -- is getting ready to add social networking early next year as part of a redesign of its Web site.

There's no doubt boomers are online in huge numbers. Sixty-five percent of Americans age 50-to-64 are online, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and the percentages are higher among boomers under 60. But, will boomers take to social networking in the same way their kids have bought into Facebook and MySpace?

"The most compelling reason that young people use these sites is to hook up," says Susan Ayers Walker, who writes about computers and technology for AARP's Web site. "Older people already have their social networks set, so what is the compelling reason they will use sites like this?"

How about ... hooking up?

There are plenty of sites available for "hooking up" and plenty of sites out there for parental advice but what where do you find the parental social groups online that are facing the same issues you might be with raising boys, getting homework done, or managing your teenager?

If you are a boomer or getting close, I would love to hear your thoughts on what parental social networking sites you find helpful as a and what do you primarily use these sites for?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Julie
aka: Online Mom

Famster: Family Social Networks - Fad or Future?

Hi Parents,

I am in the process of adding a family resource section to my blog and I thought there is no better way to kick it off than with a discussion on secure family social networks, such as www.famster.com.

Famster is an award winning social network site catering to families.  The main difference between Famster and other social networking sites, like MySpace or Facebook, is that it is secure and password protected. It also offers a host of user friendly features, such as photo share, blogging, scrapbooking, photo albums, address book, email, calendar, recipes, streaming video, family tree, RSS news feeds and more. It also differs from the major social networks in that there is a monthly subscription fee of $9.95 per family domain while most public social networking sites offer a free subscription.

With the invasion of sex offenders mulling through the public social networking sites, this new niche of secure social networks may have a following. Currently hundreds of thousand of families see the value of this type of service but is it here to stay?

Famster is partnering with socially responsible sites such as Common Sense Media, Plugged in Parent, Baby Center, and Snapshots of Heaven. I would love to hear from you if you have a Famster profile or thoughts on the viability of this type of family networking service or suggestions on how we can allow our children to safely engage online.

Julie
aka: Concerned Mom