John's First Space Derby

Last night John had his first Space Derby! They passed out rocket kits at last month's pack meeting, basically a block of wood with a hole down the middle, a propeller and a few rubber bands. He and Steven worked on sanding it down to the shape they wanted. John cut out the cardstock fins and painted it. He was so proud of it!

So last night after dinner the whole family piled into the car to go to the church where the Space Derby was to be held. John got his number (#2) and after a while they had the flag ceremony, opening prayer, and the Derby began. They had a setup with four wires strung across the width of the cultural hall, each wire having a little plastic hanger with to attach the rocket. I think the point was not so much which would be fastest, but which could go the farthest. On his first race, John's rocket beat the other three he was competing against, and got about half away across the room. He was thrilled!  He only got to race his rocket one more time, and that time when it came in second he was disappointed. When the prizes were awarded and he wasn't listed in the top five he was really sad. He gave me the piece of candy he was awarded for participating, while he sat on his chair looking depressed. I wished I could help him somehow.

 

John has always been extra sensitive, wearing his emotions for all to see. It takes very little for him to swing from elated to depressed. I wish I could convince him that sometimes the fun is in the creating, the playing and the doing, and not just in the winning. There was a while when I cringed every time he got out a game to play, because of how he would react if he lost. He is getting better with maturity: he doesn't throw tantrums anymore. Now, he retreats to be sad by himself for a little while, and eventually, when he is able to deal with life again, he comes out and is okay. Last night he recovered in time to eat some of the cookies brought for refreshments before we had to leave for home.

The winning space derby rocket was the skinniest of all the rockets there, and resembled a bullet. It was the only rocket that got close to the end of the track. Steven talked to the boy and his dad who made it and was told that they had soaked the rubber bands in some solution to make them springier, and had also put graphite on part of the propeller to reduce friction. This being our first space derby, we had never thought about doing any of that. I guess we can keep the information in mind for next year.