December 23, 2006

Space Derby

On Wednesday for pack night they had the space derby. It ended up being a fun night for the boys, but the preparation was a big pain in the neck. I was really frustrated with the whole situation.

Pack night has been a very hard thing ever since T has been in scouts. They have always been so unorganized. There haven't been very many activities planned, and there was no enthusiasm when the boys earned their badges. Luckily things are slowly getting better and there is actually a theme to pack night each month with an activity planned, and they even are starting to do a flag ceremony. I'm very happy about that because these young boys are so excited to be in scouts and to learn and discover new things. I really want this to be a positive experience for T and the boys in his pack.

Now here is where I sound like a hypocrite. Monday afternoon we get a little space derby kit on our doorstep and are told that we need to have our rocket made for pack night Wed. night. With FHE on Monday we didn't even open the box until Tues. after homework and dinner. In the kit is two blocks of wood and the parts to make a propeller. We have no wood glue, and T has basketball practice in an hour. I was real annoyed. So, Wed. morning I go to the store to buy glue so that I can build a rocket while T is at school, so that is ready for him to paint when he gets home. Not to mention that I also have a classroom party to put on that day, field trips, doctor appts, etc. etc., and that it's only 5 days away from Christmas. No problem. When I finally got home, I glued the wood together, waited for it to dry and then began carving and sanding this block of wood into a rocket. It wasn't as bad as I thought at first, and I thought hey maybe I'll add some dimension to it. Well, when I got done, the block of wood looked like a penis not a rocket. How did I do that? I thought there is no way, I can fix this, but I had to try. So I kept on sanding. Luckily I got it to look somewhat like a rocket, and once it was painted and the propellor was on, it looked much better. So, while I'm so glad that they are doing things and planning activities for the boys to do, I also wish that we had a little more warning to build these dang rockets. I think I'll buy a kit now and start building the one for next year's derby.

With all that said and done, the night ended up being very fun for the boys. They had a slide show on the solar system, and learned a little bit about space. Then, they got to race their rockets a couple of times. T also earned his soccer badge and pin. He was so excited. I hope that he continues to enjoy scouting and has the desire to learn and develop new skills.

3 comments:

Chellie said...

Scouting is such a good thing for the boys. This story is hilarious... really it is. Although frustrating for you, funny for us reading it :-)
Your a good mom to follow through and even with the late notice, still managed to get it done.

Mel said...

The pack meeting problems sound like ours. No enthusiasm, no flag available, and two days to build a rocket... what is that! Problem here is that I'm one of the den leaders and I don't know how to change it. The cub master isn't really into the "applause" and making any kind of big deal about the awards. I'm always offering to help more but he says that its no big deal and he can do it. IF you have any suggestions of how I could make it better, let me know.

Suzanne said...

How frustrating to have to do all that in such a short amount of time before Christmas! The leaders definitely procrastinated, but it was you that had to pay for it. LOL at your first rocket shape! :D

My 6-year old absolutely loves anything about outer space. How fun it will be when he gets to scouts and can do activities like this!