Did the K'nex roller coaster thing at work.
Reese* worked on it for six days.
Now Reese has his issues. Eric pointed out that with his background and things that have gone on and continue to go on in his life, he feels like he has very little control. Which is why he's a control freak. And why he goes from zero to screaming, red-faced maniac in .2 seconds.
So when he showed an amazingly large amount of excitement over the project, I put him in charge of it. He had a little trouble delegating, but by the time it was over, had learned to allow other kids a little input into the process.
And I know it built him up a bit to put him in charge.
He was really proud when the thing was put together.
And it didn't work right. Problem with the tractor feed belt that pulls the coaster to the top. It was skipping gears and just... not working.
Reese did 99% of the building. He did an amazing job. And he was more disappointed than anyone when it didn't go. He took it personally, actually.
All the kids got together over it and brainstormed. Went over the manual together. Tried and tried.
Then, one of the dads came in on Tuesday afternoon about 4:45. Ended up staying until six, trying to figure out why it wasn't working.
And even with an adult brain working on the problem, it wasn't happening.
Until Wednesday afternoon.
Reese sat inside the cage the coaster forms and watched the gears inside the clear box intently as the coaster failed to operate right. He finally said, "Hey, do you still have that other motor? I think this is the wrong motor for this. The gears aren't working together the way they're supposed to."
So I found him the other motor.
And you know what? He was right!
And you never saw a prouder kid.
By the time he got it all put back together, there were only four kids left, so it will be a big surprise on Thursday when the other kids come in and find that he figured it out.
I made him a big sign to hold.
It says ENGINEER.
And I took his picture with his creation.
I'll post it at work with the other pictures when I get them printed.
I wish I could show it to you, but of course I can't.
But trust me.
Reese being in charge of this project?
Made him feel good.
And it made me feel sort of good, too.
:)
Those coasters are NOT easy! He did a great job!
ReplyDeleteYou deserve a raise. A huge one. My God, you are an awesome person. Can you come here and take care of my daughter? I know you'd be great for her self esteem.
ReplyDeleteSorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner about the kind words you said about my blog.Thank you very much. I've been under the weather with the flu for four days. I've been struggling to get posts out. The kinex looks great. They're tough to build. Reese should be proud. My son over the years has put almost every single one together. He even had a six foot tall ferris wheel. Take care.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do with the coaster to store it? Is your little storage closet big enough?
ReplyDeleteLooks like fun!!
Yay Reese!!!! Yay Ami!!!
ReplyDeleteEvery child has a prupose on this Earth.
ReplyDeleteAnd clearly, this day, Reese has found his.
Makes me think of my own... Thanks!
Wouldn't it be winderful if this became the motivation for Reese to jump all the hurdles in his life to grow up to become an engineer for real? I hope you give him a copy of that picture to keep at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteAnd breaking the rules for the kids to enjoy the snow for four minutes: genius. Nothing could calm them quicker. And it was cold enough that they were happy to come right back in!