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We've been in an old fashioned mood this week. So, when faced with a gray rainy morning (the snow is completely gone, and we've traded the arctic cold, for a Pacific Northwest drizzle), we turned to our trusty World Book Child Craft "Make and Do" volume, for entertainment.
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The children wanted to try out a spool tractor. I was going to say no, after all, the instructions called for an empty wooden spool, a stick match, a piece of bar soap, a rubber band, and a small nail. Old fashioned is one thing, but even if I could locate a piece of bar soap, or a wooden spool in the house, I certainly wasn't going to hand over a stick match, and small nail to a bunch of bored and restless children. I'm not completely crazy.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Zhl64U5oPTaO1QZG4Gzj6Xy3yH0JGcECO29dg6Ui6qvb4_xp7Hr1EEuh2dwwiNY5TO2pU5LV1XuJrxa9xZ0z7gA5Ik3kk4PFcC4XQzxYtSrxa6EfNbiYZJtzBf0LahH1rlOhblhvYhs/s200/almostunschoolers+213338.jpg)
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It went a little ways, but not as far as we would have liked, and I couldn't help but to wonder, if the older version in our World Book, wouldn't have worked better. I decided to wipe off the Vaseline, and replace the clothes pin with a chunky crayon (one of our homemade crayons, to be specific), figuring the waxy crayon would reduce the friction, the same as a piece of soap, and it's shape would keep it from turning all the way around, thus turning the spool instead.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhefg08F1nUdVecizx4vYHFlMjclpbLChX3TqZYum4qI_QCE1p0N79v4OpSPJELch2yvxC2pjF6o-5sRYC3QNa_-yBHXU_afKEkbDpnuZTZpaJcRWl9VUjmasyKwyBDW53sddVeO0ccGA/s200/almostunschoolers+213355.jpg)
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However, after a quick look online, I was satisfied, that we could make some substitutions, and still come out about the same.
For our first tractor, we followed instruction from How to Make Anything. It called for a modern spool (with or without thread), and replaced the nail with a paper clip, the soap with petroleum jelly, and the match stick with half of a clothes pin. You can click the link above for a how-to video, or just figure it out from the pictures below.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Zhl64U5oPTaO1QZG4Gzj6Xy3yH0JGcECO29dg6Ui6qvb4_xp7Hr1EEuh2dwwiNY5TO2pU5LV1XuJrxa9xZ0z7gA5Ik3kk4PFcC4XQzxYtSrxa6EfNbiYZJtzBf0LahH1rlOhblhvYhs/s200/almostunschoolers+213338.jpg)
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Once we had it assembled, we turned the clothes pin, to wind the rubber band, and let it go.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXPOTBIdLrkIhJGsxK0Jk08tEU3vXqyPw495xOQwDXN5ktc8hVLRdlDGNJr8ImYpipiEAZ0BGgCW3lHSSl5eVnwh4kx1LaZKFPnaSGzOnggDWw_-MrlPMoqNWd-9JwH9cjlsMIS_TSMI/s200/almostunschoolers+213348.jpg)
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It worked great. I put paper down, in case the crayon left a mark behind, but thanks to the inferior nature of my homemade crayons, it didn't really leave any mess. Our new tractor, would start out with a burst of speed, seem to stop, rock a little, and then inch forward, a bit at a time.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78spAFgFE72abgoeSgNFuoKm0OXj7SIJYpVAa5qqSyxk4zc2zjkfXIL5VwWeHp2MsuyGyxdfsU9miu7Tyilo1XTLEy-jEexz2eX_Dakd9lic_xgAg0XOri_EFn6qZCMSVE_suSt_miLw/s200/almostunschoolers+213354.jpg)
We made a second tractor, and raced them. As they inched forward, it was impossible to tell which one would cross the finish line first. Add in a lot of cheering, and clapping, and it made for a pretty exciting morning.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96ybKj1pMNuRq_SYIgBQqTbn4Da1g9O51vCGHbwqN8OLXKVz2BFQu2fzVgJzPH5iOJwkg0lODouTK94r0K_fL05_oLbiKlfIm7RJm4Z6NSqdMrylyzF8bAS-InQwkh7wuuKNUrpydr5E/s200/almostunschoolers+213358.jpg)
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Of course, there's a science lesson under all the fun too, about potential and kinetic energy, or maybe friction and inertia. Basically, Newton in a nutshell. But for today, we're just having fun.
It's great to be a homeschooler.
1 comment:
Cool - I've seen projects that use the old fashioned wooden spools and wondered what on earth I could substitute!
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