need some idea for teaching my boy

[Irish_Alley]

ok heres the deal my boy is now 6 but his mind reminds me of how i was as a kid. he loves to takes things apart and see how they work. every RC he has or even motorized cars he wants to take apart and i have to tell him no. im working on his power wheels and making them faster and stronger and he wants to do the same to everything he has. just like i want to do with my trucks.

so my question is, do any one you guys know of some sort of hobby kit or something that we can both work on and learn how to do. i know lowes (hardware store) does hobby nights but from what ive seen its kind of like pinewood derby cars. hes the type to take multiple things apart and try to combine them to make something totally different.

i would like to have some sort of RC kit or something for him to work on. ive kind of been wanting to turning a power wheels into a RC just to do it.

[zieg85]

Buy him a starter set of tools.  Start with a 20 inch bicycle.  Completely take it apart, clean/grease/repaint the frame, tighten spokes and straighten the rims if needed and put it back together.

That is how I started about that age.  Still have my Craftsman wrenches with my initials engraved in them

[bd]

That's a great idea, Carl.

How about an electronics lab?  It's educational and creative.  Or, paint by number sets?  Subscribe to various craft magazines that he can thumb through.

Or just have him help you work on your truck(s), washing parts, looking at how pieces are assembled, safety instruction, fetching tools and parts as you need them.  Have him help and be directly involved in your projects.  Letting a child help when they are interested is one of the best, most motivational things you can do.

[Irish_Alley]

that may be a good place to start. and he's always trying to take my tools so hopefully it will stop that lol

[Irish_Alley]

thanks BD that lab will help both of us out. i have a couple big tool boxes also i can set him up with. in the process of buying a house that has a detached garage about 900 Sq ft.. i already know ill be fighting him over garage space so i think im going to set him up a corner section where he can do what he wants in it with his how tool box and tools

[FlatBlack77]

When I was little my dad made me a little workbench with a small vise and a place for my toolbox. i loved it. you could build one together that would be a great project

Zieg has a very good idea with a bicycle. i spent alot of time riding and tinkering with my bikes when I was a kid. changing tubes and whatnot. I actually just got back into bicycles this year after like 12 years of not riding. im hooked again

I did one of these when I was a kid I liked it but i went to town on it and it was together in like an hour lol
http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/smithsonian-combustion-engine-model-kit.html?utm_source=google_shopping&m=simple&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Gifts+%26+Models&adpos=1o1&creative=74939070622&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtpDMBRC4ARIsADhz5O4q3AXz-etRB2yAHO7FanV3bM3iLPGIbDVGp7saZN0ebNcQbrPF7F0aAp32EALw_wcB

I liked RC cars too i liked messing around with them and taking them apart. I had a solar powered hovercraft DIY kit and a solar powered tank with rubber tracks that was also a DIY kit. I messed around with those alot just tinkering and changing things to get the tank to get over tougher obstacles. I looked around online but I cant find anything similar to the kit I had

If hes into Legos and electronics the Lego Mindstorms are pretty neat. endless possibilities KNEX are fun too

Nitro RC cars/trucks are a heck of alot of fun. but they can be fast and in the blink of an eye they can be destroyed when they hit something lol

[Irish_Alley]

yeah dont think we want nitros lol
found this also


for 20 bucks and he can make his own rc with the chassis from that set

[Stewart G Griffin]

i think the bicycle (or trike or big wheel) idea may be the best, because i'm not sure a 6 yr old can clearly understand more complicated mechanical concepts;  i'm an adult and have trouble.......

i'd suggest taking a SBC chevy completely apart and rebuilding it, but again, can a 6yr old get it?

[frankentruck79]

My dad and I built and raced rc cars together.
It came as a kit. We had to put oil in the shocks and everything. Some of my best memories with him are building that car together. And a lego pirate ship.

If he is inclined with computers try looking into an arduino set.
It's like an electronics lab, but a more modern version.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009UKZV0A/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1502044441&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=arduino+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=51aSEUGcGDL&ref=plSrch

I ended up getting this set to learn electronics.
Very nice and cool way to get into learning. Also has a programming portion (all included in the book with the kit)
That way he can figure out if he likes both at the same time.


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[VileZambonie]

buy him some Transformers

[Irish_Alley]

transformers arnt bad. but i plan on spending time in the garage and im sure he'll want to be with me. so if we can spend time together building something and have a working end results then im down for it.

stew i believe our minds are all able to comprehend certain things and excel at others. myself, i cant really spell but common sense and testing my mental capabilities is something i believe i can excel at. while you may have someone who can spell good but they lack common sense then you have those that dont or cant really do much of anything. when it comes to electronics i never had anything to mess with or play with when i was younger and i think the first time i tried to solder anything was in middle school when they removed shop class and replaced it with tech class. in school when we drew up blueprints the teacher thought i had been to a different school that teaches blueprints cause how well i understood them and was able to put it on paper. and with CAD thats a story by itself. Im by definition a redneck but im a hi-tech redneck, in industrial maintenance class in high school i was the top "nerd". i was one of the biggest guys in class but put me on a computer and i could draw anything. it got to the point where the teacher would send a handful of us to the computer lab and i would draw everyone CADs up but change them so they wouldnt all look the same and do this all in the same amount of time the teach thought it would take one guy to draw one.

i believe my son is the same way, i feel like i have to tap into his mind and show him at a young age what he can do to fully understand how powerful his mind is, while his mind is still open and learning. my mom and dad split when i was 3, i missed out on working on projects with my dad and learning a lot of that stuff when i was younger. i feel that hindered my learning experience cause all i really had when i was a teenager was video games, bikes and lawnmowers.

but getting back to transformers, it would be nice to make a homemade one lol

[arby87]

If he really like electronics, Franken has a great idea with the Arduino.

If your kid shows a preference for more on the programming side, look into the Raspberry Pi.

Like the Arduino, there are tons of projects online to build with it, including projects that combine the two. I have several of them- one is used as a person DNS server to block ads from showing up on my home network (Pi-Hole), another I turned into a baby monitor (added a no-IR filter for see in the dark and a microphone), and plan on another camera module one to watch the front door and/or the idiots in the apartments using my driveway as a turn around point (already cracked the lower half of my new driveway!).

A friend of mine growing up had an awesome father/son project- a completely hand built go kart/ATV hybrid. They fabricated the frame together and utilized a motor out of a wrecked ATV. Never got to see it in action, but it looked like a heck of a lot of fun.

[ehjorten]

When my boy was little I got him started in Technology side of 4H.  They were doing the Lego Mindstorm robotics!  The Legomindstorm EV3 or EV4 is a little steep to just buy yourself, but with 4H you can do it for free!!!  That is provided you have a Technology club in 4H for your area.  Our area is actually the largest 4H Technology county in the nation!

[VileZambonie]

transformers arnt bad. but i plan on spending time in the garage and im sure he'll want to be with me. so if we can spend time together building something and have a working end results then im down for it.

You act like Transformers don't belong in the garage...

[Irish_Alley]

i guess theres always room for transformers :-). on a side note the property we're buying is "bigger" then we were informed. went and talked to a neighbor who has a yard full of car and truck parts and a couple lifts. when i pulled up into his driveway i said "hi, im tim. im moving in next door". he then said "you do know this is your driveway also and those buildings back there are yours also". apparently him and his father made the "driveway" to their shop on my property. i told him im not worried one bit about the driveway cause i think we're going to get along just fine with all their junk and my junk. the buildings were a nice shop with a work bench and all that stuff for tinkering and a carport and a couple lean tos. so me and the boy will have even more room for more junk.

when we looked at the property it didnt seam like an acre and even questioned it to the realtor but she had no idea. and apparently neither did the bank who owes the house cause they never did mentioned it and i know my appraiser didnt even look at them.