This year's class started off with 23 eager builders with nearly 70% from last year's class. We had a rather unique class composition this year with 1/3 of the builders between the ages of 5-7. We also had 5 girls this year, I think an all time high, and very welcome to see.

It's always a little challenging trying to match the kit with the builder, especially for the 5-7 age range. We want to avoid burdening the young builder with a kit that is far too difficult with a resulting negative experience with modeling. We also try to avoid something so simple that they're done in one or two sessions. And so, we try to balance things while at the same time trying to give the kids what they want.

Sometimes we don't always know what's best. Here's an excerpt of a conversation I had with 7 year- old Andrew:
Me: Andrew, I see you've chosen another warship. I remember the one you chose last year was a little too difficult.
Andrew: That was the HMS Ajax, this is the HMS Hood.
Me: Would you like to choose something a little easier?
Andrew: I studied the Battle of the Bismarck. I had my heart set on this one.
Me: (slightly taken aback) Well, oh okay, good choice!
And so it goes. He's progressing nicely with the build, despite my good intentions. I didn't realize that 7 year-olds study battles!

We have a policy that builders in the 5-7 age range need to have a parent or guardian present and this really helps in being able to (most of the time) give the builder what they want. During our second session, I looked around the room and every builder had a parent/guardian present. This was really impressive as many of us who have volunteered in the past have recalled seeing parents on the first day and the last (certificate award day). This high level of parental involvement has been pretty consistent over the past 3 years and is very heartening. One parent asked me where he could buy models as he wanted his twelve-year old son to do more kit building and less video gaming.

See! This means that plastic kit building is making a comeback and we're gonna give Lasertron and every other imaginable kid techno distraction a good whoop'in! Okay, time to head back to reality.

At least I can say that everyone was having a good time painting and decaling their model any way they wished. There were blue and purple night attack harriers with nice burgundy splotches on them and a P-51D Mustang painted gold for racing but still retaining the rocket tubes to ensure that the race will be won, if not by speed then by firepower!

One of the things that we've done recently is to have a Poster Day. This simply involves taking old poster calendars of cars and planes etc., and separating the posters and handing them out. It's a great and inexpensive way to generate interest in things that the kids might like to learn more about or model. I would like to thank Dick Schulenberg and Tony Gliszczynski for donating some really awesome plane and car posters respectively. The kids gobbled them up with great zeal.

One of the other things that we've recently done is to have a Magazine Day. In this case it involved IPMS National Headquarters providing complimentary copies of the IPMS Journal and the nice folks from Kalmbach Publishing providing some very important how-to brochures, such as: You Can Make Great Scale Models, Best of Questions and Answers, Painting Tips, and Better Bodies for Car Models. I would like to thank both of those organizations for their generosity in promoting our hobby. Last year our members donated old issues of hobby magazines and this was another creative way for kids to see some great modeling and learn tips and techniques at virtually no cost.

Our Kids Class would simply not be possible without the annual support we receive from our membership. Every year the following people can be depended on to volunteer their time and make most classes, when possible, and provide direction to young builders and, by doing so, provide a positive experience with modeling for kids. They are: Matt Anger, Frank Blonski, Tom Brown, Bob Collignon Tony Gliszczynski, Alan Gryfe, Samantha and Justin Hanna, Stan and Matt Keysa, Brian McFee, Nick Morris, Dick Schulenberg, Dave Schwab, Ray Weick, and Jim Wolfe.

Our level of volunteer involvement this year was at an all time high. We usually work with 8 tables of kids and our volunteer staffing ranged from a low of 10 to a high of 15. In fact, our staffing and parental involvement was so comprehensive that I don't recall ever showing anyone how to fit two pieces of plastic together! This allowed me to canvass the room and do a better job of monitoring things.

Our "man behind the scenes" who provides the sharp looking Certificates of Achievement for the kids on Awards Day is Mr. Paul Hines. Paul has done this for as long as I can remember and I know that he would like to make the classes but often cannot due to work. Thanks, Paul.

Finally, I would like to thank Mr. John Kavulich of Niagara Hobby and Craft Mart for providing the gift certificates that the kids receive on Awards Day. John has generously provided these every year and I can tell you from experience, the kids eagerly wait to receive them!

As I mentioned earlier, our last day is "Awards Day". The class will work for about an hour and a half to put finishing touches such as decals on their models and then everyone will bring their model over to a side table to display for all to see. Watching the kids gather around and talk and marvel at what each other built reminded me why all of us enjoy the hobby of plastic kit modeling. I think our President, Justin Hanna, summed things up best in his introduction about the kids class in the February Dizpatch. Please check out his column if you haven't already.

Our awards presentation entails each builder coming up with their model to receive a Certificate of Achievement from IPMS Niagara Frontier, a gift certificate from Niagara Hobby and Craft Mart, and our annual Buffcon flyer. We hope that the kids will enter their model in our upcoming show on Sunday, April 10th at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

I've been lucky enough to hand out the awards for the past couple of years and I'll usually try to engage the kids with questions about their model; what was the most challenging or fun thing, what they liked most, and what they plan on building next year.

One last note. Hosting the awards gives me the added benefit of more than a few parents coming up to me at the end to say thank you and that their child would be definitely be coming back next year. While I do coordinate the Kids Class, the thanks really goes to our club members who volunteered their time to the local community and made our club, IPMS Niagara Frontier, stand tall.

Ah Fall, steady rains wash leaves of olive, ochre, and crimson into gutters and downspouts. Spiders weave their last webs before the cold and thoughts turn to pumpkin carving, apple cider, and playing hide and seek in piles of leaves. Okay, enough of that sappy gibberish. Fall is also time to prepare for our annual Kids' Model Kit Building Class. The 2012 class will be held, as usual, in the basement of the Harlem Road Community Center for six consecutive Saturdays starting on January 21st and ending on February 25th, 2012.

This year's class started off with 23 eager builders with nearly 70% from the 2010 class. We had a rather unique class composition this year with 1/3 of the builders between the ages of 5-7. We also had 5 girls this year, I think an all time high, and very welcome to see.

Our Kids Class simply would not be possible without the annual support we receive from our membership. Every year the following people can be depended on to volunteer their time, when possible, and provide direction and a positive modeling experience for young builders. They are: Frank Blonski, Tom Brown, Bob Collignon Tony Gliszczynski, Stan and Matt Keysa, Brian McFee, Dick Schulenberg, and Dave Schwab. I would like to also welcome our recent newcomers whose support is gladly appreciated: Matt Anger, Alan Gryfe, Samantha Hanna, Nick Morris (who returned this year as a mentor after being a student), Ray Weick, and Jim Wolfe.

Please consider being a Mentor. It's okay if you can't make every session. Whatever time you can provide will be greatly appreciated by your fellow members and especially the kids. Every year we strive to make improvements to the Kids' Class and your involvement and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Our main goal is to have every child come away with a finished model and a positive experience with modeling.

Remember, it would be great if you could volunteer for the whole class but it's okay if you can only attend some sessions. A sign up sheet will be passed out at the next 3 club meetings.