Contests spark competition. See this principle in action by sponsoring a build-your-own, fly-your-own paper airplane contest. This activity is both inexpensive and entertaining. See if any neighbor kids want in on the excitement. Start by finding the best basic flyer pattern you can and help your children create a flying machine from some old paper. Plane builders are limited only by their imaginations and materials on hand.

To ensure longer flights and easier plane recovery, go to an open field or school yard. That way you’ll spend more time soaring and less roaming rooftops. Take turns so everyone can enjoy the spotlight for a moment.

Someone’s plane may crumble in the contest. Though not exactly crashing and burning, one model or another often fails to make the grade and turns into a tumbling projectile. When this happens, help your young engineer see a couple of things.

Life is as fragile as that paper airplane. We must count on God’s protective hand to get from one day to the next. And second, the contest’s point is pure folly and fun. Reputation and honor don’t hang in the balance, merely seeing whose plane flies the best and longest on one particular day. Remind all comers that there will be other days, other opportunities to take to the skies.

To help your kids remember the day with delight, no matter what happens, invest in some inexpensive ribbons for those who place and those who participate. Have a brief ceremony and give everyone a prize as well as plenty of verbal kudos. Your family will have a soft spot for their day at the races—the airplane races.