In the United States there is a car race almost every week of the year between February and November. Now that the professionals are done, your children ages 4 and up can make some races of their own. You need a small toy car and a pencil for each racer and some string cut into equal lengths. Younger children should use short string; older children may have the patience for longer pieces. Tie one end of the string to the front of a car and the other end to the middle of the pencil. Pick a starting line at one end of your room and put the cars down. Now walk away as far as the string will let you. Move the cars toward you by rolling the string up on the pencil. How fast can the car go? The winner is the first racer who gets the car back to where he is standing.