A bunch of kids and a learning stick

[Lightningbolt]

Recently I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of lag time with students out of woodshop class so naturally that is when the knife and wood generate some friction. While I can always get 2 or 3 devout kids to help guide their projects I still wanted a way to make woodcarving more interesting and appealing to those who shied away. Last weekend I decided to make a step by step woodspirit learning stick that would fit in my daypack making it easy to transport and pull out anywhere on campus.

This week the usual spectators turned into a much larger group of kids who were not the usual intimidated "audience" but instead participants in trying their hand at carving a woodspirit. Along with some encouragement I believe that showing the steps on a learning stick made the reluctant more confident to give it a try and in the end every single kid was satisfied with their carvings and couldn't wait until I could come back for more.

In making the learning stick I wanted to show the steps of carving the most basic and generic woodspirit possible so I got a piece of 1" X 1" X 13" scrap basswood and broke a woodspirit face into 7 steps on the front and back corners of it. As you can see from the pictures I went with the easy to carve squinting eyes, a straight and uncomplicated nose, and just a "banana" cut for the mouth area. Every single kid that spent an hour with me this week was able to make quick and satisfying progress on a nice face carving as the remainder of the pictures below indicate.

I've been teaching at-risk kids to carve for almost 28 years now and it has been one of the most powerful catalysts for fostering self esteem while at the same time allowing me to open up a genuine relationship that changes lives for the better. Some simple learning sticks might also help you to reach the kids who are important to you in your own life so why not give it a try?

[Lightningbolt]

Carving with some of the kids...

[Lightningbolt]

And a few more...

[Iowa Carver]

What a great thing you are doing there Dave! Hopefully some of these kids will stick with it. Nice job!

Corey

[Claude]

Great idea, Dave!

Claude

[Eddy-Smiles]

Nice work Dave! I know from my own youthful memories that those kids will never forget the experience. Today. the wife and I went to a small local festival and while we were sitting listening to the music in our lawn chairs I was whittling away on a bear and a couple of quick humming birds. All the while a group of boy scouts and adult leaders in full uniform were sitting right behind us, actually almost on top of us. I half expected that one of the leaders might pick up on the fact that I was whittling and point it out to the boys but they were to busy taking politics or shop paying little or no attention to the kids. And, after 15-20 minutes they moved on. I kept thinking, "what a waste!" I wish now that I'd have said something.

[gene-messer]

Dave .. videos , blogs , books , demo's , whatever cannot stand against old fashion time you spend with a kid showing them how to do it ..

the satisfaction is so overwhelming .. it is the best teaching tool in the world ...

I salute you my friend and commend you for your time and effort ..

God Bless You

Gene

[Ron T]

Hi Dave,

It's obvious to me that your skills with carving are put to a great use with those kids. What a good thing it is you do for them. What a neat idea for using the study stick with them.

[tucker1931]

Dave, ya done good there old friend. If just one of those kids stays out of trouble down the road, you have done a good job, who knows, maybe we will end up with a new mwmber on this forum one day.
Cliff

[Sharon of the Dell]

I salute you too! If us older ones would pass on our knowledge,even if it's not carving I think more kids would have hope and not get so confused and in trouble. I had a couple of really good teachers in high school that really encouraged me in my art.If I wouldn't of had that encouragement, I most likely would have got more lost into booze and drugs.If it wasn't for them I wouldn't have had any interest in school. I so support kids getting into arts,crafts, music,gardening and such things.Not every kid wants to go to college.It's so important that these things don't get lost.Even if a kid doesn't take up a profession in the arts or crafts, it will give them some know how to keep them entertained when they are bored or lonely.Helps with there self worth. at least that's my opinion.