A bunch of kids and a learning stick

[Lightningbolt]

Thanks for all the encouraging comments everyone. I've always enjoyed sharing a skill with someone but I swear the older I get, the more gratifying it becomes. I suppose that I was just too busy "getting it done" when I was younger, but the older I get the more I enjoy teaching. Very rewarding! Too bad that those Scout leaders didn't see the golden opportunity that Eddy's presence offered and it was surely their kids loss. Too bad.

Modern culture seems to have kids growing up faster than ever today and with much less positive guidance than ever before so hopefully we can all find more ways to reach them. Like Sharon said, it doesn't necessarily have to be woodcarving, but any skill that you have to share. I've been asked many times by church youth groups, other Boy Scout troops, school classes, and home schoolers to give my presentations which have included many areas of interest to me. I also often reflect back on the teachers who had the greatest influence on my life and I only wish that I had some way of expressing that appreciation to them today and I have when the occasion presents itself.

You're right on too Gene in that taking the time to actually sit down and show a kid how to do something is the most powerful way to leave a lasting influence on them. I eat lunch each day with a different group and we (adults and kids) are almost trembling with excitement during that meal about the hour we have afterward for a carving period before going to their afternoon classes. I see their self esteem make great gains daily when guiding them through a woodcarving and I always guarantee success by giving ongoing hints or taking their carving for a moment to show them how to make a better cut or to smooth out an area. I'm not sure if my teaching them to carve will keep them out of trouble down the road, like Cliff mentioned, but I do know that it's a piece of the puzzle when looking at the big picture of their lives.

Thanks again everyone. I know that I'm going to sleep well tonight because I can't wait for that wonderful lag time carving tomorrow where I'll have another opportunity to achieve good things.

[Kenny_S]

Tis a find thing you are doing with these Kids Dave!

I worked with Boys in Cub and Boy Scouts for years as Leader and cub Master in the Cubs and Scout master in the Boys Scouts. Now work off and on with them and this last weekend they had a See and do it show for the Scouts and opened it up to any kids in our town. Unfortunantly, not a lot of extras but did have as young as 4 years of age and up to 17 that were not Scouters.

I had the soap Carving station and was amazed at how well the younger kids did with carving a boot. I used Ivory soap and pop cycile sticks sanded down to look like a knife.

All in all, we had 35 boys and girls go through the day with soap carving, bird house building, Lanyard makeing, Genius kit makeing( every child had the same thing and they were to build whatever their imagination came up with), some neat stuff came from these kids, rope making, fire building, fly tieing, Knot tieing, fire building,Making fuss sticks for the fire,rod and reel maintance, and casting.

Great time spending with these youngsters for sure.

Myhat is off in salute to you Dave.
Job well done.

[Lightningbolt]

After all the recent threads on carving spoons and especially the enthusiasm shown by Cliff, I sort of went crazy with spoons myself this week. Each day this week I managed to spend at least an hour with 6 or 7 boys and used spoon carving to capture their imagination and as an outlet for their bubbling creative juices.

Since money doesn't grow on trees (except for basswood perhaps ) I gathered up a few tulip poplar limbs that had blown down during our latest wind storm and cut them into a box full of spoon blanks using the bandsaw. (See the first two pictures below) I find that going ahead and cutting out a whole bunch of different shaped spoon designs ahead of the class helps things go much more smoothly, provides plenty of choice, and gives the wanna-be young carvers more confidence at de-mystifying the process of releasing a nice carving from a piece of wood... or in this case, a tree limb. From the attached pictures you can see that I cut out spoon blanks with hearts, mom & dad nameplates, crosses, and sharp cut corners for carving a woodspirit face. Over the years I've found that lots of choice is a very good thing when it comes to doing anything with kids.

These were just a few pictures that I took during todays carving session which was another great success. I think that I've now got some of these kids going to bed dreaming about how they're going to finish their spoons so I also gave them plenty of sandpaper to continue working on them over the weekend.

[Lightningbolt]

One more. Sorry that I couldn't show all of their smiling and contented faces due to strict Hippa laws.

[Eddy-Smiles]

I'm sure that they had grins from ear to ear!

[Mottles]

Dave, Congratulations on being such a self-less teacher. You are doing a great thing by working with these kids. They will never forget you.
Kathy

[Sharon of the Dell]

So cool Dave. The pieces of smiles you captured says it all!!

[tucker1931]

Dave you son of a gun. Am I ever glad I inspired you to get those kids doin some spoons, in a small way I feel sort of gratified that I had a hand in it along with you. Now, when is the next lesson, I sure would like to attend, I'm sure I could learn some thing from you and the kids, Thanks for posting this bit.
Cliff

[Lightningbolt]

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement Eddy, Kathy, and Sharon. I do feel fortunate to have a job that has its foundation based upon building trusting relationships. It can sometimes be a frustratingly slow process but in the end it is almost always a greatly gratifying thing to experience and witness success after about a year of work.

Cliff: Yes, you and all your spoons (including that darn "humongous" one) had everything to do with getting this latest spoon carving bonanza cranked up. Now, if you were somehow able to join us in one of these carving sessions I doubt that I could teach you anything new when it comes to spoons but I could guarantee that you'd be sweatin' up a storm even before the carving starts because enthusiasm isn't optional and it starts very early in the day. The build-up leading to a group carving session takes a lot of coaxing and it starts when I eat breakfast with a group, talkin' carving all the while, showing them my latest project, and giving them enough "hook" to reel 'em into my afternoon carving period. I'll usually have this same group for woodshop class in the morning, then I'll follow-up with them again at lunch. By about 2:30 p.m. they're usually bursting at the seams to get their carving projects started but if I did it right to ensure success I'm already pretty worn out before the carving even starts!

[squbrigg]

Great projects Dave. I bet those kids had a ball with those spoons. I know that they will remember that time that you spent with them fondly too. Kids are easily discouraged, but just as easily encouraged. Great to see you spend the time on the positive track. Well done.

Bob