Passing on skills and carving to my daughter is something I have been trying to do for a couple of years now. My daughter Elizabeth is 3 years old and watches me carve, she loves to help out when she can, sometimes if I'm carving she will walk up to me and ask to see what I'm carving, she will look at it and then say something like, "it needs a bit here" pointing to the handle or bowl. Alot of the time her eye is good and she will point things out to me that I hadn't seen.
I dont want to brainwash her into carving, more let her find her own way and if she enjoys carving encourage her fully.
I made her a knife last year from wood, mainly because she seemed keen to get started. I was amazed to see her holding the wood and knife in the same way as I do. She has picked up so much just from watching me carve. Although she cant carve the wood yet she still mimics the actions and seems very happy to do so along side me as I carve.
She asked me last week if I could decorate her knife for her. I did some chip carving and made a Birch bark sheath for her, sh is really pleased with it.
Hopefully their is a little spoon carver in the making but if not its cool, I'm just enjoying spending time with her this way.
I understand your feelings and I've seen something quite similar with my 4 year old son. He has always seen me making baskets and I saw him trying to build one several times with his toys or scrap material that I've left on the floor. It is a great feeling indeed!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely idea making a wooden knife for her to use. I hope when mine is old enough she'll be interested in what I make and want to have a go.
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