My Dad gave me my 1st pocket knife when I was fairly young, I'm not sure if I actually was 7 years old, or that is just how I remember it. Thus, each of my children got their 1st jackknife when they were 7. We practiced the safe way to handle it, talked about the responsibility and started whittling sticks. The first masterpiece is always a sharp pointy stick with all the bark stripped away - which of course naturally leads to a little campfire to toast marshmallows on, and if you have marshmallows, you are going to want to do it again with chocolate and graham crackers!
Of course now days, a kid would get kicked out of school if caught with a pocket knife. The expectation now is they would either threaten or harm someone, or the very least do vandalism. Isn't it sad we expect the worst? I am thankful, that I have no qualms what-so-ever about my own children with a pocket knife. The very same knife my Dad gave me, is in my pocket every day, except the rare occasion my clothing doesn't have a pocket!
Knots are fun to learn, my son is much better at them than I am, but they are cool. How many of you can tie a square knot? Hmmm, I wonder how many girls in our Troop remember?
Kerchiefs are another one of those things I'm drawn to, I don't know why, I just like them, I always have - and I will admit to having a few more than the average person, ahem... Most of the time, they are just fun, or keep the hair out of my eyes, but a few times they have come in handy for other emergency quick fixes.
I love this post! It reminds me of my camping days - and I can still do the square knot and the clove hitch!
ReplyDeleteNice post!
I will get that pocket night out as soon as camp is set up, before the first fire. I strip away the bark and fix myself up a roasting stick for my marshmallows...and maybe a few hot dogs :)
ReplyDeleteI was a girl scout in Mecico City. I remeber learning knots but no knife...I do worry that we are raising such cyber kids, My son is quite handy and it is encouraged.
ReplyDeleteGreat post :)I am 1833 on the list :)
It sounds like you need to go on a Girl Scout camping field trip to show these girls how it's done lol. I remember going on a weekend camping trip when I was a kid, and we were taught lots of skills, but I also remember it took every meeting to plan too.
ReplyDeleteBeing active with Boy Scouts I can relate. We tried Girl Scouts with my daughter but she didn't care for it. The badges are lame. So she picked up a lot at family Boy Scout events. She knows not to be in someone's arm length circle when they have a knife whittling or such. My kids are older, my son 19 and he still comments how much fun he had as a scout.
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I have a Boy Scout too, but sadly the Troop is crumbling right now. He has done some really great excursions though!
DeleteWe try to get our Girl Scouts out more, but the structure isn't the same, and yes the badges have gone downhill
Neat post, and I agree with you about it being too bad that we expect the worst from kids these days. They just need to be taught and trusted. As for the kerchief, I almost always have one with me when I'm traveling, and I keep one in my car. That's due to a website for solo women travelers called Journeywoman. They had a post one time that told 88 different uses for a bandana and cautioned us not to go on a trip without one!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Annis
www.thedaymaker.blogspot.com
that is cool, Annis, I'm going to see if I can find that web site!
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