Engaging the Children

I've always welcomed families with and without children to my workshop, alongside individuals too. We have had hundreds if not thousands passing through each year and it's here that we are able to connect with the upcoming generations. I always like the way kids somehow sponge-up things they've never seen and are fascinated with the simplicity hand tools bring to the real world. I say real world because fantasy dominates most of their young lives these days, but then, handing them a spokeshave, they never fail to respond and somehow a simple act like this knocks the tablets and smart bits and bytes off their pedestal and even into oblivion if only for a short time. This all began back in 1988 when at craft shows I saw the children's abject fascination as they watch a slow-mo in their mind's eye of shavings emerging as if from nowhere at all and spill noiselessly to the ground of my brush arbor. This seems now a long time ago when I worked out entertaining and engaging ways to break the ice with the kids. I felt then as I do now that it was important for me to pass on the working knowledge of my work. Wrist bands and book marks came from my plane for an individual or a classful of kids. The schools were lining up to bring kids into the shop for a visit back then. Here is a glimpse of how I did it:

A shaving 24" long from a fairly heavy set makes a head band. Take the shaving after writing the name onto the edge with a heavy sharpie. I only had black to show you and colour is so much brighter. Start at on end but make certain to have taken a clear shaving before this point, otherwise you might be planing out irregularities. The headband works with littler ones. You can make individual name tags like this and then you can also make wood bookmarks too. These can have names and messages and you could use a wood burning pen for this as well. 

When you have more than one child, write out the names as shown, saw a shallow kerf between the names and then whisk of the shavings and pass to the teacher or parent for giving out.Time permitting you can run saw kerfs between names and let them write their own name or message in.

Oh, because the shavings curl the name is inside the curl. By pulling them carefully over the corner you can reverse the curling effect from planing. This way you can reverse the curl or make the shaving straight and flat.

For name tags on Christmas presents drill a hole at one end and the take several passes with a spokeshave. It takes only a few seconds to make ten tags. A bevel-up spokeshave will take a heavy shaving for a thicker book mark. They can be coiled and looped for chains on the tree.

Here is what I mean.

Here are the name tags. Nail clippers give nicely rounded corners too. Get the kids involved with magic markers for this.