I enjoy sharing the experiences of the outdoors with my
grandkids. I took my grandson Luke down to Coffee Pot Trail. While hiking along
the river, I pointed out a few fresh moose tracks and some moose sign (poop).
We discussed the difference between moose and elk sign. A few days later, Luke
accompanied his mother and a friend on an afternoon fishing excursion. Upon
their return, Heather said that her son correctly identified moose tracks and
sign without being prompted.
Since Luke was showing an interest in the outdoors, I
provided him a small bow and set up a target in the backyard. It didn’t take
long for him to successfully impale the target from 20 feet. He was genuinely
excited with his success.
It was time to teach this almost-five-year-old how to
use a knife. I raided my stash of new knives that I keep for such occasions. Luke
was surprised when I produced a 3 inch pocket knife. We began with a
conversation about knife safety and practiced opening and closing the knife. We
progressed to the proper technique of skinning bark from a stick, always
cutting away from your body. When we
were through, he returned his knife to me for safe keeping.
The following day Luke and I went to the bank. As we arrived he insisted on returning home
to retrieve his knife. He wanted to show it to his friends at the bank, who
always welcome him with smiles, kind words and a sucker. After a quick trip to the cabin, he performed
his knife handling skills and received praise and a sucker from the attentive audience.
He was beaming with pride as we left.
Teaching outdoor skills provides youth with an alternative to being continually plugged into electronics. You can teach the next generation that knives, bows or guns are useful tools to be used safely and with respect.
