Hi Gordon,
I hope that Colin takes you up on your offer, either way, how do you feel about putting together a collection of little projects for youngsters clubs to do?
I think it is important to heed Willekies suggestion - ‘KEEP IT FUN’. If we are to tempt children away from their TV and computer games consoles then we have to give them something that makes their friends envious without branding them as little knotty nerds. Cred is very important to today’s youth.
We have not answered Colin’s request for catch story type ways to remember tying knots. I only know the rabbit, tree, hole one for the bowline, but then who would want to teach kids the bowline? (still, I suppose it is better than a stack of overhand knots used by most folk that attempt to use string). Who is the Granddaddy of these stories?
Do you think it would be useful to put together a number of ‘Fun Projects’? They could be posted here for groups to access and they could be enhanced with group feedback and improvements.
I have been thinking back to my childhood days on the farm for interesting ‘projects’. The fun stuff involved building the gang Den, ‘weapons’ manufacture and the gang ‘cord’. Virtually all of this would be frowned upon today in our Nanny state world and everything PC but perhaps some of the elements could be used.
The gang ‘cord’ was sort of a friendship cord that you were allowed to make when you joined the gang. It was a loop of cord worn around the wrist and closed with a strangle knot. The gang leader would have a five turn strangle knot, his second in command (his sister, yes we had girls in our gang) had a four turn strangle knot, the section leaders had three turn strangle knots and the rest of us had two turn strangle knots. The girls would ‘share’ coloured wools which would be threaded through the wrist cord and hang like charms from a bracelet. Girls seem to change their ‘friends’ quite rapidly, so the ‘charms’ tended to denote who was friends with whom - strange!! Perhaps this friendship cord might make a suitable project?
The Den was a tree house. Making the rope ladder was the major challenge, used hemp bailer twine being the only cord readily available to us. I don’t know how parents would react to their little ones being taught how to make (and use) a rope ladder, let alone the liability implications. Such a shame our kids are no longer allowed to grow up with real risks and a firm sense of self responsibility and preservation.
The weapon of choice was the catapult, but 1/4" elastic was expensive so the majority were based on the sling our the bow and arrow. Making a bow and arrow, particularly the bowstring, might make a good project as might the sling. Of course, being farm children, we were brought up with a total respect for life and animal welfare so our weapons use was always skill based - who could shoot the furthest, the fastest or the most accurately. The nearest we got to shooting ‘at’ something was when we would be set to keeping the crows or pigeons off of newly planted wheat and I am sure those birds could gauge the range of our slings to within inches, always strutting cockily and turning to look at the fallen missile with an air of indifference.
So what do you think? Could folks like Colin benefit from a series of little fun projects?