The joy of whittling the day away.

If you are a parent who loves the idea of  teaching  your child to whittle then this is for you. You will be staggered at how focused your child is whilst whittling. I have never come across a child who hasn't loved it.

This is the first in a series of guides for tool use following the blog 

What is adventurous play and why is it so powerful for children? 

This blog gave some insight into what adventurous or risky play is and it’s benefits.

 Using 'real' tools help children develop physically, emotionally and socially so I thought it would be useful to give you some tips on using specific tools.

This week it is the turn of peelers and knives being used by children to whittle a piece of wood, usually a stick. I am sure that there are many parents now taking a sharp intake of breath at the idea of their young child using a blade such as a peeler or knife and I understand this…. It is a normal reaction!

I am going to give you a guide of 5 essential points that you can use which will make you feel more reassured about using tools with your child and feeling safe. 

1. What is whittling?

2. Benefits of whittling

3. How to keep safe

4. What you can make

5. Recommendation for starter pen knives and peelers.

Honestly, once you put a few simple rules in place the chances of your child having an accident are really low. 

When you meet a child’s need for challenge with an ‘risky’ activity they listen and follow  rules well. Trust them.

What is interesting is that during my Forest School sessions, the only accidents that have happened have been when the simple rules have not been adhered to …. and this has mainly been by adults!

I am a BIG ADVOCATE of …

 as a parent you are your child’s first and most important teacher.

With this in mind, I thought it would be useful for you to be able to teach your children at home during ‘lock down’ when you can’t get to Forest School or maybe your child has already got some whittling skills but you are unsure of how to support them to refine these skills. Home schoolers and educators will also find this useful as part of their outdoor learning.

1. What  is whittling?

It is the use of a blade to take small pieces of wood off a stick (in this case) either striping the bark or as your skills grow; carving shapes out.

2. Specific benefits for children of whittling

• It's calming - if your child suffers from high anxiety levels or has trouble focusing for more than a few seconds whittling may well help. It has a therapeutic calming effect through the repetitive action. This is the same for adults too, it’s great activity to learn together.
• Development of creativity - Whittling allows exploration of creativity through the shapes and patterns you can make by making a few nicks in the wood a stick can become a stickman. Once children learn how to take strips of bark off they can apply this to making different objects and maybe extend their skills, shaping the end of a stick to a point; this opens all kinds of doors. The shaped end can be a hat for any kind of character or a nose for any kind of animal.
• Development of fine motor skills and co-ordination - This comes from placing the blade at the right angle on the right part of the wood. This is a precise movement. Followed by the dynamic move of moving the blade down the stick to take a slither of bark off. This action comes from the muscles in the forearm and all the way up to the shoulder. In order to hold the peeler or knife effectively the grip muscles in children’s hands are working hard too. This increase in strength and coordination will help with early writing and effective grip of a pencil which is vital when developing letter formation.
• Builds relationships - this is not just specific to the use of peelers and knives but all tools. When you put faith and trust in your child by offering them this kind of opportunity, children feel this and it serves well to building a respectful trusting relationship going forward. 

3. How to keep safe

Ok so these are the simple rules that we teach at Forest School

• Protect your child's ‘helping hand’ with a glove. Teach your child that

 the helping hand is the one which holds the piece of wood.

 This will be the non-dominant hand. Before putting the glove on it may be useful to ask them to hold the wood so they can visualise which hand would be at risk. It is good to point out that the other ‘tool holding’ hand is not going to get cut because it is holding the handle of the knife or peeler. I recommend that children don’t wear a glove on the other hand. I think it is cumbersome and offers poor grip of the tool.

• Safe space. Put simply at least an arm’s length away from anybody else. This is their safe space. While using the tool nobody else should come into this space. I have recently heard it called a ‘blood bubble’ which can be popped if anyone goes into it while a tool is being used, this analogy helps children visualise their safe space. After this, I think children should whittle where they are comfortable. Some stand, sit with elbows pushing knees out to the side, some kneel with one knee up and one down. Basically, as long as the safe space is maintained and they are not whittling onto a body part, leaning onto their leg for example.
• Technique Have a tool chat and point out the blade and the handle and check your child knows what the function of each is. When you point to the blade say..

 ‘notice how sharp it is’

•  Explain that the function of these tools is to peel very small amounts of wood off. If we wanted to cut the wood we would use a different tool, like a saw so we could cut it effectively and not damage ourselves or the tools. 
• Always teach children to push their knife or peeler away from themselves and off the end of the stick. The angle is really important and you can tell children that if their tool gets stuck then they are digging in too deep in the wood. I always say it is like stroking the wood with the blade and if nothing comes off then tilt it down a fraction more. 

4. What can you make?

A wand - A great starter for 10!

A marshmallow toasting stick

Stick man/child/lady love

A sword

Arrows (to use with a bow made from willow)

A journey stick

How to do videos coming soon!

5. Recommendations 

Starter pen knives and peelers

In terms of peelers I think the fixed blade ones are good but make sure you point out exactly where the blade is. I would buy one of these with from a supermarket. Try the blade that spins too if you prefer. 

There are some great starter knives on the market for children which have a round end. I like the the Opinel brand which are around £10. They are pocket knives so children don’t have to think about a safe place to put the sheath they can learn how to fold it away safely. It also means that it is safer for a child to carry.

Gloves

I would always get rigger gloves which are made of tough leather giving effective protection if the blade should come into contact with the ‘helping hand’.

Encouraging your child to whittle offers them a magical opportunity to create something for themselves. It is a process that changes a stick into a treasured possession to keep and play with for a long time. It represents something to be proud of, to share with family and friends, to talk about ‘look what I’ve made.” The feeling of success!! 

Going the extra mile and teaching your child to whittle is definitely worthwhile when you see the concentration, effort and pleasure they will get out of it.

Remember to use the blog on how to find the right wood to help you find wood that is easy to carve.

I hope you have found this useful,  please let me know how you go on with whittling! If you are interested in your child coming to Forest School

 we have some places left at our Knaresborough site for a two day Christmas Holiday Club. 

Amongst other things there will be a chance for children to use tools. 

BOOK HERE

Have a great weekend, fingers crossed we will be out of lockdown in a couple of weeks, meanwhile keep playing out! 

Sally x