Junior Apprentices

I know I'll feel sad when Jacob grows tall enough to rasp a board in the vice without using the Little Tikes car. 

Ben and Jacob were the original 'whittlers' after they each received a jack knife and the book The Big Book Of Whittle Fun a couple years back. When they needed some help with their carving, I found myself not wanting to give their project back to them. Something about getting that shape right..I couldn't put it down! 

Moving forward a few years, I bought myself some new, shiny tools as I started to learn the spoon/board making process and how can you bring new, shiny tools into the house and not have two young men start begging to gouge out spoons and rasp boards! 

I wish I could say that I am always filled with fountains of patience and always happy to drop everything I am working on to give these two a hand. I might actually be striving for that but in reality, in my mind, carving was going to be my escape time. My 'I don't want to help any kids with anything' time. When you homeschool your crew and are blessed to spend most waking hours together, a part of you starts to need those 'hide in the basement' times in the day. 

However, without a doubt, my most worth while moments are the ones when I do put down what I am doing to give my boys a hand. 

And when I head to the basement with a few minutes to work on something and I turn to look at the workbench and think, "Terrific. There are my expensive gouges ordered from British Columbia spread all over the work bench hardly visible from all sawdust and wood shavings...everywhere..." I'll remember that it will feel like a blink and my two boys will be grown. So patience it! 

It really is a joy to see these guys want to learn this skill. I'll always cherish the moments of quietly sitting together in the 'studio' (unfinished basement) with one of them sanding or shaping out a knife or spoon. Not many things could be more valuable then that!

A few carvings from the Junior Apprentices...