Crafts in the woods

Last summer, I took part in a joint Japan-U.S. Scout camp at Yamanaka.

I was asked to teach a craft. The boys ranged from older scouts all the way to "Beaver cubs", the youngest Japanese Scouting program.

The Owl is the symbol of the Yamanaka camp, so I decided to have the Scouts make owl neckerchief slides using materials gathered from the surrounding woods.

I brought craft knives, hand saws, wood glue, sandpaper, and quick-dry acrylic varnish. The day before, I picked up some pieces of wood from the area to give the boys an idea of what might be used. I also found some suitable sized pieces of bamboo to use for the slide back.

It was fun to watch the youth in action and to see the creative ideas they came up with.

This Scout took a second slice of wood, cut it in half, and added wings to his owl.

This Scout used a marking pen to add details.










With slight variations, there was quite a number of slides that came out of a days work. Below is the work of one group.

For the most part, all the kids (even to the youngest) were able to do all the work needed to complete their own slide.

Notice the adult is not sawing but helping to hold the bamboo.

At the end of the afternoon, when everyone had been through the activities, some of the groups and a few of the adults came back to more.
.

Bears, and Beavers?
I don't think Yamanaka will change its mascot.


This coming weekend I will camp again at Yamanaka with my Cub pack.
I think this will be a good activity for those youth as well. One does not need to spend a lot of money on craft supplies when you can use what nature provides.