Week 2, Day 4: Crafting, Carving and Clues

We awoke to a beautiful day, thankful for the opportunity to be able to  be outside to continue our projects from last week. Our ambitious goal was to finish creating and carving a letterbox rubber stamp for each camper, and even go questing for a letterbox or two!

Campers arrived and had some free time, then we got down to business. My daughter, the oldest of the campers at age 13, had carved her stamp during the week, experimenting with techniques and trial & error. She was happy with her JuJuBee stamp and was also happy to explain her experiences to the other campers. But before the other campers could start to carve, we them to come up with their official 2"x3" design. Using their "Trail Names" created (and tweaked) from the first day, each child drew into their journals (or on paper) what they thought would work. They had to consider bold strokes, or details, carve-ability, whether they wanted a positive or negative design, etc. Using some examples from Google images they each created what they thought would work, then traced it onto tracing paper, flipped the design and pressed to mark it
onto the "Speedy Carve" material I had bought at A.C. Moore. (Speedy Cut is evidently easier to carve, but It could not be found and can be crumbly. And after last weeks trials, crumbly was not what we wanted at all.) Since we only had two carving handles, the other campers were sent off to have free time (then recalled as I saw some had not gotten as far as requested with transferring their design onto the rubber etc - once put to task again, this was nicely accomplished - with learning to boot, reminding them that forward is backward on a stamp.)

Carving away from appendages.

My daughter dutifully explained to each pair of carvers the different blades, safety, goals etc of the carve that she had learned with her experimentation. Campers were also each given a pink eraser to see how carving felt etc. I was a bit concerned for cuts etc, but they were pretty good about remembering (once coached) to hold the material from behind and cut away from their fingers. We also learned that to make curves, it is best to move the rubber and not the blade, as you have more control.

The augmented star, by "Captain Jones".

What was neat was how even after carving began, designs were evolving. One that was a simple star, for example, became a growing star with repeated lines.The creativity was left
to each child's own temperament.

A note about our youngest, 6 yr old camper: Thinking she was not old enough for safety reasons, we had found some dollar store bug & butterfly shaped erasers (she had asked that her stamp be a butterfly on the first day). She was allowed to pick one (then a second one too for fun) and indicate how she'd like the design within the shape to be cut. Then my daughter followed her "orders". It worked out quite nicely as she felt in charge of her stamp, and I advise this as a intermediary solution for younger campers. The 8 yr old campers also got a pencil topper eraser because, hey!... it's fun
to have erasers! :)

Games of Chess are often a free time pick.

Lunches and free time were interspersed as everyone got a chance to carve. Games of chess were played, and a created game with a secret mission scenario using Trail Names spontaneously came about. (Very funny use of imaginations, if you ask me).

But after everyone's stamps were completed, we needed to hurry if we were to have time to find a letterbox.

As discussed last week, everyone needed to assemble their own "letterboxing kit". Though one stamp pad etc, WOULD work, I thought it would be more fun if each camper was self sufficient.

So each one put together their kits consisting of: Large zip lock back (to keep it all in), their stamp wrapped in a paper towel, a letterbox log book (covers decorated if desired), a pen and their favorite color ink pad. Most of these items came from Dollar Tree or A.C. Moore.

Once everyone had gathered all they needed, including a water bottle we got started.

On letter-boxing.org, I had found two letterboxes that were close by. I printed the clues, cutting and pasting them onto a document, numbered the parts in order, then literally cut the clue apart into strips on paper, so that each child had a chance to read part of the descriptive details and clues of the box.

When we had read all about the history of the box & location, we started hoofing it down the hill to the WWII submarine memorial to the "Eternal Patrol" letterbox.


Once in the general area, we followed the directions to find the box and appreciate the memorial and the brave submariners to whom it is dedicated. No one was around so finding it (and exposing it's whereabouts) was not a problem.

We then moved over to a shady spot on the base of the coning tower and took turns stamping the torpedo (replacement stamp) into our own books, and stamping our newly carved stamps into the log book. (which took a while with NINE stamps). Some tourists did arrive while we did this, so just one camper quietly returned the box after we used it, to it's original hiding space... Shhhhhh!

After following all the steps it was apparent it would be IMPOSSIBLE to find the other letterbox in the area (not enough time even to walk to it and back, let alone find it, stamp it etc.) So a quick snack of melon and grapes, brought back our energy and we trudged back up the hill.

I LOVE how these kids interact with creative (albeit sometime silly) role play (On the way back up, my daughter was dubbed the "mom" of all the youngest campers). It is a joy to be around their "can-do" attitudes and joyful adventurous spirits.

Upon returning, we took a a few minutes to journal and quietly reflect, then of course some freetime play finished up the time before pick up. Overall, I feel, it was a very successful day at camp.