j-bird
Moderator
Well I just enrolled the youngest of my 4 kids in the state required hunters education course. All of my kids have taken the course (hunters or not) and it is required by the state to get a hunting license now. I was not required to take the course (because of my age), but I have taken it to aid possible future trips out of state. My wife and I require that the kids be at least 10 years of age before they take the class. I felt it was very important for them to be able to read and understand the material presented to them. They take the test at the end entirely on their own - I will only help them if they do not understand a word or the question.
She has been on my case since hunting season about going. She has gone hunting with me a few times now, but only to observe. As she put's it - "She want's to go deer hunt'n , and not just to watch!"
This will be the start of a chapter that I don't want to end. The learning and curiosity that comes with hunting is a very interesting time for me as a father and a teacher. We will start with small game and learning about the woods. We will talk about how to read tracks and to follow them and what the different deer sign means. We will talk about playing the wind and how to read the deer's body language. I was a little lost at times this past year as my hunting side-kick (my boy - the oldest) was off to college this year. My other daughters are not much for hunting and that's OK. My boy and I shared several hunts just being guys. In fact I think his buck will be the biggest off the farm to date, so I did at least teach him something. I look forward to those times again with my youngest, but those times too are limited and eventually will pass.
Maybe one day I will have grandkids to take hunting and share time with or maybe even my own kids will take the time to still go hunting with dad once in a while. Hopefully it all comes full circle - for now I have a wound up 10 year old to try to sit still and pay attention for 10 hours of class time.
She has been on my case since hunting season about going. She has gone hunting with me a few times now, but only to observe. As she put's it - "She want's to go deer hunt'n , and not just to watch!"
This will be the start of a chapter that I don't want to end. The learning and curiosity that comes with hunting is a very interesting time for me as a father and a teacher. We will start with small game and learning about the woods. We will talk about how to read tracks and to follow them and what the different deer sign means. We will talk about playing the wind and how to read the deer's body language. I was a little lost at times this past year as my hunting side-kick (my boy - the oldest) was off to college this year. My other daughters are not much for hunting and that's OK. My boy and I shared several hunts just being guys. In fact I think his buck will be the biggest off the farm to date, so I did at least teach him something. I look forward to those times again with my youngest, but those times too are limited and eventually will pass.
Maybe one day I will have grandkids to take hunting and share time with or maybe even my own kids will take the time to still go hunting with dad once in a while. Hopefully it all comes full circle - for now I have a wound up 10 year old to try to sit still and pay attention for 10 hours of class time.