Detectorista in Training!

AirmetTango · Oct 4, 2018

My four-year-old melted my heart yet again today! She gets home from preschool and is really excited to show me something - asks me to close my eyes, hold my hand out...the whole nine yards. I happily comply, and feel something small, but hefty enough to clearly be metallic, drop into my hand. I open my eyes to see a cute little snowman charm staring back at me, and she regaled me with the tale of how she found it all by herself, spotted it on the ground outside of school “just like if I was metal detecting” :grin:

She right away made her own bead necklace with the snowman charm as the crown jewel - pics of her creation appear below :cool:

She spent the rest of the time before dinner helping me clean the Wheat and Injun I found curbstripping today with toothpicks and wooden skewers...she says she like to “scratch on the pennies and make the words show up” :lol:

She’s been asking to go detecting with me quite a bit lately...I think it may be time :yes:

ZR2guy · Oct 4, 2018

I truly believe that metal detecting is a fun aid in learning about history. Researching an area to hunt by finding out not only what may have stood on a certain location but also who may have lived there as well. Besides, who wants to read about someone else digging up history; instead, be the one digging up history. Great story by the way. Sounds like you have a very special daughter.

Foragist · Oct 4, 2018

Well, I must say: It appears to be too late now. You have already created a monster! It won't be long before she's digging 1800s this, and 14K that...putting poor old Pops to shame.

Also, did your 4 yr old actually string those beads? I am impressed! As an experienced beaded jewelry inspector, I see the pattern. The order of the colors is repeating, and symmetrical from each end to the center. I see one mistake, which is common with experienced beaders. No biggie...a couple colored beads are switched. It takes real intelligence to form a necklace like that.
A big NICE WORK! goes to both you and yours!

Dan B. · Oct 4, 2018

What a great way to spend time with your kids( enjoy that time while you can). If you think she got excited over that wait until she digs up something of her own. :stars:

Big Treble · Oct 5, 2018

Not to late in the year to hit 10 silvers for the year.....get her out there, she only has 9 more to go. Lol

Lil Worm6 · Oct 5, 2018

Man that is just awesome!!!! I say it's time to take her out with you!!! I can't wait to get my granddaughter old enough to tag along with me some!!!!

Time sure does fly, and how I wish I would have been detecting and having special times with my daughter and son detecting with me instead of being away from home every weekend playing a sport that has tried it's best to cripple me. If I could go back in time I would do it in a minute.

Mud-puppy · Oct 5, 2018

Awesome! Make sure you tell her we are all impressed with her hunting!

El Cheapo · Oct 5, 2018

No 'just like' about it, let her know she was metal detecting for real! Great job, kiddo!

AirmetTango · Oct 6, 2018

ChrisMD said:
That’s awesome, I love it!

You and me both! She's truly excited about it!

ZR2guy said:
I truly believe that metal detecting is a fun aid in learning about history. Researching an area to hunt by finding out not only what may have stood on a certain location but also who may have lived there as well. Besides, who wants to read about someone else digging up history; instead, be the one digging up history. Great story by the way. Sounds like you have a very special daughter.

Thanks ZR2, totally agree! I think it puts a more interesting, personal perspective on history when you can hold something in your hand that you've found, and there's fantastic sense of wonder and amazement when you can maybe even attach long forgotten individuals or businesses to the items you've retrieved. Hopefully I'll be successful in transferring some of that joy and interest to her, as well :yes:

Wolf-Dog · Oct 6, 2018

What a fun memory!

AirmetTango said:
...she says she like to “scratch on the pennies and make the words show up”

AirmetTango · Oct 6, 2018

Foragist said:
Well, I must say: It appears to be too late now. You have already created a monster! It won't be long before she's digging 1800s this, and 14K that...putting poor old Pops to shame.

No doubt! Just her energy level alone will have her detecting circles around me before I know it! And she's persistent too - as soon as she got home from school yesterday, she asked to see my detector. The next thing I know I'm shortening the shaft down to the smallest it can go, and she's doing her best to swing it around the backyard! Even at it's shortest, it's still taller than she is, so it was hysterical to watch her steadfastly forging ahead to use it. She basically was sliding the coil along the ground in front of her kind of like a snow shovel, but it worked well enough to find her first quarter (which I admittedly planted in the grass :grin:

) - she was ecstatic! Kept that quarter with her for the rest of the night

Foragist said:
Also, did your 4 yr old actually string those beads? I am impressed! As an experienced beaded jewelry inspector, I see the pattern. The order of the colors is repeating, and symmetrical from each end to the center. I see one mistake, which is common with experienced beaders. No biggie...a couple colored beads are switched. It takes real intelligence to form a necklace like that.
A big NICE WORK! goes to both you and yours!

Yes, she sure did! My wife and I just arranged the beads into color piles for her and let her go to town - we did have to do the tie for her when she was done, though

You definitely have a far better eye than me - I'm embarrassed to admit that I failed to see the pattern at first, leading to the "inept" picture above :grin:

She brought it to school yesterday for "share" (apparently the modern version of "show and tell"). When she was putting it around her neck and carefully arranging it to make sure that the snowman was at the bottom, the light bulb finally went on for Daddy! Here's a new shot of her creation with the snowman where he belongs :grin:

:

AirmetTango · Oct 6, 2018

Dan B. said:
What a great way to spend time with your kids( enjoy that time while you can). If you think she got excited over that wait until she digs up something of her own.

Absolutely! I'll have to take her with me on a real hunt when my schedule opens up next week! Can't wait to see her face when a coin or relic comes up out of the ground from a signal she finds :yes:

Big Treble said:
Not to late in the year to hit 10 silvers for the year.....get her out there, she only has 9 more to go. Lol

She'll be outpacing me at that rate...and that would be fabulous!!

Foragist · Oct 6, 2018

AirmetTango said:
Here's a new shot of her creation with the snowman where he belongs :

I feel better now that you have it oriented right. I really do have lots of experience inspecting and photographing beaded jewelry that my wife and her friends/trainees used to make. With that, I declare: Your kid has skills! ...and the planted quarter? Good job man!

Princess · Oct 6, 2018

Oh... that's so sweet!

Her necklace brings to memory the ones that I liked to make when I was a little girl. Please let her know that I think she did a very good job finding her snowman & creating the pretty necklace. :waytogo:

AirmetTango · Oct 6, 2018

Lil Worm6 said:
Man that is just awesome!!!! I say it's time to take her out with you!!! I can't wait to get my granddaughter old enough to tag along with me some!!!!

Thanks Lil Worm - I'll definitely take her on a real hunt soon, as soon as my work schedule calms down...maybe next weekend. She's just too darned excited not too! I've got a permission very close to home, so it'll be perfect just in case she tires out fast.

Lil Worm6 said:
Time sure does fly, and how I wish I would have been detecting and having special times with my daughter and son detecting with me instead of being away from home every weekend playing a sport that has tried it's best to cripple me. If I could go back in time I would do it in a minute.

Yeah it does...too fast. My oldest daughter is more than half way to adulthood already, and it feels like the blink of an eye. She's got no interest in detecting, but we've got other things we do together, so it's all good.

Mud-puppy said:
Awesome! Make sure you tell her we are all impressed with her hunting!

Will do, Mud! She'll love that everyone was taking a peek at her snowman find and necklace creation! Next thing you know, she'll be posting here all by herself....

El Cheapo said:
No 'just like' about it, let her know she was metal detecting for real! Great job, kiddo!

That's right! Eyeball finds like that snowman count just fine in my book - still metal detecting, just with the Mark I Eyeballs rather than the latest and greatest electronics!

Wolf-Dog said:
What a fun memory!

Sure is, Wolf-Dog! I won't ever forget it :grin:

AirmetTango · Oct 6, 2018

Foragist said:
I feel better now that you have it oriented right. I really do have lots of experience inspecting and photographing beaded jewelry that my wife and her friends/trainees used to make. With that, I declare: Your kid has skills! ...and the planted quarter? Good job man!

Thanks!

Four is such a great age - her creativity has just exploded over the last couple of months...suddenly her drawings really look like the things she's trying to draw, she really takes care to create patterns like the necklace, and has unleashed a looney sense of humor. Great fun!

Princess said:
Please let her know that I think she did a very good job finding her snowman & creating the pretty necklace.

I absolutely will - thanks, Princess!

Call Me V · Oct 7, 2018

How fun to include her!

Whirly321 · Oct 7, 2018

Oh my goodness! How stinkin' precious is that?! What a sweet girl you have. My 5 year old son is fascinated with detecting too. It tickles me when he gets excited to see what I dig up. Even if it's pure trash, he does a happy dance.

normx2 · Oct 7, 2018

4 yr old daughter?

That's when Dads know everything, are never wrong, and can fix anything that's broken to include

's

I know this as fact, we raised three

Detectorista in Training!

AirmetTango

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