In the past, artisan skills such as leatherworking and woodworking were more common than they are today. While these time-honored traditions are becoming rare, one teenager is helping to keep them alive through being a diligent student of tradition and passionately creating with his hands.
15-year-old Lincoln Cashell resides in Virginia with his parents, Casey Cashell, 39, and Jason Cashell, 45, and siblings: Chamberlain, 13, Holly, 11, and Athans, 6.
Mr. and Mrs. Cashell own and manage Mayhurst Estate, a luxury bed-and-breakfast and retreat center. Together the parents homeschool their four children.
“We decided before ever having children that we wanted to homeschool,” Mrs. Cashell told The Epoch Times. “We wanted to be the primary ones to influence their character and their work ethic. We wanted the freedom to be able to impact them and spend those precious years [together].”
‘Always Creating’
By adopting this holistic approach, the parents say their children have gone beyond just academics and are learning values that are forming a foundation for them to become better individuals.Lincoln’s homeschooling journey has given him more time to do what he loves, and his parents describe his learning as “hands-on.” The teenager became interested in woodworking when he received his first knife at the age of 5. By the time he was 7, he was making little trinkets and models out of toothpicks.
Soon, Lincoln connected with a mentor, who taught him more about wood carving, and with the help of Mr. Cashell he was able to hone his skills in carpentry. As he took on more projects, Lincoln began to pick up other skills, and he began learning the trade of blacksmithing and leatherworking as well.
Some of his skills are self-taught, such as using CAD 3D design software. Learning this computer program has proven to be useful for the family. When a part from Mr. Cashell’s car broke, Lincoln designed a matching piece using CAD, printed it on a 3D printer, and plastic welded it.
“I didn’t teach him any of that,” Mr. Cashell said. “He just took that initiative and did that.”
Lincoln loves working with his hands in one form or another. “I love doing woodworking and all that kind of stuff,” he said.
Currently, he’s enjoying making English longbows and medieval-style arrows.
“I’ve always really been into archery and wanting to make my bows,” Lincoln said. “Last year, I really started getting actually good at making bows.”
A Unique Approach to Learning
Over the last seven years, Mr. Cashell has been reading biographies of people from various backgrounds every evening to the children and then taking them in person to historic sites. This way, the parents believe their children get to know the important figures from history personally.“When they think of somebody like Thomas Edison, or whoever that we’re studying about, they think of not just what highlights them, but they think of them holistically,” Mrs. Cashell said. “It’s really a living approach of studying history.”
Inspired by a biography of the Wright brothers, Lincoln’s interest in learning to fly grew, and he took his first steps by learning to paraglide.
However, just like any kid his age, Lincoln does encounter challenges and has sometimes found it hard.
In the face of failure, these persistent parents ensure that their kids don’t give up easily as they discover new skills.
“One of the things I wanted my kids to experience is, I wanted them to fail at things as early as they could,” Mr. Cashell said. “So that, as they got older, they aren’t afraid of failure, they know how to deal with it. It doesn’t discourage them, they know it’s part of the process because it makes them well-rounded.”
Most parents, Mr. Cashell said, protect their kids from failing, which he believes hinders their growth.
“Lincoln fails all the time, and it doesn’t even faze him,” Mr. Cashell said. “The thing that stands out about Lincoln is that whatever he’s done he’s had to put in the work, to find the people who know how to do it, to research it, to read about it, to learn it, and then to get better.
“And he has gotten significantly better at everything he’s ever done, which I think is a true mark of someone who is really willing to put in the time with the struggles, the challenges, and to yet come out on the other end better than when they started.”
But Lincoln isn’t the only Cashell child who has shown exceptional talent in his area of interest. Younger brother Chamberlain is very skilled as well. Some time ago, he laid a 60-foot-long brick pathway using only hand tools.
Mrs. Cashell praised his work ethic and passion by sharing with us how, on another occasion, Chamberlain took on a project reupholstering 17 antique chairs immediately after returning from a trip with his family.
“When we came in, he had already cut the templates for all of the bases, removed the cane, sanded it, and was stamping his name on the bottom so that everybody would know that he was the one who made these chairs,” Mrs. Cashell said.
In addition to all these exceptional skills, the Cashell children have been able to develop well-rounded personalities and are often complimented for being able to hold intelligent conversations with adults.
“When other people talk with them, they‘ll come up to us and say, ’I can’t believe how well your kids can have a conversation,'” Mr. Cashell said.
Additionally, they rarely get stuck in the middle of a project as they are trained to be learners for life.
A major part of their homeschooling life is emphasizing real-world skills. Mrs. Cashell believes there is currently “a huge need” to teach children these skills.
“We have a crisis in our culture right now ... a lot of them don’t know how to do things,” she said. “They don’t know how to do practical living.”
The Artisan Kids Hub is a forum where people of all ages can learn alongside one another.
“So families can take it together, they can be able to learn these skills together,“ Mrs. Cashell said. ”And it will actually help build their relationships together.”
The Cashell family will be involved in teaching. Mr. and Mrs. Cashell plan to teach courses on marriage and various other topics. Meanwhile, Lincoln plans to teach leatherwork, and Holly will take a class on “Baking Through History,” in which she is slated to teach what our forefathers ate.
‘Purpose and Meaning’
In raising their children with a philosophy rooted in hard work and strong values, the Cashells have ensured their children learn practical skills that can help them generate an income. Mr. Cashell said that the American home has changed from a place of “commerce and creativity” to a place of “consumption and entertainment.” He aims to lead a home in which the former traits flourish.Faith is a major cornerstone of their lives. The Cashells raise their children with “purpose and meaning.” Mrs. Cashell explained that “God really does inform” all of their plans, including their homeschooling journey.
“We hope that we can base it as much in what God has set out there for us to do,” Mrs. Cashell said. “We want to raise up our kids to know and love the Lord.”
In sharing their unique approach to life, the Cashells want to encourage other families “to lean into your gifts and into your passions. And let those be a blessing to your children.”
Lincoln has certainly been blessed by his parents’ decision to homeschool him. He’s been able to live to his full potential as he learns blacksmithing, woodworking, and leatherworking—but according to his parents, he isn’t done yet.
