My ex and I are split. As such, I regularly visit my daughter. She sees this time as special (as do I) and I do what I can to make the most of it.
It can be difficult, not to mention expensive, keeping a then five-year-old girl entertained and focused for eight hours at a time. Being passionate about wilderness survival, I stoked in her an interest in the outdoors. Anything and everything I could do to encourage wide-eyed wonder in a child that rarely showed passion for things... I was for it!
My first step was crafting an "adventure sword". Too young for the real thing, I decided she needed to start out with a basic weapon... something to start her adventures with... that wouldn't be overpowered against early monsters...
Being broke, my options were... slim. I went down to the local hardware store and bought a wooden property marker that had a straight grain and no knots. I had some gorgeous cherry colored wood stain at the house as well. With that, a whittling knife, and a dremel, I carved out something rather sword-shaped.
She. Was. Beside herself. It went over amazingly. I gave it to her the first day we were to go hiking. I had her pack a backpack with survival items, and away we went.
The whole time, she held her sword in two hands (she was half-swording it nearly to the point, but yeah. :D) using it to clear spider webs, push aside branches, probe piles of leaves, or even for balance as she stepped over logs. Honestly, I was amazed at just how much mileage she was getting out of a wooden sword. We even found a clearing where she could whirl and twirl and "practice" her little sword-fighting moves. I couldn't have been more proud. :D
So the adventure sword became a constant companion, and she BEGGED to go hiking every visit. During one hike, we passed a small area where the local bayou kind of ran through part of the woods. We were on a raised wooden platform that blended into the otherwise dirt trail. Looking down, she commented about how much she would love to go fishing one day.
One day?
Why not now?
Teaching her of the MANY uses for duct tape, we looped a long strip onto the end of the adventure sword, twisted it into itself to make a "line", and cut up one of our water bottles with a knife to make a little bucket. I let her sit there for what felt like forever, lowering that makeshit bucket into the water... trying her damnedest to scoop up a minnow. She didn't catch a single one, but she loved every second of it.
She still mentions it to this day, randomly.