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- Sep 27, 1999
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Bushcraft Projects with Kids
Every now and again someone posts a question asking how to get kids into Survival or bushcraft as it is now called. Here is my way.
I am always introducing survival games to my 4 year old son. I know what you are thinking, “what does this guy think he is doing scaring the bejesus out of his son with preparation for Armageddon?” Right away, I want to assure you that I already scare the hell out of him while I am driving. No seriously, I do bushcraft because it is pure fun. I also think there is some functionalist explanation for this activity too! Simply put, “Kid’s eat this up better than candy.” Once they experience this kind of activity, real outdoors, satisfying type of activity, watching TV ain’t near as fun as it used to be. Kids are always imagining getting lost in the jungle or some jungle safari.
There is an interesting kid’s show on TV called, Diego. Diego is an animal rescuer. he is the cousin of Dora the explorer. He even has a pocket knife and a backpack that saves his butt from all kinds of predicaments. Diego helps kids get into the role because he lives in the jungle and is always going on an adventure with his backpack. My son actually has a Diego backpack, plastic Swiss army knife, binoculars and some rope. He packs it up himself and carries it on our adventures.
On weekends, I often ask my son if he wants to go on a Diego Adventure. When we go hiking we search for animal tracks, maybe we will find an animal in trouble that we could rescue. When we can’t get out for a hike, we build shelters for his small plastic Diego doll. Sometimes they are built out of Legos, sometimes out of small pieces of wood and sometimes we build real ones. This past Thanksgiving, I told my son that Diego was had to rescue an animal in the swamp and he had to spend the night there. I explained that a swamp has water everywhere and alligators are around, so we had to build a shelter that is above the water.
We collected some scrap molding pieces and a cut up old tee-shirt. My son had a blast. He added a roof on to it later with some card board scraps. Later on in the day it became a garage where Diego could park his car.
Also, building a small model really helps you understand how to build a larger one. It is great practise for you.
Here is a pic with my son putting Diego on his swamp bed.
Every now and again someone posts a question asking how to get kids into Survival or bushcraft as it is now called. Here is my way.
I am always introducing survival games to my 4 year old son. I know what you are thinking, “what does this guy think he is doing scaring the bejesus out of his son with preparation for Armageddon?” Right away, I want to assure you that I already scare the hell out of him while I am driving. No seriously, I do bushcraft because it is pure fun. I also think there is some functionalist explanation for this activity too! Simply put, “Kid’s eat this up better than candy.” Once they experience this kind of activity, real outdoors, satisfying type of activity, watching TV ain’t near as fun as it used to be. Kids are always imagining getting lost in the jungle or some jungle safari.
There is an interesting kid’s show on TV called, Diego. Diego is an animal rescuer. he is the cousin of Dora the explorer. He even has a pocket knife and a backpack that saves his butt from all kinds of predicaments. Diego helps kids get into the role because he lives in the jungle and is always going on an adventure with his backpack. My son actually has a Diego backpack, plastic Swiss army knife, binoculars and some rope. He packs it up himself and carries it on our adventures.
On weekends, I often ask my son if he wants to go on a Diego Adventure. When we go hiking we search for animal tracks, maybe we will find an animal in trouble that we could rescue. When we can’t get out for a hike, we build shelters for his small plastic Diego doll. Sometimes they are built out of Legos, sometimes out of small pieces of wood and sometimes we build real ones. This past Thanksgiving, I told my son that Diego was had to rescue an animal in the swamp and he had to spend the night there. I explained that a swamp has water everywhere and alligators are around, so we had to build a shelter that is above the water.
We collected some scrap molding pieces and a cut up old tee-shirt. My son had a blast. He added a roof on to it later with some card board scraps. Later on in the day it became a garage where Diego could park his car.
Also, building a small model really helps you understand how to build a larger one. It is great practise for you.
Here is a pic with my son putting Diego on his swamp bed.
Admittedly there was less lashing (and thought process!) involved 
Glad he enjoys it!
