Survival skills to practice with my son? Traps, etc..

[peripatew]

We spent the day playing outside working with some knots, making a really tight line, and using it to shoot little wooden arrows.

I was trying to think of some other fun things for him to do (he is almost 4). And for me to do, that he could then enjoy. He loves to watch and to learn, and then fiddle with stuff!

I thought about making some small deadfall traps. Like this one:

Are there other variations of traps like this? Other similar things where whittle, etc... are required?

What have your young ones enjoyed in the backyard?

L

 

[baldtaco-II]

Yeah, loads. Remember the tangle, mangle, strangle, dangle. Although the figure 4 comes up time and again here it is only an example of one type. There are loads that work on toggle release. Start small with simple spring tension snares with a toggle. Perhaps the hardest type to perfect, because they are very hard to build power into, would be a toggle release that shoots an arrow. Pig traps can be built like that and aren't usually a one man operation, but as you've got the arrow thing going on already you could scale down for safety but retain the basic principle.

Other fun whittling things include adjustable pot hangers that work by simple counter leavers. Get 'em right and you can adjust pot height and have a swinging arm.

 

[dougo83]

He may still be too young as I do not recall when my Opa started doing this with me. He would hide things (small Matchbox cars, other little trinkets) and give use a crude map to go track them down. I know this was right around Kindergarten time, but I don't know how much earlier it started. I just remember it was always fun. Probably what got me started in the outdoors. He also had us kids making stuff for Oma out of woodland matter. She has a grapevine wreath I made her 20-ish years ago that still hangs on the front door every Christmas. That's the great thing about little kids though, almost anything when done with their parents is fun. Makes me wish I had actually done more with my dad.

 

[k_estela]

Naked,

The illustration you posted is not accurate. The enlarged section of the detail to the notch on the upright stick shows the other stick fitting inside a complete notch when in reality, a figure four has a squared off side to the upright stick that allows for the trigger arm to fall down, not just out to one side. If you send me your address, I'll whittle one for you and try to get it out in the mail this week so you can use it as a reference. Seeing one up close and in person is much better than seeing one in a book.

As for other cool projects, I think every little kid has carved a fish spear at one time or another. Even if it isn't a correct design, the fun of learning how to and then trying to use it in a creek is one of the childhood memories I'll never forget.

 

[MrCoffee]

One of the things I have done with my older boy (11 now) was teaching him how to make cordage from just about anything.... long grass, roots, bark.... etc. Just sitting talking and weaving while we do. At 4, firestarting might be a bit of a stretch, but teaching him how to put together a "kit" isnt.

I love Dougo83's idea, not one I had thought of but I bet it would be a lot of fun, kind of a treasure hunt. You can also try doing a mapping game of sorts, so he can put together a map of his surroundings based on landmarks and things.

But do it NOW, before he becomes a teen and knows EVERYTHING...

 

[Diomedes Industries]

I practice the bow drill with my 4 year old (he mostly watches and helps me collect tinder and dry grass and helps me blow coals into flame).

He also helps me when I am practicing my compass skills. I am teaching him about azimuths, bearings, reverse bearings and the like. Ofcourse, I don't use the technical terms but he is getting used to the concepts nonetheless.

TF

 

[baldtaco-II]

I don't do offspring but if I did I'd get them having a go at making ovens from clay. It's not going to be much harder than making a simple coil pot and you can do more interesting things with it than the boring old hackneyed griddle. If they got a decent nosebag out of it that is a further incentive.

 

[psy-ops]

My son and I made a swamp bed out of small sticks and used some of his plastic adventure toys.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Well, he may not be mature enough, but firemaking skills are great to have. I'd also think about showing him some simple shelter buidling. I don't know if he can grasp it at his age, but I picked up compass navigation quite well, when I was that age.

Are there streams and such where you are? Does he know how to safely ford them?

Plant ID is always a good thing to know. When they're young their brains are like a sponge, it'll be easier for him to memorize such things than it is for us old farts.

 

[Watchful]

Little Watchful, almost 6, is already very adept at tracking. Every opportunity I can, I'll point to a track (human or animal) and ask him what he thinks was going on there. And no tricks, either; if I see a weird one or something unusual, I'd rather lecture than trick him. He's even found a really great kid's book in the library that had great illustrations, and taught me about a half dozen things I didn't know!

He's starting to understand firecraft, as well: he sees there's a *way* to build fires, and is just starting to understand where and why to separate big, small, and tiny sticks into different piles. At this point, he's more of a talented helper than able to start piling his own.

Right now, he's still observing me with compass and map, but he's starting to grasp what a compass contributes to the equation. His mom is doing him an excellent favor by asking him--randomly--"how do you get home (or back to our car) from here?"

Littlest Watchful, his younger brother, is at this point identifying different birds and animals on our walks. To a little guy, that's neat--but actually it serves a higher purpose when he starts identifying animals hiding in trees or bushes or tall grasses. Often, survival is sometimes dependent on spotting things no one else spotted.

As they get older, we'll tackle more physical subjects like climbing, sheltering, and first aid--and more technical subjects like foraging for food, water filtration and purification, and ropework.

 

[shaker]

its the modern version of a treasure hunt
lots of out door types enjoy it , gets them out to some remote places that you would never find otherwise
google "geocaching"

 

[borrowed time]

Shelter, shelter, and shelter. if its raining, stay dry, windy, and cold, stay warm, too hot in the sun, stay cool. I sometimes teach basic survival to cubscouts, beginners and weblos alike, and its rare to find one that knows how to make a basic shelter that can save their life.

all they need is a 50 gal trashbag or two , some duct tape and or some cable ties, the forest will provide the branches.

--- Eric