Be sure to nominate yourself or another Survival Mom for our next Survival Mom of the Month, and don’t worry if you have fewer resources, less stocked up, etc. We’re looking for women who are being proactive and will share what they’ve done.

What possible emergencies are you preparing for?

Image Credit to Samaritan’s Purse

As a young child I moved to Florida from Portland, Oregon and encountered hurricanes for the first time. I also encountered evacuating for the first time.

Although I believe I was born with “prepper” tendencies Florida life certainly caused that prepper seed to sprout! My first memory of evacuating was during the 1964 hurricane season when 12 tropical cyclones, 6 of which developed into category 3 hurricanes, caused havoc in the U.S. Three of these hurricanes slammed into Florida and two were noteworthy enough to have their names retired forever. During one of these particularly fierce storms my parents reluctantly decided to evacuate for higher ground with a neighboring family. Thinking back, the only thing I remember my parents packing was booze and a cocktail shaker for their “hurricane party.”

When we arrived at the vacant house that we were using as higher ground we had no electricity, no running water and no furniture. Even at my age I had thought to pack pillows, blankets, food, and a lawn chair for my 82 year old grandmother to lie on which turned out to be a good thing as the hard wood floors didn’t offer much in the way of comfort.  Although I don’t remember much else, I do remember my parents being utterly amazed regarding what I had thought to pack in the back of our station wagon. And I remember being utterly amazed as a young child at what my parents had not thought to pack after spending a miserable night and day in our “shelter”!

Fast forward to several stints as a volunteer Registered Nurse in the remote regions of Haiti and my prepper fate was solidified. I left the Haiti experiences more determined than ever to be prepared. I also left more thankful than ever to live in a country where we have the resources to be able to prepare whether we think we do or not.

When you live and work in a third world country you have a tendency to focus on the basics of survival rather than the cause that generates the necessity for survival preparation. I rarely focus on hurricanes, nuclear blast, or pandemic scenarios. I consider myself more of a generic prepper focusing on the basics. Enough food. Enough clean water. Shelter. Medical care.

Recommended Prepper Resources:

I have to say YouTube and the internet in general has been my favorite tools. Any question I have is answered right at my finger tips. I taught myself how to can by watching YouTube. I taught myself how to raise chickens reading various blogs on Google. I do a lot of researching and I spend a lot of time researching a vast number of subjects. If I find something I find particularly useful (like how to can butter that lasts for two years) I copy the article and put it in my homemade prepper notebook.  The notebook contains everything from how to make a solar oven (I have one!) to how to make saline nose drops. I started this in case we have power outages for lengthy periods of time and my beloved internet is not available for quick references.

Fiction:

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank made a huge impact on me when it was required reading back in the old high school days. It is still one of my favorite books.

Nonfiction:

When in Haiti I picked up a copy of “Where There Is No Doctor.” A must have for everyone in the medical profession.  (Editor’s Note: Free copies are available for download at Hesperian Books.)

I have a copy of The Physicians Desk Reference that I picked up at a thrift store. As a nurse it’s imperative that I am able to calculate correct medications doses in times of extreme emergencies if the medications are available.

The Complete Book Of Home Preserving is the home canners Bible. I love mine purchased used on Ebay

TV:

I am drawn to shows like the Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival and National Geographic’s Doomsday Preppers. I am always fascinated by peoples focus in certain areas and their skill sets. Jericho was an awesome albeit short lived tv series, as well, that cut to the quick regarding what is important and what is not important during a survival situation.

Websites:

Craig’s List and Freecycle are my all time favorites. I don’t have a lot of money to spend on preparation so these sights are invaluable resources for free and cheap items like rain barrels and firewood. Meetup.com is a great sight and you never know what groups are available in your area. I found a great Urban Homesteading group and a permaculture group in my city.

What have you done to prepare your home and family for these possible emergencies?

I am also the mom of three adopted special needs children so my medical focus is a little out of the “norm” when it comes to preparing for disaster. Because of my kids complex medical conditions we are way beyond simply storing up band aids and Tylenol in our family!

My son has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (brittle bone disease) so I have adequate pain medication and splinting and casting materials on hand in case of fractures which are part of our every day life. They all have asthma so in addition to their multi-dose inhalers and rescue medications I have a battery powered nebulizer which also works off a car engine. The girls have cerebral palsy and one is unable to ambulate and uses a wheel chair. I am always cognizant of the fact that I will not be able to carry all of them if we are bugging out so having the chairs ready to rock and roll and/or having a wagon or, bike handy to aid in transportation is imperative. Jogger strollers are also handy on rough terrain and I have one that a friend of mine built from discarded parts of other strollers.

I do the usual food storage and have it shelved according to expiration dates and am always looking for dates that give me the longest shelf life. I also taught myself to can last year by watching YouTube videos and take advantage of seasonal produce and utilize local farmers and markets.

This year we added four backyard chickens and are getting 4 eggs a day now. I compost their coop shavings and manure and use it in our organic garden.  We have bins of red wiggler worms to help dispose of scraps and they make wonderful compost for the garden as well. Nothing is wasted.

In the garden this year I’ve branched out and added some fruit trees that don’t take up much room such as figs, Pomegranates, Surinam Cherry and bananas. My goal is to make my backyard into an urban homestead.

Last year I added bug out back packs in the closet near our front door. One for each family member including one for the dog, cat and chickens. I copied birth certificates, social security cards, and pertinent medical records and placed them in each backpack in a plastic, water resistant bag. The originals are in a small fire proof, water proof safe which I can easily toss into the van if we have to leave quickly. Periodically, I go through them and make sure I don’t need to add or remove anything. Each child has an identification necklace and whistle to wear around their necks.

What advice to you have for new Survival Moms who want to prepare their families as well?

Start now and quit procrastinating. None of your excuses regarding having plenty of time to get started or not enough money to prepare are legitimate. Even the poorest family can afford to buy one small bag of cheap rice a month and store it away. And don’t even get me started on people who tell me they can’t afford to prepare but go to Starbucks everyday or frequent fast food drive thrus.

Do not think the government or local cities are going to be able to feed, cloth or rescue you during times of extreme disaster. We are so inclined in the USA to rely on bailouts that it is hard to get past that mentality and that is dangerous mindset. People in this country are not used to waiting in long lines or delaying gratification. Prepare to be as self sufficient as possible as soon as possible because our microwave society can blow at any moment. Start simply if you’re not a prepper by nature. Make your own laundry soap. Put up a clothes line. Purchase some canned goods. Stock up on medication. Start thinking outside of the box.

When I was evacuating during Hurricane George I thought I’d stop by a local chicken place and pick up a couple of buckets for my gracious host who was putting us up in her non-evacuation zone home. I noticed the guy in front of me peeled out and gave the employee the finger.

“Welcome to our restaurant. May I take your order?” When I ordered the chicken she replied, “I’m sorry. We are out of chicken.” Everything I rattled off they were already out of so I asked her what she did have?

“Soda.”

It only takes a couple of hours for a grocery store or fast food place to empty out. Even during times of “impending disaster” food disappears fast and tempers flare. Do yourself favor and avoid the trip, the lines and the irate people by being prepared.

Build community relationships. Start in your own neighborhood. When you are preparing think beyond your family to that elderly neighbor down the street or that single mom. There is strength in numbers and everyone has something to contribute. There are preppers who do not feel the necessity to share anything and would turn you away in a heart beat. I am a firm believer in the fact that we will reap what we sow. Prepare ahead of time so you do not feel compelled to sow selfishness.

Don’t think you need a tremendous amount of money to be a prepper. Utilize free stuff. Re-use. Re-purpose and re-cycle.

Get started today!

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by mbtrama

My daughter loves living in Phoenix because there are virtually no natural disasters that threaten us and other than extreme heat and occasional thunderstorms, the weather is pretty cooperative, too.

However, in our travels around the country, I’ve realized the importance of teaching my kids what to do in emergencies they might not encounter here at home. More than once, on trips to Disneyland, I’ve wondered what we would do if an earthquake occurred while we were in the middle of “It’s a Small World”. Would my kids know where to find shelter from a tornado or basic winter weather survival even though those events never occur here in Phoenix?

They might encounter any number of different situations while away from home, whether at a school or church event, camping trip or a resort vacation.  Regardless of the most likely disasters in your area, do your kids know how to stay safe in these situations?

• A flood, including flashfloods
• Earthquake and aftershocks
• Tornado
• A lightning storm
• Hurricane
• Ice storm
• Blizzard
• Heat wave
• Wildfires
• Dust storm, aka haboob
• Tsunami
• Avalanche

It would also be helpful as kids get older to learn the warning signs of any of these, so they have the chance to prepare, not just react.

Do some quick research online or in the appendix section of my book for survival tips that are easy to teach and easy to remember. A little education and a bit of planning goes a long way.

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

As a “Survival Mom” I think of my children first. Keeping them safe and fed in a terrible situation is most important. However, the following are 5 things in my prepping supplies to help my kids feel a little more secure if the SHTF. Physical comfort, traditions, and routines will always serve to make kids feel more secure.

1.) A couple of clothing items in a size or two larger than what my kids currently wear.

2.)Fun things to keep them busy.

3.)Books that you can read together as a family.

4.)Comforts of home.

5.)School supplies and curriculum.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by Renata Sa

This week, Survival for Blondes’ Jen Tucker had a conversation with her daughter, the effervescent Gracie, about Bug Out Bags while Gracie got ready for school.  For those new to the idea of a Bug Out Bag, it’s a pre-packed bag you have in your home for the time you may have an emergency and you need to set sail quickly from your home.  Here are Gracie’s little thoughts on the matter of preparing one for our family.

*Scene*

Gracie, in her pink bedroom, is getting ready for a day of first grade, thrilled she is wearing a new-to-her dress from her friend, Cora.  It is a, “spinny,” dress when she twirls.  Gracie is a happy camper.

Jen: Gracie, do you know what a Bug Out Bag is?

Gracie (irritated, hands on hips): Yes Mommy, everyone knows.  It’s the bag you put lightning bugs in when you catch them at night.

Jen (biting her lip to refrain from laughter): Well, it’s actually a little different than what you’re thinking.  It’s a bag you pack when you have to “bug out” of the house; to leave quickly in case of an emergency.  That means you will need to put things inside you’ll need like snack bars, water, flashlights…”

Gracie: You know what I would do?  I’d pack it all in my Hello Kitty rolly backpack, because that thing can hold a ton of stuff, and I’d take my stuffed animals, my sticker books, my Junie B. Jones books, my Stompeez slippers…  You know the stuff I’d need.

Jen: Those are important things to you; I know, Gracie.  A Bug Out Bag needs to have other items in it that are important in an emergency too, like Band-Aids, snacks, a raincoat.  Items we could have with us just in case we had to be away from the house for more than a day and we couldn’t get to a store to shop.

*Gracie thinks a moment*

Gracie: Well, aren’t you the mom?  That means you pack that stuff you said, and I will handle the fun stuff.  Easy Peasy.  Wait a minute.  What about Jack and Henry (our Golden Retrievers)?  They’d come too, right?  So that means you’d have to take leashes and dog food.

Jen: Wow, Diz.  I’m so glad you thought of that too.  You’re absolutely right.  We need to pack for the boys.

Gracie: I would never forget my Happy Puppies, Mommy!  Never, ever, ever. (Gracie has found both dogs and is hugging them around their necks.  They’d rather still be sleeping.)

Jen: Let me read you this list of items to pack, and tell me what you think should stay, and what should scram off the list.

Grace: You know you don’t have to do that.  Those are your responsibilities.  I’m in charge of packing entertainment, remember?

Jen: Just humor me, Sweetheart; please?

Gracie (twirling): Can I listen and twirl?

*Jen shakes her head resignedly, and reads Gracie the list to pack*

Jen: So what do you think?  Should we pack it all?  Only some of it?  None of it?

Gracie (she has stopped twirling, and is now admiring herself in the mirror): Tuna … out.  The paying cell phone (pre-paid cell phone) … dumb ’cause you have one already, Mom.  The outer space blanket (emergency space blanket) … who’s gonna go to Mars and get that and bring it back, hmm?

Jen: Okay, those are off the list.  So what would you add?

Gracie: Cheetos, Kind bars and Lara bars, Bubble Tape, my Tinkerbelle sleeping bag, my pinky blanket, and Coke with a lime are missing from the list, Mommy.  I’m pretty sure you need to bring SpongeBob Life too.  I mean, how long is this bugging out gonna take, people?  I have a schedule to keep.

KIDS’ BUG OUT BAGS RESOURCES

The Survival Summary (video)

Survival Cache

Pioneer Living Survival

Off Grid Surviva

Gracie’s mom, Jen Tucker, blogs at the website, Survival for Blondes, where she marries humor with preparedness. A former teacher and educator, she has worked with children in school, hospital, and enrichment settings. In her years at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, it was Jen’s job to bring the “hands on fun” into the visiting exhibitions in the galleries. Jen broke away from writing children’s books in 2011 with her memoir, “The Day I Wore My Panties Inside Out” which was a semifinalist in the humor category in the 2011 Goodreads Book Awards. You can find it, and her latest book, “The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt” on Amazon.com. Jen lives in West Lafayette, Indiana with her husband, Mike, their three children, and two Golden Retrievers. You can find Jen on Twitter, Facebook, her blog or on her website at Princess with a Pen.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

Day 1, A new craft for your kids

Make the most of your kids’ Christmas vacation …or Winter Holiday or Solstice Observation Days or whatever term your local school district is using these days!  Your kids have about fourteen uninterrupted days at home, and no doubt you’ll start hearing complaints about boredom and how there’s nothing to do.  Start planning ahead right now to teach them at least one new craft skill that might also help them create gifts for family members or friends.  Don’t worry about being an expert yourself.  It’s even more fun when parents and kids learn something new together!

image by shaletann

Some of the practical skills you might consider are sewing, ” target=”_blank”>knitting, macrame, leathercraft, woodworking, and string art.  I’ve seen beautiful works of art by kids of stained glass, ” target=”_blank”>mosaics, and punched tin, and many kids enjoy making their own silk flower arrangements.  Quilting, crochet, carpentry, and calligraphy are worthwhile skills that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.

For supplies, check out eBay, garage sales, and Craigslist and watch for craft store coupons.  Even better, find a family friend or relative who can teach a new skill to your kids.  Before your young’uns even say the words, “I’m bored!”, be ready with craft supplies to keep them busy and productive!  If the craft has practical applications, such as knitting, so much the better.

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by D'Arcy Norman

Sometimes I find myself taking on more responsibility around the house than I really should, especially with kids who are 10 and 12 years old.  Now that most kids around the country will soon be on holiday break, or Christmas break, if your school is politically incorrect, there’s no reason for they can’t jump in and help with your preparedness efforts.  After all, within just 2 or 3 days, they’ll be whining, “I’m bored!”  Here are a few tasks that will keep them busy and build a sense of teamwork and shared responsibility in your home.

1. Put them in charge of organizing your pantry and food storage areas.  If you have boxes of #10 cans from one of the many food storage companies out there, such as Shelf Reliance, they can easily write a list on the outside of the box telling what’s inside.
2. Assign them the duty of rotating groups of food by bringing the back cans to the front.
3. Along the same lines, hand them black Sharpies and tell them to circle the expiration dates on food and other supplies.
4. Older kids can find new recipes that use only foods in your pantry and prepare them for meals.
5. Kids of all ages can go through their closets, drawers, and pile of shoes and look for items that are too small or that they don’t like.  Decluttering is a huge step in being better prepared, and why should you do all the work?
6. Have each kid prepare their own Bug Out Bag.  They can use this list and get your approval before actually packing the duffel bag, backpack, or other satchel.
7. If you live near sporting goods stores such as R.E.I., Cabela’s, or a Bass Pro Shop, older kids can go to their websites or call the store directly and find out what classes might be scheduled during the holiday break.  Typically, these types of stores offer classes in Dutch oven cooking, orienteering, fly fishing, wilderness survival, and a lot more.
8. If your kid is tech-savvy, have him or her transfer favorite tunes from CDs to an MP3 player or iPod.  Then, store the player in a Farraday cage.
9. Assign them the task of putting together a vehicle emergency kit.
10. Every day is a good day to begin learning a new skill.  Boys and girls can learn to knit, sew, embroider, and so much more.  Look for training videos online, acquire the necessary supplies, and then tell them to get busy.  You, as the parent or grandparent, don’t need to know everything.  Instead, think about skills as a pool that everyone contributes to.

Assign several of these tasks and then sit back, relax, and eat a few bonbons.

*I heard my mom use this phrase, “No rest for the wicked,” throughout my childhood, but it wasn’t until just this week that I bothered to research its origin.  Turns out it’s a quote from the Bible as well as the title of songs, short stories, books, albums, and even a webcomic.

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by AlaskaTeacher

My kids have had their sleds lined up by the garage door since Thanksgiving.  They’ve been trying on their snow clothes and eyeing new ski jackets in the L.L. Bean catalog and are ready to get out in the snow and burn some serious calories!  I love to watch them play in the snow and ski down a (slightly elevated) hill, but the SurvivalMom in me wants to make sure they also have some winter survival skills.  Combining the fun of winter sports and outdoor activities with a few survival lessons is my sneaky way of making sure they know what to do if ever they find themselves in trouble.

Some specific skills and knowledge I want them to have are:

• how to prepare before going out into winter weather
• what to do first if you ever feel you’re in danger
• the four basics of survival: warmth, shelter, food and water

Above all, I want my kids to know how to make it easy for rescuers to find them.  When there’s a chance they’ll be out of my sight, say, when they’re skiing or tramping through the woods, I want them to have a small survival kit with them.  Just in case.

Once kids are on their December break, putting together individual Winter Survival Kits is a sure-fire activity to keep them occupied.  These are small enough to be carried in backpacks or fanny packs, and kids love having something important that is all their own. It’s important to keep in mind that the most essential piece of survival equipment is knowledge.  Make sure your kids know what to do with each item if they’re ever in an emergency situation.  Here is what you’ll need to make up these kits.

a bright colored bandana or similar size cloth

a whistle

a small, powerful flashlight

2 hand-warmers and 2 toe-warmers

2 high calorie energy bars

a small bottle of water (Once it’s empty, it can be filled with snow for more drinking water.)

a large black trash bag (use as an emergency blanket or shelter)

a pocketknife

small packet of tissues (emergency toilet paper, runny noses, etc.)

Put all these items in a large zip-loc bag or small nylon sack, and it’s finished.  In no way is this meant to be provisions for long-term survival!  It’s filled with just enough essential items to help a child signal for help and stay occupied until rescue arrives.  For older kids, you might add a firestarter, a few tablets of over-the-counter pain medication (in case there’s been an injury), and additional food and water.

Older kids will enjoy this video of how to make a small survival stove using a couple of cans, toilet paper, and alcohol, and this video from Shiloh Productions has multiple survival tips designed to help kids survive the wilderness.

Bob Mayne’s most recent podcast features numerous practical tips for surviving in the wilderness.  Much of what he says is just great survival advice for any age, anywhere.  My son was most impressed with Bob’s comment on the need to avoid boredom in emergency situations.  ”See, Mom!  I told you I need a DS!  I can keep it in my emergency bag!”

Wildwood Survival, a fabulous site with over 500 pages of wilderness survival advice, has this page devoted to winter survival including directions for building a snow coffin!  There’s even a section devoted to teaching survival skills to children.

Sometimes parents have to be sneaky in order to teach our kids what they must know.  Now that winter is in full swing, take advantage of the colder weather to teach important survival skills your kids will never forget.

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

Survive at Sea!

Survive in the Jungle!

Survive on a Desert Island!

This mini-series of books by Claire Llewellyn is called Survival Challenge.  These books can be used as a learning tool for kids without the need for any adult supervision or input. T

image by egroj

The premise is that you, the reader, finds herself in a precarious situation.  Depending on the book you are are cast adrift on the open ocean, lost in the jungle, or lost in the desert, and all you have with you is a backpack with a few useful things inside (They give you a list, complete with pictures). It will be twelve days before help arrives, and there is a different task or set of tasks for each day and they generally build on each other. The book starts with the supply list of readily available items such as binoculars, rope, plastic bags, string, a towel, etc.  and starts with a challenge to find or create shelter

Of course, depending on where you live, some activities are more do-able than others. Realistically, we won’t be doing all of the Survive at Sea! challenges because we don’t have a raft or anywhere to sail it, but for a family near the coast or a lake or pond, this might be a great exercise. Even for our land-locked family, there are activities such as avoiding sunstroke that are good skills to have no matter where you are. Others may need modification.  Around my family’s home, the old-growth Mid-Atlantic woods do not have any trees with giant leaves like the ones used to build a shelter in the Survive in the Jungle! book, but we can still build a shelter appropriate to our area.

This book series is out of print but is still available on half.com from third party sellers. There are both spiral bound (around $3) and hard bound (around $15) copies listed, but they are actually the same thing. It’s just a matter of how the seller chose to list them.  Hopefully this series will help you family make some fun and happy memories while your kids (and you) learn or hone some practical survival skills!  What a fun way to end the summer!

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by Lin Pernille Photography

Summer vacation is starting – soon! Summer camp can be hundreds of dollars a week. As great as those experiences can be and as much as kids can learn, it can quickly add up to too much money. My boys are signed up for some camps, mostly half day, and definitely not an entire summer’s worth. That leaves a lot of time for them to drive me insane and get really bored. My plan? Trading kids! Really. I’m going to give my five year old to another mom and take her nine year old for some afternoons throughout the summer. She has sons the same age as my boys, so they will all have friends their age to hang out with.

I’m going to use things I have bought and stuck in a closet to give them little “camps” at my house with different themes. Whenever there is something appropriate (like building forts – aka shelters – in the wood), we can have all the kids play together for “camp.”

I plan to use the three Survival Challenge books by Claire Llewellyn to design part of it. These are focused on outdoor survival skills, albeit in situations my kids are unlikely to ever really encounter. It doesn’t matter, though, that they can’t use giant jungle leaves to build a shelter (“Survive in the Jungle”) if they figure out how to make one using what is available in the woods near us. Likewise, learning how to make a solar still as described in “Survive at Sea” is good knowledge even though we are in a land-locked area where they will not need to know how to care for a jellyfish sting. I don’t expect to go fishing, but we may try making a fishing net from an old t-shirt (“Survive on a Desert Island”) to catch tadpoles. (For tadpoles, I plan on using old baby shirts.)

With a travel theme, a “Mexico” week could include making tortillas and an evasive NERF course for learning to evade a hail of bullets. Politically insensitive, no doubt, but I have boys and boys love NERF. A “London” camp could include acting out a play like you’re at Globe’s Theater, building your own bomb shelter (fort!) like many WWII era books and movies include (Narnia and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, for instance), or designing your own royal wedding and wardrobe.

image by e pants

Cooking could include outdoor cooking, no-cook cooking, baking, dehydrating (and rehydrating), and cake decorating. (My boys love baking because they can eat what they bake.) Spy Camp could include treasure hunts, pre-packaged murder mysteries like the dinner party kits, an evasive bike-riding course, and more NERF. I bought the “whodunit? lab” from Discovery Kids (crime lab experiments including fingerprinting) and will use that for one week. It’s out of production but I found it on eBay.

Other possibilities include cooking, cake decorating (“Ace of Cakes”!), working on cub scouts pins, photography, crafts like weaving and spinning, wood working, and gardening. The choices are limited only by your imagination and the skills you know or are interested in learning.

Summer Camps are great, and they definitely provide sanity breaks if you’re home full-time with your kids, but doing your own Camp Mama (or Papa or Grandparent) allows you to teach your kids specific skills, cater to their interests, and share something you love with your kids. I’m a poor swimmer at my best, so sending the kids to swim camp instead of trying to teach them myself is a no-brainer, but the whodunit? lab looked wicked cool and we never have time to try it during the school year, so doing that as a camp is equally a no-brainer. And of course, they’ll need plenty of time to just kick back, relax, have some Wii tournaments with their friends, and enjoy their free time during summer vacation. With a little luck, so can Mama!

© 2011 – 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

My son has the heart of an adventurer, a hero.  When he was only two, he made a “gun” out of a pizza crust, and I knew, then, that there was no point in fighting it.  Instead, I’ve given him my blessing and permission to be all boy!

A few months ago, I found a book that speaks to that adventurous heart of his, The American Boy’s Handy Book.  It’s a new edition of a classic book first published in 1882.  My little guy has studied knot-tying techniques, how to spear fish, and snowball warfare.  He’s even tried to teach our Basenji to retrieve using ideas in Chapter 24!

The book has thirty-one chapters chock-full of ideas to keep your adventure-loving boy busy while learning practical, timeless skills.

© 2010, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.