Baby bushcraft

[Harmonica]

Hi all,

I'm a proud parent of one little adventurer just coming up on two years old and I'll have a second in a months time.

The 'big' one loves being outside, slow walks by the river and so on.

My question is what bushcraft activities can I use to get them started young !

thanks

 

[Man of Tanith]

Jake (my son) is four. Started him off with walks around woods finding tracks/feeding sign. He's "helped" me with bowdrill as in he holds one end of the bow. He visited my camp earlier this year and helped me cook soup on the fire and put wood on the fire (under close supervision)
not yet on knives but he does watch when i use mine

 

[Insel Affen]

My son's eight and we have entered knife time after some initial camping out and hammocking (if that's a word).

At that age, I'd probably say; spotting and listening to birds, looking for nuts, collecting leaves and making collages, pine cones or sitting round a small fire and toasting marshmallows.

 

[santaman2000]

The individual activities really take a back seat to just being with Dad and watching you. If you're doing it, he'll learn. Take him along and enjoy each other's company.

 

[Insel Affen]

Forgot to say, The Woodland Trust is a good website with lots of useful resources like this clicky

There is another link via another thread on this site

 

[Harmonica]

Thanks for all replies so far. Trying to post a photo of the little man on a walk in early spring. New to tapatalk so fingers crossed

Keep the idea coming!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sandbender]

"...My question is what bushcraft activities can I use to get them started young..."

Tree and plant ID.

Bird ID, bird songs and calls.

Tracks.

 

[Bowlander]

Not very 'bushy' but my lad loves geocaching - he would easily do a 6 mile walk when he was 3, as the caches were 300 - 500 yds apart it breaks the walk up. Gives them the incentive to keep going on. Pick routes with many twists and turns rather than long slogs where they soon get bored.

I'd echo what Sandbender said, if you show interest in whats around you, the kids pick up on it.



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[Braidsta]

Not quite bushcraft, but I've prepared a few bits of old leather for my girlfriend's nephews to make drawstring pouches from when we take them for a woodland adventure. Knives and wood prep wouldn't go down well with the parents, not much will in fact, but I reckon a couple of handmade pouches will give them something to take away from the experience.

 

[Nyayo]

How about making story sticks, or wizards' wands. Mini dens for the Little People, or mini forts (if they live in an area of political instability..!) - tiny sticks for a palisade, acorn cups as huts - bridges, sedge boats, towers etc all can be added to the landscape. If you add clay then improve on your settlement building, or make clay faces for the trees, or woodland creatures decorated with found objects. Make pretend fires and cook mud pies. Roast marshmallows, brew cocoa, make popcorn over a real fire so he has ideas to include in his own playing. Make a trail of peas for him to track (and find a cuddly fox etc. at the end). Make a camp for teddy, with a debris shelter, raised bed, woodpile, campfire. Kids love mini stuff, and it gives them a chance to actually succeed in building stuff as well...

Ede