Families that go camping in parks, nature centers, and state forest campgrounds have many unique opportunities to teach their children a lot of self confidence while bonding with them at the same time.
Many city people who don't understand the outdoors won't relate to the teaching experience that can occur.
However, properly done the experience can last a life time.
While raising my children I taught them to walk a straight line through the woods avoiding walking in circles and getting lost.
When my oldest son was in the army he said that he found the target better than his comrades by using at least in part the techniques I taught him.
Under most circumstances there really isn't any good excuse for getting lost as opposed to just getting misplaced.
The biggest reason most people get lost is when they find themselves misplaced they panic and succeed in getting lost.
Although you can teach your children to walk a straight line without a compass I suggest that you get them a compass so they can confirm their findings.
I suggest that you use a digital compass if possible but again a traditional lensatic compass will work just fine.
The advantage of a digital compass is you can program alarms into it so the child knows when they need to be headed home.
Always know what landmarks are in the area before starting out and have your child record the direction they took to them.
This is a great fall camping project as you can walk in the woods with fewer insects.
Do watch for poison ivy.
Always check with a local park ranger or DNR representative before going into territory you aren't familiar with.
You need to make sure that there isn't any interesting wildlife to be concerned about.
Go to your starting point and use your digital compass to determine the direction you are going to go.
This is very important as even a small deviation can be critical on a long hike.
Know where your landmarks are so in the event you are misplaced and you find one you know where you are.
What I am referring to are lakes, rivers, power lines or anything that can be used to orientate yourself in case you are lost.
Teach your child the basics of proving where they are compared to the landmarks.
Also be sure you know what direction you are supposed to go.
Sounds basic but going NW instead of NE can result in a long hike.
Once you enter the woods line up in a row three trees and walk to the first one.
Once you get to the first one pick out another tree.
Be sure you also watch the direction you came from to make sure you are still going in the right direction.
Check your compass frequently to confirm your direction.
Although hills and underbrush can make this harder, by following this procedure you can get to your destination with less trouble than simply trying to guess where you should go.
When your child is a little older some extra things can be introduced.
Moss grows faster on the damp side of a tree.
Normally for us in the northern climate this means the north side.
However, swamps, lakes and even rivers can fool you.
See if your child can identify when this could happen.
Why does a digital compass enhance this exercise?
· Check with a park ranger to make sure the hiking area is safe.
· The project can be done on marked trails · Don't take your children into an area where finding them would be difficult in case something goes wrong Although there are probably other ways to teach them this once they understand the need to always realize what direction they need to go it will help in other areas of their life as well.
For example, while working on a project taking the bigger view will help them understand the true objective Camping with children can be a rewarding experience or camping with children can be a real challenge.
With proper planning camping with children can be fun and create memories that last a life time.
Many city people who don't understand the outdoors won't relate to the teaching experience that can occur.
However, properly done the experience can last a life time.
While raising my children I taught them to walk a straight line through the woods avoiding walking in circles and getting lost.
When my oldest son was in the army he said that he found the target better than his comrades by using at least in part the techniques I taught him.
Under most circumstances there really isn't any good excuse for getting lost as opposed to just getting misplaced.
The biggest reason most people get lost is when they find themselves misplaced they panic and succeed in getting lost.
Although you can teach your children to walk a straight line without a compass I suggest that you get them a compass so they can confirm their findings.
I suggest that you use a digital compass if possible but again a traditional lensatic compass will work just fine.
The advantage of a digital compass is you can program alarms into it so the child knows when they need to be headed home.
Always know what landmarks are in the area before starting out and have your child record the direction they took to them.
This is a great fall camping project as you can walk in the woods with fewer insects.
Do watch for poison ivy.
Always check with a local park ranger or DNR representative before going into territory you aren't familiar with.
You need to make sure that there isn't any interesting wildlife to be concerned about.
Go to your starting point and use your digital compass to determine the direction you are going to go.
This is very important as even a small deviation can be critical on a long hike.
Know where your landmarks are so in the event you are misplaced and you find one you know where you are.
What I am referring to are lakes, rivers, power lines or anything that can be used to orientate yourself in case you are lost.
Teach your child the basics of proving where they are compared to the landmarks.
Also be sure you know what direction you are supposed to go.
Sounds basic but going NW instead of NE can result in a long hike.
Once you enter the woods line up in a row three trees and walk to the first one.
Once you get to the first one pick out another tree.
Be sure you also watch the direction you came from to make sure you are still going in the right direction.
Check your compass frequently to confirm your direction.
Although hills and underbrush can make this harder, by following this procedure you can get to your destination with less trouble than simply trying to guess where you should go.
When your child is a little older some extra things can be introduced.
Moss grows faster on the damp side of a tree.
Normally for us in the northern climate this means the north side.
However, swamps, lakes and even rivers can fool you.
See if your child can identify when this could happen.
Why does a digital compass enhance this exercise?
- The compass gives accurate easy to read directions
- Children live in a digital world and are used to digital results
- A digital compass has a time and alarm
- Use alarm feature to make sure they know when they need to head back or be at target location
- A digital compass has temperature readings
- Have an older child estimate water requirements with accurate temperature reading
· Check with a park ranger to make sure the hiking area is safe.
· The project can be done on marked trails · Don't take your children into an area where finding them would be difficult in case something goes wrong Although there are probably other ways to teach them this once they understand the need to always realize what direction they need to go it will help in other areas of their life as well.
For example, while working on a project taking the bigger view will help them understand the true objective Camping with children can be a rewarding experience or camping with children can be a real challenge.
With proper planning camping with children can be fun and create memories that last a life time.