The scouts were particularly attentive to the stories we told. They participated enthusiastically in the shelter-building demonstration. And they watched excitedly as Ron generated a hot coal from a primitive bow drill and blew it into “life” in a bundle of tinder made by the boys.

A good time was had by all and the comments after the program indicated that some “terrific information [was] passed along to the boys”.

The young adults’ librarian at the Elmwood Park (Illinois) Library hosted a “Hunger Games” event on the eve of the premier of the much-anticipated movie. We were invited to teach the HG fans survival skills that would benefit Katniss in her quest to survive the games.

Tim & Ron began by having the audience make small tinder bundles (for later fire-starting) while teaching them the “Rule of 3s”, a simple shorthand method to remember what is important in a survival situation and in what order.

The students then built the skeleton of a leaf hut, a simple structure made of forest debris that provides a perfect camouflaged shelter. Safe water-gathering techniques provided the basis for the next topic of discussion. And the evening ended with a demonstration of fire-starting, using both a primitive bowdrill and a flint and steel and the tinder bundles made earlier by the audience.

All participants went home with greater confidence in their ability to meet the challenges faced by the 24 contestants in the “games”. Some in fact went straight to local theaters to catch the midnight showing of the premier.

We chose Rainbow Beach, a dunes/prairie natural area on the shore of Lake Michigan about 8 miles south of downtown Chicago. After a community service segment which consisted of picking litter from the beach, the students were free to explore the 4-acre site. They enjoyed fabulous weather along with soaring seagulls & turkey vultures. Along the shore one student found a stick that had obviously been cut and stripped by a beaver! Were there beavers in Lake Michigan?

Luckily, one of the dad/parent-helpers was an ecologist familiar with the area; in fact his company had done the restoration of this prairie some years earlier. Mr. Wachtel informed the class that beavers had migrated into the Jackson Park lagoon, about a mile north and that this stick was most likely a remnant of their busy-work.

After lunch the day ended with the children taking photos for journals that they were creating

So we modified our program, went to the school, and mixed some indoor fun with outdoor exercises.

For the first hour we looked at animal skulls–elk, cougar, wolf, black bear, and beaver. But the names were unimportant. We wanted the children to learn from the skulls. How big is this animal? Is this animal a predator or prey? What does it eat? How would its diet compare to yours? Is it a sight-hunter or a scent-hunter? Can you tell where it lives? The enthusiasm was high and the answers were remarkably accurate.

We then went outside and learned to walk quietly like deer and wolves; they walk like a baby crawls. Bears have few natural enemies other than man, so they lumber with little need to be quiet. Rabbits and squirrels are prey to everything from hawks to coyotes to the neighbor’s cat, so they are built for instantaneous speed and their gait reflects that characteristic.

The day was as much fun for us instructors as it was for the children. One young lad told his teacher, “That was awesome and I learned a lot.”

The facilities, food, and staff at Camp Minikani in Wisconsin couldn’t have been better.  The weather felt as if it had been transplanted from early October to early November.  And the skills we taught–respect, awareness, fire by friction, shelter building, walking, seeing, and hearing techniques–challenged and rewarded the class.  Most students were asking for more.

We hope to offer another class in the spring of 2011, so keep your eye on our site and/or send us your name and we’ll put you on our mailing list.

*If you want to know what a ridge pole is and why or how you would want to break one, you’ll have to take our next class.  Or ask Noah.

Student comments:

“The course content [was something] I could not have gotten from books.  I loved the entire weekend.”

“FOOD
The food exceeded my expectations.

INSTRUCTORS [without naming names]
… Good storyteller…Very thoughtful and down to earth…Easy to talk to and entertaining. Nice to see that some people can laugh at themselves… Very personable guy. Great storyteller…Helpful as needed and interesting to talk to. Overall, a very diverse group that gave a lot of depth to the experience.”

“…the class was amazing it really opened up my mind to everything that’s out there that I’ve been missing…Overall the facility was excellent, couldn’t ask for a better place and great food.”

“…we covered quite a bit of useful info and how to slow down and see the entire picture of whatever situation you find yourself in…my wife told me I look different…I started thinking on everything we covered and come [sic] to the conclusion that I am different and always will be…I see how it all comes together a little more clearly. I gotta say it gives me a nice warm feeling inside.”

[From Noah's Mom]:  “He had such a great time. He was so excited to share the funny stories, great adventures and all that he learned over the weekend (I finally had to tell him I needed some sleep . He woke early Monday morning and immediately said “Mom, I’ll be in the backyard building a shelter.”  It is an amazing shelter but even more impressive is the confidence he has in himself and the initiative he is taking in other areas at home.

Though we had only 3 hours Tom, Ellen, Tim, & I exposed the students to awareness skills, tracking, shelters, fire-starting (every student was successful with a flint & steel), and a raucous, fun-filled session “hunting fresh meat” with throwing sticks and paper targets of rabbit, raccoon, and squirrel.

All in all it was a wonderful experience for students and instructors alike.

Here a a few comments from parents who attended the workshop:

• “The way [the instructors] used stories to drive a point home made the impact of the lesson more real.”
• “The hands on and demonstrations, the way the guys took turns telling us important things and the marker board were great teaching tools.  Thumbs Up!!!!!!!!!!”
• “I thought it was very well done, the stories were excellent teaching tools for the kids and adults. All the information was very useful, easy to apply and easy for kids to understand and hopefully remember.”
• “My kids talked about it the whole rest of the day.”

You can find more comments on our website as soon as our tech person plugs them in.

The weather was sometimes “iffy”, but it never dampened the wonder and enthusiasm of the children.  They learned to walk like a fox, to hear like an owl, to increase their awarness, and to respect everything they encountered in the Natural World.  Some “adopted” their own tree for close study during all three seasons.  Others sat in a meadow in October, January, and May and reveled in the simple things they observed and the changes they saw.

One class had an eight-point, whitetail buck walk within 30 feet of  the forest preserve pavilion we were using as an outdoor classroom.  Another class was gifted with a chance to examine a deer day-bed melted into the winter snow.  And a third class found fox tracks in a suburban park.

The older classes studied the skills necessary to survive in a natural environment.  The younger ones during one session explored the simple wonder of playing with a stick (much less expensive than a video game).  All finished the year with a renewed appreciation of and respect for the Natural World.

We instructors enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and we are told the children did as well.

In recent months we specifically designed and presented a program for a northside home-school book club to coincide with lessons  learned from their reading of Gary Paulsen’s “Hatchet”.

On each of three days in May and early June at a local forest preserve in DuPage County, Illinois we are presenting our 2 1/2-hour “What 2 Know B/4 You Go!” program to another Chicago area home-school group–children and parents.  The initial registration response was so overwhelming that our contact person had to expand the presentation from one class to three; and we are told there is still a waiting list.