Our family is anxiously awaiting the time for me to put away our anatomy and physiology unit study and begin our survival unit study. Here are some of the resources we will be or would like to use.
The Waldock Way Survival Unit Study
I have this resources all printed. My wilderness child looked at it. He can’t hardly contain himself with excitement. It is a fun curriculum, and we’re excited to start. My favorite part is that the spine of this curriculum is the Bear Grylls books.
Bear Grylls The Complete Adventure Series 12 Book Set
My oldest son has already read some of these books, yet he is super excited to read them again. I love that all of my older three kids can read these on their own and will be excited to do so.
Hiking on the Ranch
This will be one of our most important resources. Going on hikes will allow us to see animal poop, animal tracks, rocks, trees, plants, bugs, and so much more. There is no better way to study the outdoors then being in it.
Laurence King Match a Track Game
This game will be wonderful for when we go hiking. We notice tracks often when we go walking. Sometimes this can be really helpful when keeping us safe. This can be especially helpful if we notice bear tracks or mountain lions so that we will know they’re in the area.
Laurence King Pick a Flower Game: A Memory Game
This game we’ve had for quite some time. I bought it when we did a botany unit a couple years ago. It will be another resource we can pull out for extra nature learning.
Laurence King Poop Bingo
When we go hiking on the ranch, my family recognizes different animal poop on the ground. We know what a lot of different types of poop are. For example, we can spot elk or deer, cow, chicken, and dog poop. However, I want us to be able to recognize more so we might end up purchasing this game. I think that could be very important in outdoor survival to recognize what animals are around you.
National Geographic Rock Bingo
Being a rock hound’s daughter, I really want my kids to learn the names of rocks and minerals when they see them in nature. I bought this game thinking it could help with this in a fun way. The only thing I am not thrilled about with this game is the rocks that you draw out of a bag as the calling rocks are not labeled. I have no idea what different rocks are. That is part of the reason I’m so excited about teaching my kids rock names is because I might learn to. As a solution to this, the game also comes with a card deck. We will probably use the card deck as the calling cards instead of the rocks sometimes so the game doesn’t take quite as long. Nonetheless, sometimes we will still probably use the rocks because it forces my family to figure out what kind of rock each one is.
Preposition Hike
The other day when our family was on a hike, I told my children I wanted to make a preposition hike game. When we get to a hill we will pull out our preposition cards and they will decide how we confront the obstacle. I decided to play this game it has to be doable and safe. For example, we will not go under or through a frozen lake. We will also not go through a mountain. I will attach the link to this resource when I have it finished.
Camp Board Game
This game by Education Outdoors is fun. It is a trivia based game. Although trivia based games are not usually something our family enjoys all that much, we did enjoy this game. I love that it works great with all of us no matter our ages. Any game that can be challenging for a 5 year old to a 32 year old is an amazing game.
Go Find It- The Original Outdoor Nature Scavenger Treasure Hunt Card Game
There are rules to this game, but I probably won’t use the rules. I plan to have my kids each pick two or three cards and find things that match those cards and draw them in a nature journal. Drawing in nature journals is something I’ve wanted my kids to do for a long time that seems stressful when we actually go on hikes. However, it is something I really want them to do, so we are going to try it again.
Medicinal Plant Unit Study
This unit study is great to teach your children about natural remedies and herbs. I grew up with my grandmother who said that Yarrow could cure just about anything and had us drink yarrow tea. I would love for my children to grow up learning about natural remedies. Personally, I would love to see Nature Doctors and Medical Doctors work in harmony more to treat ailments. However, I will be happy with seeing my kids know more about natural remedies. This is a resource I will most likely be purchasing.
Possible Books for a Read Aloud
Some books that would make good read alouds are the Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’ Dell, A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements, and Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. The Hatchet and Touching Spirit Bear will probably not be books that a lot of people want to read to their younger kids. I moved the Hatchet ahead so my son didn’t read all the pages about the boys parents getting a divorce. With Touching Spirit Bear it is a kind of hard book. However, it touches on a level of empathy for troubled kids that I really want my children to understand. Sometimes kids act out because they don’t have great home lives. Also my 6th grade teacher read this out loud to us in 6th grade so I really like it. The two books I really want to read is Seaman by Gail Karwoski and A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry. Seaman is about Lewis and Clark’s journey across the west based on the perspective of a Newfoundland dog that traveled with them.
Wildcraft
This is probably not a game we will be using right now because I’m trying really hard to stay within a budget I have made. However, if I find room for it in the future, I would love to purchase this game for this study. It is all about learning herbs and what they can be used for.
Other Resources
I’m not sure right now if we will be using other resources. I’m always up to looking for more ideas. We will probably check out more books from the library related to this unit study. If you have suggestions for fun things for our family to use, please leave them in the comments below.