"What if We Get Lost Overnight?"

We’ve been training Boo for a couple years now that if she’s lost, she should stay put and blow her whistle. 

Last fall, she started asking what we would do if we got lost. And she was very intrigued about how to shelter overnight with no gear. 

So when we raked the yard, I burrowed us in and we felt how toasty warm it was compared to the chilly air. And of course she noticed that leaves blow away.

Since then, when she starts to get fidgety, we’ve added into the mix “where would you spend the night?” As we walk, we look for sheltered areas. We discuss which side of a fallen log would provide the most shelter. How to keep the leaves from blowing away. How that hollow would be great if there was no rain, but “Never sleep in a hole if it’s going to rain.” 

 This does eventually end with her wanting to try out all these locations, and climb trees off trail, so we have to have another distraction ready. 

Her last words of advice? “Sleep close to where you get lost.”

Do your kids enjoy learning survival stuff?