Review: Hands of a Child Notebook

Did the blog title throw you for a loop?  Yes the company famous for its lap books also makes notebooks for older kids.  My son was recently given the opportunity to check out their Basic Survival Skills Note Pack.  The cover says "For Grades 6 and up," but my 10 year old found it engaging and had no problems answering the questions.  It's been a good foundation for his Royal Rangers (and someday FCF) camping merits.

There are 14 pages of teaching material including a new vocabulary list and nearly two pages of other recommended reading--fiction and nonfiction.  I hadn't thought of My Side of the Mountain since my teacher read it aloud when I was in sixth grade, but what could spark a kid's interest better than the story of a young boy living alone in a hollowed out tree in the Catskill mountains!

That's not to say your kid would be ready for a year of roughing it after this study, but they would know what to do if they got lost while hiking.   We covered 6 steps to take in an emergency,  Do's & Don'ts of where to place shelter,  food & equipment that should be part of your outdoor gear, and special tips for desert, water, swamp, and mountainous climates.

The bulk of the note pack are pages for recording the information learned.  I gave him the appropriate pages and he could fill them in as note taking practice while I lectured.  This is more learning survival theory rather than practicing skills--no need to build a fire or lean-to shelter unless you want to.  The 23 Hands-on activities mentioned on the HOAC website are really filling out the note sheets.  The 2 extension activities are making a burnoose and organizing a survival kit. 

Now here's the good news--you can win your own copy of Basic Survival Skills.

 



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Disclaimer:  I received a free PDF copy of the Basic Survival note pack for this review and I'd like to thank Hands of a Child for making a free copy available to one of my readers.