Bushcraft Demo for Homeschool Group - Ideas Sought

[Wook]

My wife and I homeschool our children, and are a member of our local homeschooling group. For a while the group has been wanting to do some sort of bushcrafting event. There's a local person that does this sort of thing, but they wanted £20 per head to do an event!

My wife has asked if I'd be willing to do something instead. The group would likely have about 20 kids ranging in age from 7 to mid teens. I'm racking my brain trying to think of things I could do with them. I'd welcome suggestions. What I'm thinking so far is along the lines of:

• Demo of primitive fire-making. I'm pretty handy with the flint and steel, magnifying glass and the fire piston. I might embarrass myself with the bow drill, but I'm game to make a bit of smoke....
• Let them try making fire with a slightly more modern ferocium steel - although I'd be concerned about injuries with the more primitive methods.
• Knife safety talk
• Rigging a tarp
• Navigation techniques
• Paracord bracelets. I've got about 350 ft of paracord in at the moment, so I could probably spare enough for them to all make one.

Anyone got any other ideas?

 

[Muddypaws]

Some basic foraging, at this time of year perhaps Ramsons, very easy to identify and hard to mistake for anything else. Always satisfying to eat something that you have identified and picked.

 

[Mesquite]

Water filtration/purification, demonstrating techniques and talking about the various nasties that are in water that's not been treated.

For activities you could try baking flat bread on sticks

Also have a look at the 'Making things with kids' thread for more ideas

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Fire will work well for 7 to mid teens. Ferro rods and cotton balls will get everyone to get one going. Ive done the same fire lighting demos with beavers, cubs and scouts and nobody failed. The more confident will have a crack at flint and steel, solar and battery on wire wool. Party piece was always potassium permanganate and glycerine which is a nice way to end the activity.

Paracord bracelets may be harder unless you have a lot of trainers. Its hard to keep their attention and some will lose interest quickly and unsettle the others. Perhaps the older ones.

Rigging tarps and shelters is a good. one. I use hammocks a lot as the kids like to jump in after. Most have never been in one so its all good fun.

Id only do knife safety if you are going to issue and use knives

Have fun

edit. Dont forget the marshmallows

 

[Bartooon]

Depending on where you are going to do it and the resources available, shelter building is always popular with youngsters. Stalking games are fun too (can let you have details of some if you want).

As Muddypaws says, wild food is good too. Again, it depends where and when you are planning do it as to what is available, but getting them to eat stinging nettles usually gets a good reaction!

Making "Bushcrafty" dreamcatchers is good to pass an hour or so. They can make the hoops from willow or hazel and then weave the dreamcatcher from jute twine (for the "natural" look). Finish off with some foraged feathers and interesting leaves etc

 

[John Fenna]

Making a cup of tea
This involves fire lighting, fire building, pot hooks, pot hook hanging frames, foraging for nettles or other tea materials such as pine needles, selecting firewood, collecting firewood, finding water, purifying water, boiling water and the reward of a cuppa!
This can stretch to a full day session or can be trimmed to as short as needed ie cut out the pot hooks and frame and sit the billy in the embers if you are worried about knife skills, fire lighting can be bowdrill or Bic, cups can be provided or made from bark etc etc.

 

[2trapper]

Great idea John. I think foraging could be smart and funny at the same time

 

[david1]

should they not also be cooking something... other than marsh mellows
as youngsters we always baked spuds in the fire but you need enough embers... for the whole group ?

 

[Wook]

Of course, one of the problems with a cut price bushcrafter is I don't know how to do all of the above. Foraging in particular. I also don't know of any good patches of woodland that even allow campfires. Most prohibit it near to me.

I'll give it some thought.

 

[boatman]

What is actually wrong with paying someone who will presumably have the skills, equipment, insurance and access necessary? Are they not allowed to make a living from providing a service?

 

[northumbrian]

What is actually wrong with paying someone who will presumably have the skills, equipment, insurance and access necessary? Are they not allowed to make a living from providing a service?

the op has stated that the local pro bushcrafter , if you can call them that wanted £20 a head for 20 pupils ! which is a hell of a lot of money for everyone these days !

 

[mrcharly]

£20 per head - to cover materials, tools, provision of a suitable space (including setting up, clearing away). Having relevant insurance in place, if they do this for a living, then probably first aid training. For a group of that size I'd expect them to provide an assistant as well to help with supervision.
Just what do you think £20 buys these days?

Now - to your question. 7 - teen (what age teen?) is quite a range in ages and behaviour. A challenging range, tbh.

I'd avoid making tea. Far to easy to tip and scald. Cook something - sausages, veg on a stick sort of thing. Separate them into groups - you can maybe use the teens here, make them feel big and important by putting one in every group 'to keep an eye on and help' the young ones.

Show them fire-making techniques. Then get each group to gather fire-materials and build a fire - and cook their food on it. Learning and incentive in one.

 

[northumbrian]

£20 is more than a third of the dole money I have to live on for 1 week so I think 2 million plus people will think THAT IS a lot of money !

 

[Wook]

£20 is more than a third of the dole money I have to live on for 1 week so I think 2 million plus people will think THAT IS a lot of money !

Quite. £20 a head would work out to £400 gross. Assuming they'd give us an all day event of 8 hours for this price (and I don't know that for a fact) that works out to £50 an hour. If you earned this every day, you'd be earning £96,000 a year.

Now I appreciate that this is before costs, and people doing this sort of work aren't going to be working every day, but still.......

 

[John Fenna]

The most I have ever charged for any of my Bushcraft courses is a flat £150 for a day, (same as for my canoe coaching). However I limit group sizes to a max of 10 even with Adults. With a larger group I would have to have a trained asst to keep things safe. I would think a reasonable price for the day would be £225 - £300 for a group of 20 bods or 2 days of 10 bods ... but that is just my take on it and my overheads are low .. others may differ!


I would hate to think that a mid teenager is incapable of making a cup of tea!

 

[shack]

Back to options, how about a bit of cordage, simple knotwork. Last week in one of my schools I made a rope swing with them they were all about 10yrs old. Depends what the area is like formspace and resources.

 

[sandbender]

+1 for a knife safety talk and rigging a tarp isn't such a bad idea, kids can be quite entertained with a bit of knot craft.

If it is your land or you have access to it well before the event build a shelter, a leaf shelter or even a five man one if time permits. You could have the kids take them down and scatter the bits afterwards. At a push you could build an action man size one for demo purposes.

Have fun.

 

[Swallow]

I would suggest an entirely different approach.

Get them to tell you what they want to learn, put it together based on that. Even if it means adding those skills to your repertoire.

I would also suggest considering the following.

1. Doing it at a weekend camp with the parents around for management/assistance.
2. Doing it over a longer period of time, say 8 weeks.

 

[rik_uk3]

Whatever you do make sure its a task they can all do within reason. Knots, fixed and sliding is good, pitching a shelter is good, pitching a tent right is very handy, layered clothing system/hypothermia is good, very basic map reading/compass, lots of simple stuff you can do in a few hours. Get a helper who can take some of the teens off when they (the teens) get bored.

£400/£50 p.h.is not expensive for a group but only if you have the cash of course. Any local members who could pop by and help?

 

[xylaria]

Weaving is good. Any parent with a hedge should be able to help with material. If you have good lenght of hedge you could put a history lesson into pre roman housing. There is not huge difference between a debris shetler and primative housing.
Thatching rope is a pile of long grass clippings, shove a coat hanger in twist and start walking backward. Great activity for a group of kids.