My wife and I are organizing a small 4H group and I am donating the gear. The children so far are all five year old girls.

Here's the gear list so far:

- Small aluminun whistle on a "bracelet"
- Finger and knuckle band aids, individually wrapped wet wipes, small hand cleaner in an Aloksak bag
- Small shake flashlight
- COGHLANS Poncho For Kids
- Emergency blanket (to be upgraded to the AMK Heatsheet after the girls destroy the mylar one practicing with it)
- 12 oz Nalgene bottle
- Snacks
- Small waist pack
- I am not quite comfortable putting MP-1 tablets or a small SAK in there yet

The moms, the girls and I will meet to discuss any additons/subtractions to the list as well as the education topics and fun activities.

So far that list has:

- Safety
- Signalling and getting help
- Crafts
- Using a knife safely & firecraft (this one is me. I doubt the moms would go for this)
- Outdoor cooking
- Using a compass & navigation games
- Practicing carrying their stuff

We all go hiking on a regular basis anyway, so this would go hand in hand with it.

I present this to you to get your feedback and suggestions. Thanks in advance.

By the way, let me know if you have insights on where to buy good gear at a cheap price.

What is 4H group? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

You are in Hawaii, so shipping from mainland will not be an issue unless you are ordering heavy stuff (water, food).
Check my ad in the Marketplace forum. Many of the items you listed are there with prices. Contact me off list if you need anything else. COGHLANS Poncho For Kids individually wrapped wet wipes Emergency blanket AMK Heatsheet

Hawaii has 4H?? I learn something new everyday!

That list looks good to me. Consider adding a laminated family picture...in case the child gets lost. Maybe she won't feel so lonely then. A small comfort item might be good too, although with the space, it would have to be very small.

For my five year old, firecraft involved my child watching what I'm doing, me explaining what I'm doing, "when you build a fire, everything has to be VERY dry" and a lot of reminders that "you never play with fire, you have to respect it, and if you're smart, it can be a very good thing." My wife has the same reservations...she doesn't want our children anywhere near fire. I think they need to start learning early. My five year old is very interested in learning how to use a knife too. Cutting the mini loaves of bread at some restaurants seems to be of particular interest. Again, my wife objects, but I figure the pseudo-serrated knives these restaurants have can't do much damage, and again it can be a teachable momemt, if well supervised. And again, a lot of talk about, "Never do this unless Mom and Dad are here to help you." Even if kids can recite these safety rules, it is good to keep repeating them so they get the constant reinforcement...even if they roll their eyes and say, "I know, I know" in their best teenage attitude voice!

Maybe with a lexan knife they could practice safe cutting practice with big marshmallows. I haven't actually tried this myself, but I figured those materials were more readily available than mini loaves of bread and steak house serrated knives! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I think that the reason so many kids play with fire and knives (and guns for that matter) is that they are fascinated by them (as they are with many things) and yet so many parents want to keep these things from them. If we as parents demystify these very engaging things, and teach them safe ways to use these things, then if they encounter them when we aren't around, they will be less likely to get into trouble with them. Of course that doesn't mean that I'm going to take my children out to get cranked up on meth, go to a bar to get drunk and find someone for them to have sex with...
oh...I'm not sure I'm ready for the teenage years! <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Hope this rambling contains some bits of help.

Are there other dads involved?

I would suggest adding s cylume lightstick for each child. They are nice comfort item for small child on a dark night and have some value as a signaling device. Plus they're fun and cheap.

Another option is to change from a waistpack to a brightly colored vest with everything in the pockets. The kids will be more visible and you'll know that they have their gear. The one problem with that is that I don't know of any commercial source for one. Maybe a child size hunting or fishing vest would work.

I thought I saw that on your site: those previews of ''prepared to survive''.

Isn't a licht-stick the same as a shake-flashlight??

a light stick is a chemical light. It's made of 2 tubes in each other. When you brake them, the contents of the tubes mix and generate light. They give light for long periodes, but are a single use items only. They can not be stored very long and are in general not very reliable.

A shake light is a LED flashlight that uses the shaking movement to creat electicity.

Thanks PC2K.

With #1 son being over 7-1/2 years old, I’ve started teaching my kids some skills this summer.

For firecraft, I put down the tinder and laid the first few twigs to show them how its done, and they took turns adding the rest of the kindling to build the “teepee”. This is easy and fun for kids to do and it teaches the basis of a good fire. The oldest lit the tinder but after that I did all the adding of wood. Everyone roasted marshmallows which is always a hit.

By the time the fire had died down to coals, the sun has set and it was getting chilly. When they started to complain I handed out warm rocks from around the fire. We tried boiling some water with stones and I had one pop rather spectacularly even though it came from a dry area.

Now here’s my question – AM I NUTS for getting them their own pocket knives? They are 2” decent quality lock blades . I keep them put away and only let them have them when they are outside in the yard under my direct supervision. They can keep them in their pockets while the run around and play but the rule is that they must sit down away from the others if they want to take them out and open them to whittle. And no monkey business.

What scares me is that they are razor sharp out of the box and can probably slice right to the bone of my fingers, never mind their little ones. I’m tempted to take my stone and knock the edge down a little bit. Minor injuries are expected and unavoidable with boys, but we like to avoid stitches or surgical re-attachments as they involve a lot of paperwork.

Your wife might think you have lost your mind but as with everything that kids find fascinating, knives and fire being high up on the list, teach them early, teach them right. I was eight when I recieved my first pocket knife and the lessons to go along with it. Definately do this with your kids, great memory for you and for the boys when they have their own kids. As far as knocking down the edge a bit, don't. I can tell you from experience that a slightly dull knife will certainly do more damage than the sharp knife. Clean slices heal faster and neater than jagged tears and rips in the skin.