Since my wife started a 4H group of 5 year olds (turns out to be all girls, so far), I thought I would donate the starter kits (outdoor, not urban) to the young, soon to be prepared, girls. The whole premise really is to get them to start thinking about being prepared before they go and do stuff and for them, and us parents to maybe learn something and have fun in the process.

So, construcive criticism request time. Here is the kit so far:



Bright kid sized backpack
Photon clone
Aluminum whistle with wrist bracelelt
Water bottle
Note pad
Pen with duct tape
Kid sized poncho
Emergency blanket
Telescope/Microscope thing
Twine
Compass
Old CD for signalling
Shake flashlight
Magnifying glass
First aid kit
Hand cleaner

Not shown are:

Bandana
Pack of kleenix tissues
Snacks
Sunscreen
Laminated family picture
Laminated story cards

Contents of the first aid kit are:



Band aids
Knuckle band aid
Finger band aid
Nail clipper
Dust mask
Feminine hygiene pad
Alcohol swabs
Wet wipes

I am hoping that these young children will never get separated from their parents while out enjoying nature, but if they do, they will have learned to stay put, stay comfortable while staying put, and to stay busy while signalling.

The first aid kit is mainly to keep little booboo's clean and if there is a heavy bleeder, to stop it with the pad, tape and pressure.

Ok, I asked for it, so let me have it! I appreciate your feedback to help make this better for the kids.

CD's for signal mirrors are 'penny wise and pound foolish.' They work very poorly. A compass may encourage a child to move instead of staying put.You need some very basic emergency instructions and perhaps some 'we are lost' playtimes. 5 Y/O children are a different ballgame from 'adults' They can be marvelously intuitive and open to simple ideas unlike grownups. But on the downside 5 Y/o bodies can't do what grownups can.

I agree with Chris on the CD's, Aloha. I have had pretty good results with how hard drive platters perform if you are going on the cheap for signals. You can usually pick up a number of nice new platters from junked desktop or laptop drives and jaz or zip disks. Look at the local computer shop, or even ask the local tech jockey if you don't have any of your own. The CD's just absorb too much light and are too flexible.

I would add very simple instructions to help reinforce what they've been taught. STOP, get warm, blow whistle 3 times, etc.

Practice with all of the gear, makeup pretend scenarios where they would use some of the FAK and some very simple and easy rules of thumb. STOP moving and get Warm or out of the sun if hot being the first the come to mind. So Chris is probably right about the compass as well, but it might help if they are trained to walk in a single direction until they hit water and then follow that water to civilization. But at 5 years old, I'm not sure they would be able to do that.

It's a nice kit! Looks like you tried to get them a good basic kit. You might want to add tweezers, some itch and burn lotion, extra socks and bug repellant. I'm curious how much these cost you to build (I think you had to make 25?).

Thanks guys for the feedback.

I tried to find old Jaz or hard drives but was unsuccessful in my attempts so far. The CDs are a temporary band-aid. I have about 2-3 weeks before going over this stuff with the girls. Hopefully I can find better alternatives for signalling.

I am asking the parents to put whatever meds and snacks they feel is appropriate. I don't really want to go there because I know there is at least one girl with certain allergies.

I am in the process of putting a picture story book together for the girls. It will be a collaboration with them in about 2-3 weeks and will have pictures - and we will also talk about it - about staying put, signalling etc. I figure if I have it figured out and they can input parts of the story, like names, it will be more memorable for them. I was also thinking of having them play out the different things they will need to learn with parental involvement. For example, to stay put, we can say "hug a tree" and the parent can be the tree.

The compasses are not for them to use while hiking but more for controlled direction finding type games to do in a park or back yard. They will be told to stay put and on the trail.

Please keep the suggestions and ideas coming. I still have a little time to finish getting everything ready.

As for the cost, I have no idea. My best guess would be about $50 each. And of course, as I am gearing up the kids, I am buying more stuff for myself too. Sheesh. Also, going through this process, my wife has agreed to get equipped and carry her PSK as well. So I am putting kits together for her. But that will be another post.

Will be adding a contents checklist as well (for the parents).

I don't see a whistle

The whistle is the red thing on top of the big yellow thing in the first photo.

Great idea!
Keep us posted on this book progress please.

Hi,

Have you already purchased all of the items? If not, I might suggest a slightly different backpack and water bottle. I would recommend a backpack with a side sleeve to hold the water bottle. That way the water bottle will be easy to get to, and less likely to be forgotten. Since staying hydrated is important, it will be easier for the kiddies to remember to take a drink if it is more visible. An outside pocket is also nice just in case of leaks. For the water bottle, I also recommend one with a sports-type top, rather than the large opening with just a screw on lid. This would make overpouring water less likely.

Did you remember to put each kid's name and and family contact info on the back of the family picture? You could put it in a laminated luggage tag and loop it to the outside of the backpack. This would prevent the picture from being lost in the bottom of the backpack, since it wouldn't be taken out to be "used."

What happened to extra plastic bags? I see some in the picture, but they seem to be used to contain other things. What about just loose plastic bags for just in case?

Have you thought about how the girls will personalize the backpacks? If they all have matching bright yellow backpacks, they really need an easy way to tell which is whose. Make sure that the method you use is durable and won't wear off. If you use paint, make sure it won't chip off. If you use adhesive, make sure that the adhesive is strong and doesn't leave loose edges that lead to peeling.

Have you considered having each kid get to put one additonal item in the backpack completely of their own choosing? For example, one might choose a stuffed animal for her personal comfort. Another might want to add a set of markers, or a book. It would be interesting to see what the kiddos would come up with on their own. Of course, you would make each kid justify the reason for the item before it gets placed in the backpack. And make sure that it is okay for the item to be kept in the backpack indefinately.

You say that your troup is all girls. If many of them have long hair, a small comb and some hair elastics would be a good idea, especially if they tend to wear long hair loose. In hot weather, it's really nice to be able to gather long hair up in a ponytail or braid.

It sounds like the backpack will contain some emergency items as well as some regular use items. I recommend putting all the emergency items together is a single bag inside the backpack (much like you have done with the FAK). That will make it easier to get at the regular use items and will protect the emergency items from being banged around so much. Don't overstuff the backpack. If a kid has to empty the backpack to get the one thing she wants, there's a chance that everything won't make it back into the backpack (especially small loose items).

Oh and donating $50 worth of gear per kid sounds like a lot of money to me. Maybe that isn't a big financial deal for you. However, if it is, you could considering making the kids "earn" the backpacks by doing something useful for the troup that saves you time or money. Each kid gets issued a generic packpack on loan. When they do whatever is necessary to earn the backpack, it becomes theirs and then they get to personalize it.

sorry for being so long winded ...

-Kuovonne

Great ideas one and all! Keep em coming please.

The whistle is on the back pack.

Everything has already been purchased.

The water is for the girls if they get separated for some strange inexplicable reason. Otherwise they will drink from what the parents provide.

At a future meeting, some of the moms and the girls will decorate the backpacks with decoraty stuff. I will have nothing to do with that. The only decorating I have done is to have every item marked with each girls' names.

I will have the parents put the contact information on the backs of pictures before laminating.

I carry plastic bags for rumaging/collecting etc.

Having the girls carry a personal item is fantastic! A security blanket if you will.

Maybe they can earn it by behaving and listening to their parents. Although that might take a while. You folks that have kids or were kids once know what I mean.

The whole idea is to give the kids something if they get separated and have them stay put.