{"id":15474,"date":"2016-07-01T13:13:29","date_gmt":"2016-07-01T12:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/?p=15474"},"modified":"2023-03-17T10:50:01","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T10:50:01","slug":"survival-skills-for-kids-fire-starting-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kidscraftroom.com\/survival-skills-for-kids-fire-starting-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Survival Skills For Kids – Fire Starting Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

This survival skills for kids \u2013 Fire Starting Challenge<\/strong> has been a HUGE hit with my tween and teen and they\u2019ve been asking to do it again and again ever since! It\u2019s a fantastic way to get big kids unplugged, outside and enjoying nature, all whilst developing important, potentially life saving, skills.<\/p>\n

I set my kids the challenge of making a fire (no matches or gas lighter allowed) and to really give them a sense of \u201csurviving\u201d and to make it a more meaningful experience they had to use that fire to cook lunch.<\/p>\n

No Fire = No Cooking = No Lunch! \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing like an empty stomach for motivation!<\/p>\n

\"Are<\/p>\n

The Importance Of Survival Skills For Kids<\/span><\/h2>\n

Our enthusiasm for bushcraft skills was recently sparked when we had the honour to meet and interview real life explorer and survivor Ed Stafford.<\/a>\u00a0 Chatting with Ed got us thinking about our ability to survive if the unthinkable should ever happen.<\/p>\n

I quickly realised that I wasn\u2019t equipped, and therefore I hadn\u2019t equipped my kids, with the knowledge needed to survive if disaster struck and the comforts of our day to day life were stripped from us. \u00a0I also realised that I certainly hadn\u2019t equipped the kids to cope if, heaven forbid, we were caught away from safety and something happened to me!<\/p>\n

Would they know what to do if we were stuck in a snowstorm? Would they know how to keep warm or cool if we had to remain without shelter for a few days? Could they find, hunt or catch food and water if they had no supplies? The answer to all of these and many more was a HUGE NO!!!<\/p>\n

BUT\u2026I am striving to turn that around by learning and teaching the kids basic wilderness survival skills that could one day save our lives.<\/p>\n

Not only are bush crafts super important skills to know but fun survival challenges like this are a fantastic way to get big kids unplugged from technology, outside and engaged with nature.<\/p>\n

Survival Skills For Kids \u2013 Fire Starting Challenge<\/span><\/h2>\n

As fire is a fundamental wilderness skill I thought that was a great place to start the kids\u2019 introduction to bushcrafts. \u00a0Fire can keep us warm, dry our clothes, cook our food, purify our water and may even deters wild animals. It could also possibly be used to signal for help too!<\/p>\n

There are lots of different ways to start a fire and I hope to introduce my kids to them all over time but to begin with we started with the rod and striker method.<\/p>\n

\"survival<\/a><\/p>\n

I treated my kids to an\u00a0amazing Survival Kit <\/a>which has so many great things we\u2019re going to enjoy using. One of them is a Paracord Rod and Striker Bracelet <\/a>which you can buy separately too and which is totally cool enough for boys and girls to wear.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Supplies For Fire Starting Challenge<\/span><\/h2>\n
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  • Rod and Striker Survival Bracelet <\/a><\/li>\n
  • Disposable BBQ <\/a><\/li>\n
  • Sausages<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    How To Set Up A Fire Starting Challenge<\/span><\/h2>\n

    I really wanted the kids to feel the urgency of needing to make a fire if they wanted to eat so I chose sausages for their food because they\u2019re easy to cook but can\u2019t be eaten raw and I drove the kids to a nearby wood to carry out the challenge so they didn\u2019t have the back up of the kitchen stove! They knew that they needed to find a safe open but sheltered spot and actually chose to do it on a little beach area next to a small lake so that they had water available to extinguish the fire if needed. The kids then set to work looking for tinder and kindling.\u00a0They chose some dry fluffy catkins for tinder and broke up some little sticks for kindling. \u00a0 It was the kids first time using a rod and steel fire starter<\/a> and it took them about 30 minutes to get their fire going, which for a first attempt was pretty impressive I thought.<\/p>\n

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    We are having a survival challenge day today and it is so much fun! The boys have a disposable BBQ and sausages but can only light the BBQ by making a little fire using a flint and steel fire striker. They\u2019ve done it at last and lunch is now sizzling. I\u2019d thoroughly recommend it as a great activity to engage tweens and teens.<\/a> A photo posted by Emma Smith (@kidscraftroom) on