Camping and Camp-lore, How to Teach It©

 

Author’s note -- I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource!  To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE.  Thank you and Happy Trails!

 

Okay, we have decided to teach the kids about camping and camping lore

 

First off, to be totally transparent, I don’t have a teaching degree, but I was a Scoutmaster for fifteen years and a Senior Guide with Birchbark Expeditions for the last ten years.  And I have taught hundreds of kids the basics of wilderness lore and how to survive AND have fun in the outdoors.

 

So, let’s talk about concepts and basics.

 

Enthusiasm is contagious.  Kids are a blank page and if you aren’t excited about what you are teaching them, they won’t be either.  Be excited about nature and the wilderness!

 

Always crouch down or be seated when talking with someone small.  Let’s face it, no one likes being loomed over, you don’t like it and neither do kids. 

 

Expect kids to have short attention spans.  Kids are easily distracted, especially in the wilderness where everything is new and something is always going on.  So, be patient and don’t lecture, kids get enough of that at school, teach them by showing.  If they get bored switch to something else, remember everything in the wilderness is an opportunity to teach something.

 

Let kids be kids.  They are going to want to get dirty, climb rocks and trees, wade in creeks – let them and use it as an opportunity to teach them about skills, safety and consequences of their actions.  For example, if their shoes and socks get wet on a cold or windy day while wading in a creek, explain to them that they are going to be cold latter and might develop immersion foot (for more on immersion foot go HERE).

 

Always show how to do something, never tell.  This is called the E.D.G.E method and is widely used within the Boy Scouts.  Don’t lecture, teach by showing.  Ask questions, like “what do you think?” or “what would you do next?”.

 

Always tell them that you are proud of them when they succeed at doing something new, even if it isn’t perfect.  Compliments are scarce in our modern world, and a few go a long way.  The more you compliment kids. the more they will try to keep learning.

 

Because of the 4^th of July, there won’t be an article next week, so remember to come back on the 12^th for another excellent article!

 

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource!  To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE.  Thank you and Happy Trails!

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Sources

 

AP; “Survival Instructions”, The Telegraph-Herald, September 1, 1991, page 1B, https://books.google.com/books?id=sqZFAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7&dq=getting+lost,+singewald+emphasizes&article_id=4522,65750&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHo4Tcl4OOAxU8kYkEHdQILzwQ6AF6BAgGEAM#v=onepage&q=getting%20lost%2C%20singewald%20emphasizes&f=false, accessed June 21, 2025

 

Kingsley, Eric; Forest Resources Association, December 2023, [©2025 Forest Resources Association], https://forestresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/23-S-13-Immersion-Foot.pdf, accessed June 28, 2025

 

Klusmann, Wes H.; The Book of Knowledge, Children’s Encyclopedia, Volume 3, “Camping and Camp Lore”, [The Grolier Society Inc., New York, 1957], pages 1031 to 1038

 

McHugh, Pat; “Trips With Kids Should Be Action-Packed”, Reading Eagle July 13, 2008, page D10, https://books.google.com/books?id=8zMxAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA20&dq=Trips+With+Kids+Should+Be+Action-Packed&article_id=1319,4540782&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjIzKqbkYOOAxUWlYkEHZ9GNa4Q6AF6BAgKEAM#v=onepage&q=Trips%20With%20Kids%20Should%20Be%20Action-Packed&f=false, accessed July 21, 2025

 

Unknown; “Wilderness outfitter teaches survival to children”, Lawrence Journal-World, Sep 19, 1991, page 1B, https://books.google.com/books?id=rcEzAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7&dq=wilderness+outfitter+teaches+survival&article_id=3703,6026145&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHxODqk4OOAxUWmIkEHV8nPUUQ6AF6BAgEEAM#v=onepage&q=wilderness%20outfitter%20teaches%20survival&f=false, accessed June 21, 2025