14 replies to this topic

[Anna Lisa]

Parents and educators need to take more risks in providing a quality education for kids. Some of the ideas in this video obviously can’t be done in school, but there are some very good ideas to run with or adjust. This camp looks phenomenal!

[Nicholas Scott]

There is a book out by Gever Tulley - 50 Dangerous things you should let your children do.
Good stuff!

[HippySkippy]

I would love to send my boys there, heck I wouldn't mind going there myself.

[Chuck]

Seriously ,you guys didn't do stuff like this when you were kids ? I was always building stuff ,no adults ,just us kids .

[Nicholas Scott]

from the book 50 dangerous things

[RAF2]

I remember building "forts" out of scrounged lumber.. We built them WAY up in the trees. We always wanted to be at least 8-10 feet high, if not higher! We built tri-level forts too!

We grabbed our hammers, gathered up some 10 penny nails, and went happily into building! We also built zip lines and rope swings across the streams. "Bridges" made out of fallen trees and so much more!

We would go to the town dump, and get old bikes, lawn mowers, and whatever else caught our eye. I fixed more mowers and bikes and then sold them to my friends and neighbors for $5!

I started mowing yards and shoveling driveways in 5th grade so I could earn money for my dirt bike 1/2 though 6th grade...

We had the old shooting preserve that was thousands of acres. We spent from morning to night exploring and dreaming. Soldiers in battle, lost in the woods. Hunters looking for the elusive lion... Treasure hunters... sigh.....

[HippySkippy]

Seriously ,you guys didn't do stuff like this when you were kids ? I was always building stuff ,no adults ,just us kids .

I did that sort of stuff as a kid and still do it today with my kids. I just think it sounds like a fun summer camp.

[Ahmad]

just had a friend who is a teacher talk about this last night

[watchdog2020]

Letting kids do things that may be ‘dangerous’ is good. Last Tuesday the kids wanted a fire and marshmallows. I handed them a piece of raw flint and a file told them they could have the entire bag to toast if they made a SMALL fire themselves. ½ hour they had smoke and after the youngest pulled out the secret weapon (pine pitch on a stick) they were set – and did it together without help. Love it –

[Bill]

Kids need this. I would love to start a camp for kids, where they were all issued very sharp knives, flint and steel, and bad-aids. Then provide them with tools and material to create.

Who can write up the liability waiver for me?

(I want it to include passages like "Your kid will cut himself, maybe badly, he may burn himself, he may hammer a nail through his hand, you accept that this is part of being a kid and you look forward to paying all of the hospital biulls for it happening.)

[Chuck]

Funny ,I had a pocket knife and a hatchet at 7, An axe by 11 and knew how to use them all . Also was well versed in fire making by 7 . All of it pretty much self taught .

[Bill]

I too had basically the same arsenal. Amazing we survived.

[RAF2]

Add to that my 22, flint and steel, my dirt bike in 6th grade, fireworks... sigh...

Funny you mention a camp Bill.

Back when I was at the SG, the owner of Willowcreek golf course became quite friendly with me when I called on him for advertising. I discussed my years at gold/ caddy camp during the summers at Cape Code mass. He thought it would be a great idea to start a camp in BFs on the course. I looked into it and pretty much stopped due to the liability and costs associated just with insurance. there were a lot of other issues too, that would have made costs prohibitive.

Sad, because I had a few other well placed folks in the pro golf world who took interest.

[watchdog2020]

I too had basically the same arsenal. Amazing we survived.

Yup - I was around 8 years old and wondering around the woods alone for hours on end with a single shot .22, a knife and fire making supplies. When I was 12 we (3 boy cousins) found a small weapons cache that an older cousin left at our grandmothers house for safe keeping when he joined the military. That summer when we built forts (ages 11, 12 and 13) we all were packing handguns. We learned it's hard to buy replacement 9mm and .45 rounds when you're a minor - LOL

[Ralph]

Hell, that's how I learned one of life's lessons..... When you're nailing boards to a tree to use as a ladder for a lookout tower, you damn well better make sure the nails are long enough!!!

Yep, that was my first experience falling out of a tree!! Jesus, that hurt!! But, I never forgot it and I've over-engineered everything I've built ever since!!