Homeschool · Outdoor Skills

Outdoor Skills

Things to learn and do outdoors and around home, from tying knots and reading a map to finding the North Star, cooking over coals and growing something to eat.

Ideas for things to learn and do outdoors and around home: knots, maps, tracks, birds, trees, stars, weather, camp cooking, whittling, hiking, gardening and more. They take their spirit from the old handbooks of camping, woodcraft and nature study that families read more than a hundred years ago. Those books are now in the public domain, and each page links to the parts that inspired it, so you can read the originals together.

Pick whatever sounds fun and try the ideas in any order, at your own pace. There's nothing to earn, pass or send in; the point is the doing. Tick off what you've tried if you like keeping track (the ticks stay on your own device).

Nature

Animal Tracks and Signs Ages 6 and up Read footprints and other clues to work out which animals passed by, and make a plaster cast to keep. Bird Watching Ages 5 and up Get to know the birds in your own neighborhood by sight and by song. Trees and Leaves Ages 6 and up Name the trees around you by leaf, bark, and seed, and adopt one to follow through the seasons. Wildflowers and Weeds Ages 5 and up Discover the wildflowers and everyday “weeds” around you, and learn when to pick and when to leave them be. Stars and Sky Ages 6 and up Track the Moon, find the North Star, and learn the star pictures of each season. Weather Watching Ages 6 and up Read the clouds, build your own weather instruments, and make a forecast for your family.

Outdoor know-how

Knots and Lashings Ages 6 and up Tie the handful of knots that do almost every job, then lash sticks together to build something that stands. Maps and Compass Ages 7 and up Find north, measure distance with your own feet, and draw maps someone else can follow. Outdoor Cooking Ages 8 and up Plan, cook, and clean up a simple meal outdoors in the backyard, at a park, or at camp. Campfires Ages 9 and up Learn to lay, light, tend, and fully put out a small fire, with a grown-up and only where fires are allowed. Whittling Ages 8 and up Learn to handle, care for, and carve with a pocketknife the careful way. Camping Out Ages 8 and up Choose a good campsite, pitch a tent and a tarp, build a simple shelter, and sleep out under the sky. Hiking Ages 6 and up Plan and pack for a walk, follow trail markers, and work up to a five-mile hike. Signaling: Morse Code and Semaphore Ages 7 and up Send secret messages with Morse code, flags, flashlights, and hand signals.

Making and helping

Gardening Ages 5 and up Sprout seeds, grow something you can eat, and feed the soil that feeds you. Handicrafts Ages 7 and up Make kites, bubbles, nature prints, and a birdhouse with your own hands. Caring for Nature Ages 6 and up Take care of the outdoors: leave no trace, help wildlife at home, and add your sightings to real science. Helping Neighbors Ages 5 and up Help out at home and around your neighborhood, and plan a service project of your own.

Where these come from

The ideas are inspired by early handbooks of camping, woodcraft and nature that are now in the public domain:

Teddy Rook Book is not affiliated with or connected to any scouting or youth organization. These pages are free ideas to use however you like.