keeping kids intertained.

[400bull]

As most of us know kids can only sit in one spot for so long before they start to get antsy. To help past the time when you are not seeing a lot of animals what do you do to help keep your kids entertained. Here are a couple ideas that I have used in the past.

Played "Eye spy with my little eye......"
Flash cards
One person card games
Reading books
Electronic games (DS/Ipod/Cellphone games)
Treats/food (until the sugar high sets in)
Make some hot-coco using my backpacking stove.

400bull

 

[wvbowhunterinalaska]

You could get them an inexpensive pair of bino's and let them do some spotting for game, they maybe wrong more often than not, but a broken clock is right two times a day. You could also give the kiddo a small piece of 550 cord and teach them some knots (yes I am a scout leader so that is where that idea comes from), you could lay out a map and try to teach them how to read it by looking at the features of the land, etc., bring a book on different trees in the area and try to have the kiddo identify them (college forestry students even have trouble doing this in the winter), books of animals that are in the area to have the kid identify when they see them, and I am sure some other guys will have some other ideas for ya. It is hard for mento come up with ideas due to the fact when I started following my Dad into the woods I also was carrying a rifle to try to bring home an animal as well. Good luck and you are doing a great thing introducing your son/daughter to the outdoors.
WVBOWAK

 

[tailchasers]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-11 AT 11:46AM (MST)[p]Whittling is something I have shown my boys. A small pocket knife and a piece of wood is all you need and they can doodle on a piece of wood. I have also showed them how to take one piece of wood and build a totem about the journey they are on. Can go one for a day or even more.

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling
up anyway."

 

[O_S_O_K]

+1 on the whittling

I personally don't encourage the kids bringing any type of electronic diversionary device into the field (DS, PS, I-Pod, etc.).

I think the best way is to teach them to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. I like to point out the squirrels, spiders, birds, flowers, etc...

Granted, this is not easy in todays "I have to be entertained constantly" world, but it has worked pretty well for my kids so far (14 year old and 8 year old).

My .02 cents


"The problem with quotes on Internet Forums is that it is often difficult to verify their authenticity." - Abraham Lincoln

 

[hhunter23]

i do the spy game. keep track of how many deer/elk they can spot. the most wins, a prize. usually like 5 to 10 dollars. play games with them envolving hunting so that i can play along with them, but also "hunt" too. im also not a fan of them bringing the electronics to play with. its part of hunting to learn to deal with the down times.




"Shoot Straight"

 

[NV4Life]

My dad made it a competition between my brother and myself and/or whoever was with us. It helped that we are a competitive family but we learned how to pick apart a ridge with binos when we were youngsters. He would pay the person who spotted the first deer/elk/antelope, the most, and the biggest. If I remember correctly it was something like $0.50 for first, $0.50 for most and $1 for the biggest. Doesn?t sound like much but this was a while ago.

 

[gb22]

Started with cheap binos; first one to see a deer gets an ice-cream sandwich. Made CERTAIN he caught lots of trout..first fish, most fish and biggest fish gets an ice-cream sandwich...same story with ground squirrels and coyotes.

He's now reached the ripe-old-age of 8 and can glass better than many adults. And more.


Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[BearCat]

My son and I have long played "thumb wars" for hours. Even came up with a new one called "Thumb war extreme" which you play with both thumbs at the same time and to win BOTH thumbs have to be gotten at the same time...many times you get one but it slips out before the other is locked down. Makes for a little bit of movement but still fun.

D

 

[SneakAttack]

You guys are awesome! Good for you all!

 

[hunter_orange13]

I was with my dad for his first hunt, but I was still pretty young (fourth grade, 8 years ago) but he used to pay me a dollar for every animal I spotted. It was a lot of fun, and I don't think I ever got more then 2 or 3 dollars.

We would also make bets, whoever loses had to buy the other person an ice cold coke on the way home.

Also, when I got offered to skip out on school, I never refused!

After I started seeing animals, and liking it, I started dragging him along, and not being dragged along.

 

[nickman]

Gag them and duct tape them to a tree?

"If God did not intend for man to hunt animals, he would have made broccoli more fun to shoot"

 

[400bull]

Thanks for all the ideas. I was planning on using a couple of them to keep the kids quite this year. Much to my surprise I did not have to use any of them. We were see enough deer that the kids were actively engaged the whole time. I just wish out of the 100 head we seen over the weekend that one of them could have been a little buck. Oh well there is always next weekend.

400bull