What about the children

This guest post by Dean M and entry in our non-fiction writing contest.

“We may not be able to prepare the future for our children,

but we can at least prepare our children for the future.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

If I’m being honest with myself, I would have to admit that my survival skills are few and far between. In fact, it would be fair to say I’m a prepper more in my mind, than in my ability. So, the thought that torments me the most is a very simple one: What do I have of value to barter when the shtf? I try to run through my special skills and list them in my rugged, leather bound notebook. I suppose I believe on some level that if I can have the outward appearance of being rugged, it will make me so. But as I sit here on this warm winter day, I can only think of two redeeming qualities to scrawl in my notebook; I am a mother and a teacher . . . and that’s when it hit me – someone must teach the children!

As adults, we can prepare our gardens and food . . . buy the special tools we need . . . have our bug out location predetermined . . . and always have a means to supply us with a steady stream of fresh water. But have we ever asked ourselves where our children and the continuation of their education fit into our best laid plans? Imagine for a moment if our computers aren’t working and the schools have shut. Do you have the requisite materials to ensure your child continues to learn and thrive? If not, here are a few ideas:

Every household should have two large tubs of materials for their child(ren). The first one should contain books for reading. Not only will this provide improved reading skills, but also hours of entertainment when there aren’t any televisions or video games to occupy their time. The books should be a mixture of those that are on their current reading level and some that are up to five grade levels ahead. Books can be picked up at garage sales (usually for a quarter) or at your local thrift store. Another idea is to form a group of mothers who are interested in trading books with one another once they have been read by their child(ren). Other than Harry Potter, there aren’t too many books that children want to read over and over, therefore having a continually fresh supply of books is a must. I can’t stress this enough – stock up on books, more books, and even more books! It could be that when the shtf, you become the library for your neighbors. A dozen eggs in exchange for borrowing a book? Sure. Some vegetables if I lend your child one of my books? You betcha!

The second bin should be filled with a variety of supplies. Some of these would include basics such as pencils, plenty of paper – both lined and plain 8 x 11 paper, a pencil sharpener, crayons, scissors, and markers. You will also want to pick up resource books (workbooks) on basic subjects such as math and English/grammar.

You will also want age appropriate textbooks for the continuation of your child’s education. Most school districts order new textbooks every five years on a revolving basis. Once a textbook has been replaced with a new one, the old texts are sent to a surplus storage. All it takes is a simple phone call to the county office to request some of books in surplus. If by chance your child has a documented learning disability, most school districts will provide you an extra set of the current textbooks to keep at your home, and even give you the textbooks on tape (if available). Another idea to garner a set of books is to check with a local homeschooling organization and see if they know of someone willing to part with the curriculum for a grade that their child just finished. I know that once my kids have finished a particular grade in school, they don’t want anything to do with that grade again!

While you’re at it, it doesn’t hurt to add items to your curriculum that will not only enhance the education of your child, but that could be used to hold a series of day camps for other children. A few ideas along this line would be to pick up a foreign language book (perhaps with a corresponding Rosetta Stone set of language tapes). Imagine being the one that your neighbors bring their children to once a week to hone their foreign language skills. You could also pick up cheap craft items and hold a craft camp. You can pick up crafts for bargain basement prices at garage sales (face it, we’re always buying craft projects that we intend to do but never get around to . . . hence the garage sale!). Also, many craft stores regularly run half off coupons in the Sunday newspaper which provides a great opportunity for stocking up on craft items. You could also get a few books on drawing and hold a weekly art camp. Not artistic? Then pass out some paper and help each child “publish” a book, while working on grammar and spelling skills as you progress.

Trust me, when life slows down because your children don’t have electricity to power their gadgets, they will get bored very quickly. If you have a way to offer both education and entertainment in the form of books or specialty camps, you’ll have parents beating down your door (just make sure you don’t confuse them with intruders!) And if you’re like me and haven’t quite mastered the art of canning, don’t fret. There are many parents who believe educating their children is worth a million bucks . . . well, at least a chicken, canned apples, and some fresh goat milk!

This contest will end on April 22 2013  – prizes include:

• First Place winner will receive - A $500 dollar gift certificate courtesy of LPC Survival that is good for $500 off anything on their site. And  a Wonder Junior Deluxe hand-mill courtesy of Kitchen Kneads,
• Second Place winner will receive – Two cases of MRE’s courtesy of Camping Survival and a $150 gift certificate off of Hornady Ammo from LuckyGunner.
• Third Place winner will receive -  a one year subscription to Personal VPN service courtesy of unspyable.

Well what are you waiting for – email your entries today. But please read the rules that are listed below first… 

Originally at : The Survivalist Blog.net · Copyright © 2013 · All Rights Reserved.

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