Family Home Evening - Making a Survival Kit

Making a Survival Kit

Scripture or Quote:

"It has been asked ... how many of us would have jeered ... at ... the sight of Noah building his ark. Presumably the laughter ... continued until it began to rain — and kept raining! How wet some people must have been before Noah's ark suddenly seemed the only sane act" (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, For the Power is in Them, p 20).

Purpose:

Outdoor activities are no fun when someone gets lost. Adequate preparation will usually keep this from happening, but some simple equipment can prepare a family member to survive if he does get lost. This activity will teach family members to make a lightweight survival kit that they can easily carry with them.

Opening Song: As Zion’s Youth in Latter Days – H 256

Lesson:

First make sure that family members understand a few simple rules:

1. Wear a shrill whistle around your neck when you are hiking or fishing in an isolated area.

2. Tell someone where you are going and when you are coming back. Don't leave the camping area by yourself.

3. Orient yourself to the area and do not explore longer or farther away than your family feels is safe.

4.Remember when you are lost to—

• Keep calm, find a sheltered place, and stay put. Get out into the open if planes are overhead.
• Build a fire if possible, conserve your heat and energy.
• Mark your location. Move out from it to seek familiar landmarks and return to it.
• Shout, use a whistle, and concentrate on being found—not on finding someone.
• Prepare for the night, gather wood, build a shelter before dark.

Activity:

Have all family members help construct a survival kit. Make sure they know how to use each item. The following items can be put in a 2 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-16 1/2-inch (6-by-11-by-16-cm) leather pouch and will weigh less than one pound (.5 kilograms).

Try each component in your backyard or on a simulated exercise to prepare yourself and your family for possible use.

Closing Song: Sing Your Way Home – CSB 193

Treat:

A great refreshment idea would be a power food bar of some sort, similar to something you would store in a survival kit.


Prepared by the Harrisville 2nd Ward EP Committee
Source: Family Home Evening Resource Manual