# Teaching survival/preparedness skills to friends/family



## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

I want to start teaching my girlfriend survival and preparedness skills, but I don't know where I should really start. I want to teach her myself and help her figure it out herself. 
I have a good background in teaching the subject. Being an Eagle Scout I go to my former troop and teach the wilderness survival course and merit badge, emergency preparedness, and related topics. It is easy for me to teach introductory through advanced survival to scouts, but i want to go about it a different way with close friends, and loved ones.
Her and I have already gone out to do basic things like lighting a fire and basics. Preparedness on the other hand I only taught her things like jumping her car and general safety measures.
She enjoys it and is a very outdoorsy person as I am. I want to kind of restart and review while moving on and teaching her more. 
Where would you all start in the basics. I know it is different for everyone, and I want to find a place to start that i know would work for her. 
Thanks in advance.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Just to get you started till I find the others ... Happy reading.

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f2/important-questions-preppers-my-husband-15143/

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f35/those-us-who-have-s-o-who-doesnt-get-3824/


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

Well congratulations on having a significant other that will listen to you.


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## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

Great thanks! And hahaha. She is like minded most of the time. She understands what is important and is realistic in the thought you cant control everything that will come up.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Take her camping. If you are doing something you want her to know, include her. Make it a social or fun event not a classroom. Think about how Mom taught you to cook or Dad taught you to work on the car.


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## behindprepper918 (Nov 3, 2014)

from a womans view

start by asking a few simple questions, what reaction do you get? do not berate her. just listen to each answer. maybe have her start a notebook of skills she would like to learn and what she needs for each skill set.

make it on a personal level for her. what would you do if???? 
write down answers for each question in the book and see what are her strong points and weak points. you and she may both be surprised at what all she already knows.

you lost your job, 
your car broke down late at night, cell phone is low and AAA will not get there for 3 hours. 
you were sick or hospitalized and could not work for "x" amount of time,
how long could you eat on the amount of food you have in stock right now with out going to the store, 
electric was out for 2 weeks or more, 
can you change a flat tire,
can you change your own oil, 
change a battery in the car, clean battery cables and posts, check fluids, 
turn of the gas, water, breaker box,
cook on a grill, over an open fire, build a fire, 
cook from scratch,
grow her own food, herbs for meds, 
forage food in the wild,
ect....
you do not say what part of the country you are located, are there hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, ice storms, how do you cope with things like these? teach her to deal wth them too.

you say she is outdoorsy, can she use a compass or follow the stars to find her way out of the woods, read animal tracks, ect...

teach her a new skill each week, or month, and let her do it. guys like to fix things but she needs to learn to stand on her own incase there is not someone around who can help her. 

hope something here helps.


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## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

I like the idea of just having a question out there for her. I think that would be more beneficial then me just showing her everything. It woulf help her remember what to do as well and not think of just worfs or motions I demonstrated without prompt/reason. Thanks for the input.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

I`m not a survivalist by no means but I was made aware of the destructive power of nature and Murphy`s Law of Averages at a early age so our preparations were not only for a shtf event our preparations were for everyday living. From having some cash on hand to dry meat, we had no refrigerators; this Forum is an encyclopedia of knowledge not because everybody is an expert but because all here have experience a moment in life or has read many books and acquired skills needed for daily activities; from simple soap making to canning to mechanics so my first and non-expert advice to you and wife is to learn as much as you can, it will save you lots of money; to have many spared parts, things will break and to be alert not only for the environment but from the many human predators around you. Good Luck and keep asking questions.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

What type of learner do you think she is? If she learns best by reading include good reference material as part of gift giving. If she likes doing the camping idea is greay. Maybe a couple activity would be great. Like a 22 pistol league. My girl and I are looking for a canning class to take together. Maybe something like that would be fun.


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

Josh
Where are you located? The reason I ask is if you were by any chance close to my area, I'd be happy to help you "teach" her. I give classes in Edible and Medicinal plants, Short term and Long term shelter construction, traps and snares, among other things. I'd be happy to help at no charge. Anything to help fellow preppers out.


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## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

Ohio area. I do classes too. Teach scouts, and adults at the same time. I'm just trying to find the order to teach her in. I will do Urban Survival/ preparedness but then do wilderness as well. We live on the edge of the country where our farm is, but in a suberb on the edge of our township.


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## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

And CrackbottomLouis, she does great from learning hands on. Yes she can absorb the info well reading, but it is better to learn and see it


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I guess I was getting at doing fun activities together that indirectly teach by doing. Especially if she is that type of learner. This probably doesn't apply to you 2 but I have noticed sometimes that people learn more quickly and with less conflict if instruction comes from a third party rather than a significant other. I always tread lightly when giving instruction to someone close to me. But you've probably already thought all that through. I really like the camping idea. No substitute for just being out there and doing things for fun.


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## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

Yeah, I gwt what you're saying and have whitnessed it. Camping is a good place to start. And really any outdoor sport we do that I could apply it to. When we go boating and kayaking I could easily do fishing and add random bits of stuff.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I have similar plans with my girl but she is adverse to the summer heat here so I have to wait till fall. She wants to go to the range but we've been so busy I've kinda dropped the ball on that. That's why I figured a .22 league might be fun for my situation. I've been looking for a lot of things we could do as a couple along the lines of a canning class. Do you have any ideas that don't involve immediately hitting the woods? Maybe if we put our heads together we can end up bringing out the gi jane in both of them


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## Balls004 (Feb 28, 2015)

It is hard to teach anyone close to you much of anything for some insane reason. It takes a lot of patience on both parties ends. I know that I am not a great teacher, although I have a lot experience. My wife wants to learn, but it's like pulling hens teeth if I'm trying to explain things to her. Let my best friend tell her, and it's just fine. 

I hope you have better luck than me. Glad you're willing to try though.


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## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

I like the way you think of compiling ideas. 
-cooking from locally grown food (could then go along with canning)
-We go out to our barn and shoot small caliber firearms together. She could hit targets at 100 yrds with iron sights first time. I worry more about hitting what you aim for right now with her-not the grouping
-building projects such as birdhouses. Uses tools and then you can bird watch 
-you could make a fire for smores at home and have her light it. Makes her gain experience in fire craft even if she uses a match or starter. Plus smores are great. 
-taught my girl to drive a manual while offroad. It was a challenge but she prevailed. 
-I work on my jeep a lot and she usually likes to help (or watch and ask questions rather). I have taught her about tools, maintaining a vehicle, and electrical stuff. From watching she wanted to learn to solder. 
-reading together could spark coversation and questions. If one reads an article about some lost family in the mountains it could bring the question "what would you do in this situation?" People forget the mental thought process of survival too much.
-kayaking and canoeing is not necessarily in the woods. You could fish too, and talk about water ways, dams, wildlife, etc.
-gardening 
-Target sports; archery, rifle shooting, slingshots. My girl asked how to throw knives once.

I am just throwing out ideas. I'll think of more.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Sounds like your lady is a little better at the basics then mine . Basic carpentry is a great idea. She already shows a lot of interest in that area wouldn't be hard to find a project we can do. I've also joined a new hunting lease about an hour away. It's great because I'm not nearly as rural as you. It has over 30 miles of trails some of which are rough going. I really want her to get comfortable with the Jeep over non blacktop roads and then take atvs out and get her comfortable with those. All without destroying the vehicles. I have faith though. We are new to this home so we don't have a garden this year. I would like some potted herbs to cook with that also have medicinal value we can discuss. We do like to cook together and I have started some peppers. We have designated storage areas within the house for prepping stock and related items. Maybe it's time to whip out the dehydrator and vacuum sealer and hit costco. Sounds like I have more ideas than I thought I did. Time to get off my butt. Just busy right now. New place, planning a wedding in 2 months, work. All that normal life stuff really gets in the way of doing what I know needs to be done at times


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## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

Oh she is by not too familiar with the skills yet. She's learning though. It is good to have skills in a little bit of everything and not entirely focus on one. 
Learning to drive off road has many challenges within it. So learning properly and respecting the vehicle (especially a jeep ) is important. 

We aren't really in the country. We are on the border of a city in a suberb that borders farm land. But we have a family farm with a ton of friends with land. So it works out well for outdoor activities. 

It does really help to type out ideas. Leads to many more. Congrats on the new place and wedding soon. You could use the new place to teach about basic safety. Where the water shutoff is and such.


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## behindprepper918 (Nov 3, 2014)

If you are planning a wedding :congrat: put prepper supplies on the gift registery, dehydrator, canner, vacume sealer, canning jars, soap and candle making supplies, meat grinder, grain mill, books like this,
http://www.thepreppersvault.com/informational-books/survival/100-easy-recipes-in-jars.html
camping supplies, hiking supplies, gardening tools.
this will give you a start on some of the supplies you will need, and you can work together to learn some skills.


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

behindprepper918 said:


> If you are planning a wedding :congrat: put prepper supplies on the gift registery, dehydrator, canner, vacume sealer, canning jars, soap and candle making supplies, meat grinder, grain mill, books like this,
> http://www.thepreppersvault.com/informational-books/survival/100-easy-recipes-in-jars.html
> camping supplies, hiking supplies, gardening tools.
> this will give you a start on some of the supplies you will need, and you can work together to learn some skills.


This may not be a great idea. It basically tells everyone what you have and what they can look forward to in the future. If you trust the entire cadre of wedding guests not to rely on you, not to rob from you in hard times, and keep quiet about your inventory/lifestyle, then behindprepper918 is correct that it's a great way to t supplies. However, if you 1) dont have great inlaws or 2) dont know AND trust all the "+1s" and all the spouse's friends/guests, then think hard about whether to follow the quoted advice. Fundamentally, it comes down to an individual's comfort level with OPSEC.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

We are actually asking that people don't bring gifts. Really the only thing I am lacking is a bol, tractor, and camper. Which, of course, if anyone wants to send or provide I will give my contact info . Just kidding. Don't get me wrong. We still have a lot of work to do.
I did find a .22 pistol league though. A little fancily priced so I'm going to keep looking but I figured that and an appleseed weekend would be a great place to start weapons training. This week we got a Costco membership so we are going to do a little shopping and play with the dehydrator and vacuum sealer. We also are going to sit down and plan more specifically on what we would like to stock and work that into our budget planning so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. All in all good things. Eat the apple one bite at a time


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> We are actually asking that people don't bring gifts. Really the only thing I am lacking is a bol, tractor, and camper. Which, of course, if anyone wants to send or provide I will give my contact info  ...


My upcoming Ball 'N Chain and I are in about the same boat. We have most of the relatively inexpensive items already, so unless someone wants to buy us 30+ acres or a (larger) tractor... 

We've let folks know that we have all the tangibles we need already, and that if they wish to provide a gift, they can donate towards the honeymoon. I haven't told her yet, but I think I've squirreled away enough that we can take a cruise instead of our currently planned roadtrip to Niagara Falls. She hates surprises, so I need to discuss it with her soon!


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

There's a pretty cool cruise leaving jersey and heading up the east coast to prince Edward then ending up in Quebec we're gonna hit up for a honeymoon this fall  Maybe we should do a travel preparedness kit together. I'll probably let her do one to see what she comes up with then add my suggestions.


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## JoshSelf (Jul 13, 2015)

CrackbottomLouis, i was about to mention a travel kit then finished reading your post. I think it would be a good idea to bring whatever you can. I went on a cruise in Alaska and I'm going back to camp there next summer. They let us have pocket knives on the ship (because i bought a few in every town/village) and they check your bags like at the airport. I think it is a little more lenient than that though. We had a room right next to a life boat as well.


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## behindprepper918 (Nov 3, 2014)

here is a link to some cheap or free ideas for you to help her prepare.
http://survivethecomingcollapse.com/446/urban-survival-skills-you-can-practice-today/

be sure to read all the commits too.


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