Primitive Skills Day Camp
This exciting, informative course provides basic, simple tools available to even the youngest outdoor enthusiast, which could mean the difference between a fearful walk 10 meters from camp, or a survival situation faced with confidence, calm, and a positive, realistic outlook. Back by popular demand we'll incorporate a few days of canoeing with your children's primitive adventure.
- Ages: 7-9 and 10-13
- Cost: $375
- Avid4 is happy to provide payment plans.
-
- Watershed School- 205 Canyon Blvd., Boulder, 80302
- 10-13 year-old session: 8/2-8/6 (8:45-2:30)
- 7-9 year-old session: 8/9-8/13 (8:45-2:30)
- How many people have experienced the magic of seeing the sun's stored energy brought to life by rubbing two sticks together? In this class, they will.
- How about walking blindfolded towards a distant drumbeat, and arriving with the realization that you can “see” with all your senses? Try a drum-stalk.
- Ever wonder how a squirrel stays warm at night? When you crawl inside our natural, team-built shelter, you may just want to spend the night, knowing you'll be safe and warm.
- Humans haven't always had supermarkets, clothing and hardware stores to supply their basic needs. In this class you will learn to appreciate and understand how food, medicine, tools, shelter and clothing are still available in our own backyard. After this course, your next walk in the woods will carry a greater feeling of kinship and respect for the natural world.
The primitive skills course is not the usual seated classroom discussion about dinosaurs, cavemen and indigenous cultures. In this class, taught with reverence, compassion and humor, kids will experience first-hand the skills and knowledge that our ancestors used to survive, and even thrive, with confidence and respect for their environment. This is an opportunity to step outside of the comfort zone of modern tools and technology, and remember our roots. In the abundant setting provided by Boulder 's own Front Range environment, your kids will learn the magic and practical value of the earth, not just as a source of healthy activities, but also as a source of food, shelter, tools, and perhaps most importantly, a classroom filled with infinite life lessons. Our awareness exercises and games alone will provide simple but powerful keys to unlocking nature's secrets, and serve as strong foundations for our childrens' future experiences, and appreciation of the natural world. This is a great way to engender a respect and responsibility for the outdoor legacy we leave our children.
Activities- Learning to ID local edible, medicinal and useful plants for fibers, fire and shelter
- Learn history and use of sticks and stones for primitive, functional tools, e.g. dishes and utensils
- Exploring methods of responsible fire-making, from hand-drill and bow-drill, to one-match fire
- Build a functional survival shelter as a team
- Outdoor awareness lessons and exercises, e.g. weather signs, natural navigation, uses of tracking and terrain, and exposure awareness
- Survival role-play games, turning “invisible”, drum-stalk and trust walk, real-life survival stories and lessons woven throughout the week
- Day 1: Nature walk, plant ID's, group discussions on uses, history, incorporating Leave No Trace ethics. Making cordage with local (previously gathered) plant(s). Animal card game: “Who Am I?”. Awareness exercise: “wide-angle vision” and “turning invisible”.
- Day 2: Basics of flint-knapping/ stone tools, responsibilities and uses of sharpened objects. Fire discussion, demonstration and hands-on practice with hand-drill and bow-drill fire tools. Demo and discussion of fire responsibility, incorporating Leave No Trace ethics. Awareness exercise: “trust-walk” and “circle of awareness”
- Day 3: Utensil making and/or clay utensils, using local (previously gathered) materials. Awareness exercise: “drum-stalk”
- Day 4: Shelter building, using hay bales and pre-gathered sticks, followed by hike to observe and identify plants and terrain suitable for “natural” shelter. Demo and practice making “figure-4” trap. Awareness exercise: “quiet as a mouse”
- Day 5: Tracking observation and awareness, group discussion. “Follow the leader” obstacle walk. Closing ceremony/ritual, gift hand-out. Maybe a “give-away” ceremony?
- Games and stories throughout each day will be decided over the next few months.
Being the father of a 9 yr old, Kurt Rieder (pronounced “reeder”) is acutely aware of what we as parents and teachers model for our children. “Seeing how my daughter mirrors the examples I set, I realize I've a responsibility to share my passion, experience and appreciation for our precious earth, and it begins with the kids .” Kurt has lived, played and worked in the outdoors since he was a child, watching hawks and climbing in the mountains above Half Moon Bay , California . He lived in Yosemite in the 70's, guided climbing in SoCal in the early 80's, and earned a biology degree at CU Boulder in 1989. 13 years ago he took his first primitive/earth-based survival course with Tom Brown, Jr's Tracking School , eventually serving as an assistant instructor. A year's apprenticeship with Boulder 's Earth Knack school earned him instructor certification, and his passion for sharing his skills and experience increases daily. Baker, carpenter, father and musician, he has worked around the world, in multiple cultures and environments, and has a passion and natural rapport with anyone from business executives to newborn infants.
Quick Links to General Day Camp Information Page
- Registration Fee
- Camp Fees
- Discounts
- Deposit
- Refund, Transfer, Cancel
- Extended Care
- Camp Photos
- Lunches
- What to Bring
- Friends at Camp
- Returning Campers
- Forms
- Parent Handbook
- Questions