Essentials for Survival and Ways to teach your Children about Edible Plants

Ways to Teach your Children about Edible Plants
and
Essentials to have for Survival in case of Catastrophe


I love disaster movies.  I've seen dozens.  And I greatly enjoy the current disaster-based shows - Revolution and The Walking Dead.
Now, living in a great metropolitan area, I have always figured that my home will be nuked.    But what if some other type of catastrophe happens?  What then?
Watching these shows and disaster movies - well, they are always looking for food.  And yet, food is all around them.  They often step on it.  Yes, I am talking about Wild Edible plants.  There are so many plants that you can eat - either raw or cooked in a stew - that provides some major nutrients!  And you have probably never heard of most of them.
Some ways to teach your children about Edible Plants -
1) Create your own board game with places or cards being edible plants.  There are also some published games out there about herbs and other plants.  Create Flashcards.  Play Concentration/Go Fish games.
Print pictures from online, or xerox them from books to create your cards.
2) Sign up for classes - at your local Nature Center or Botanical Garden.  There are often classes or nature walks on how to recognize plants.  Your local Raw Food meetup group might have a class or two about edible plants.
3) Follow Charlotte Mason's educational materials, and create a Nature Journal.  Take walks, draw pictures of the plants you see, and label/identify them when you get home.
4) Create Lapbooks of the pictures of plants you either drew or photographed.
5)  Use Wild Edible Plants for the subject in your local school Science Fair.
6) If you are in a Home-school Co-op, have one of the classes be on Wild Edible Plants.  Teach it yourself and learn right along with your students!  Or have a one day Expo on Wild Edible Plants where the children make projects.   Form a Wild Edible plant club at your child's middle, junior, or high school - or at church.  Assign projects, go for Nature Walks, and fix food using the plants!

7)  There are many camps on Survival out there - find a family-friendly Camp near you that will teach you how to light a fire, make a bow and arrow, find edible plants, and more!
8) And of course, go out and pick lots of edible plants, come home, and fix them in some of your favorite recipes (or find some new recipes online!)
9) Before you pick them, take a picture.  Collect the pictures over time of all the Wild Edible Plants in your area, and then make a picture book online.  (Winkflash for example has a flat rate for their 50 page book.)  Make sure each child creates their own book.
10) Some Great books to have in your personal library on Edible Plants:
11) Some Great websites (don't forget to print out the relevant information in case of no electricity and/or internet):

Other ways to have food during a Catastrophe -
1)  Learn how to keep Nanny Goats.  People can survive on Goats Milk alone for a very long time.  It has most of the nutrients a human body needs to thrive.
2)  Keep some chickens.  Eggs are a superfood and can keep you alive.
Most cities will allow you to keep goats and chickens in the backyard.  Check your local city ordinances.
During a catastrophe of course, keep both goats and chickens in your old sound-proofed "media room."  If anyone knows you have them, you will be looted.  Figure out a way to get bugs and feed for the chickens to eat.  Share your edible grasses with the goats.  Don't forget to put a "diaper" on the goats and chickens, and figure out the best ways to get rid of their poop (as well as yours.)
Now, remember, if you have been eating plants and drinking milk for several months, and one of your goats dies, you are better off trading it for something you can use.  If you are not accustomed to eating meat, it will just make you sick.
For Medicines:
Most essential oils (not citrus) last for years and years.  So do most homeopathics.  Raw Honey is suppose to last as well. Colloidal Silver 10ppm.  Apple Cider Vinegar will keep for awhile.  These are good things to stockpile, because you can always use them.
Best essential oil:  Native American Naturals
Cheapest therapeutic grade essential oil:  Butterfly Express
Homeopathics:  you can often find these on clearance for half off or more - stock up!
Colloidal Silver - Dave's Healthy Solutions
Raw Honey - your local Farmer's market
Keep several books about Essential Oils on your bookshelf.

Remember, you will want several physical copies of survival books - Edible Plants, Maps, Survival Guides, Essential Oils, Home Cures, etc.  If there is no electricity, Kindle unfortunately will not work!
There are edible plants, edible flowers, edible roots, and of course, edible bugs.
Your children need to know which ones are edible!

14 step on Organizing and how to Get Rid of Your Stuff

How to Spring Clean and Get Rid of Your Stuff
1) Keep the stuff that you will need to help prompt your memory when you are 80.  Keep the stuff that you know your great grand child would want (things that belonged to your great grandmother, etc).
But if you hate it, then don't feel like you have to keep it just because it was your great-grandmothers (etc). See if another member of the family would rather have it.
2) If you have 2 of something - keep the one that you like the best, or have the most memories.
3) With pictures and papers - take along a scanner to one of those mom craft parties, and scan things in as you talk to people.
Make nice skinny thin picture books out of this and put on bookshelf.
4)  Get rid of all books that you know you are not going to read again or reference.  There is always the public library, interlibrary loan, and Kindle.
5) Anything "collectible" - is it really worth the space?  that space is valuable - is the collectible?
6) Go to mom swaps or post stuff on trade facebook groups.  Get things you really need.
7) Sell stuff in lots or bags on Craigs list, then go to the Thrift/Resale store to get clothes that actually fit or you would really wear.
8)  Get rid of clothes in your closet that you are not wearing.  You'll want to buy new stuff at stores if you change sizes anyway.  For every 2 pieces of clothing you buy, get rid of at least one old piece.
9) Things in boxes that are "pretty" - either put them out to be seen, or sell it.
10) Don't buy stuff that you will need in 5 years, even if its "awesome," or a "Great Deal!"  In five years, you won't have all the baby stuff anymore, and you will have room to then buy other "awesome" age appropriate things.
10) Re-purpose things - think of it in a new way.  I placed the pretty baby changing table next to the front door with baskets and boxes - to be a catchall for mail, keys, purses, umbrellas, and shoes.
11)  Kids need blocks, books, puzzles, instruments, crayons, bikes - cars/trains or dolls/kitchen - everything else is negotiable.
12) If you have nice suits, and that is not your life anymore, then keep 3 of your favorites, and either sell the rest, or donate to one of those groups that help moms have suits for job interviews.
13) If its hard, go slowly.  Take a bag a week to your favorite donation store.
14) I've been able to let go of a lot of stuff now that I am gluten free - gluten is a neurotoxin, and it really affected my mind.  It was harder to let things go.  Its a lot easier now.