Prepare and Pray
{Just organizing some of my posts}
Prepare and Pray is a family preparedness study based off the book Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss.SFR is a delightful “living” book that is rich in natural science, vocabulary, geographical details, history and physical science. It is a timeless classic with strong moral and spiritual content. We read the original version and love the rich language. The subjects covered in the curriculum include Bible memory, Handi-work/Crafts, Life skills, Clothing, Shelter, Health, Safety and Nutrition, Natural and Physical Science, Geography and History. The discussion questions provided provoke deep discussions. And I love the Toddler Tales for the little ones.
Some of the activities below are from the curriculum, but many are our own inspired from the curriculum and/or book. I do my best to share bits and pieces in the context of what we are doing in our home school without revealing too much from the curriculum itself. {So know that there is MUCH more to the curriculum than I am sharing!}
In Lessons 1-4 we made survival kits, first aid kits, stuff sacks, fire bugs, a sun clock, a solar water distiller, emergency shelters, tin can stoves, a reflector oven, and even a solar hot dog cooker. We’ve learned how to build campfires, learned first aid techniques, how to track animals, how to tie different knots and how to identify wild edibles. And these are just SOME of the activities we did! I share on my blog starting with Lesson 5.
Prepare and Pray Lesson 5: Part 2
Prepare and Pray Lesson 6: Seeds for Tomorrow
Prepare and Pray (and Light the Way): Lesson 7
Prepare and Pray Lesson 8: The Rainy Season
Prepare and Pray Lesson 9: Something’s Fishy
Prepare and Pray Lesson 10: Preparing for Winter
Prepare and Pray Lesson 11: An Unwelcome Visitor!
Prepare and Pray Lesson 12: Expedition
Prepare and Pray Lesson 13: Preparing for Winter
Prepare and Pray Lesson 14: Storing the Harvest
Prepare and Pray Lesson 15: Preparation for Perilous Times
Prepare and Pray Lesson 16: Ten Years Later
Prepare and Pray Lesson 17 & 18: A Stranger and Farewell
We have Blessed Assurance, the sequel to Prepare and Pray, and will be using it in the future. =)
Preparedness books we love:
Prepare and Pray Lesson 17 & 18: A Stranger and Farewell
Prepare and Pray is a family preparedness study based off the book Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss. SFR is a delightful “living” book that is rich in natural science, vocabulary, geographical details, history and physical science. It is a timeless classic with strong moral and spiritual content. We read the original version and love the rich language. The subjects we cover in our curriculum include Bible memory, Handi-work/Crafts, Life skills, Clothing, Shelter, Health, Safety and Nutrition, Natural and Physical Science, Geography and History. The discussion questions provided provoke deep discussions. And I love the Toddler Tales for the little ones.
- telling time with the sun
- the importance of learning to swim (which led to an agreement to sign the kids up for another session at the Y)
- practicing first aid for sprains and broken bones
- the benefits of bow and arrow hunting over gun hunting in a survival situation
- the importance of simple family worship
- and more
The Robinson’s were content with God’s provisions on the peaceful island and 4 of the 6 chose to remain!“That night I had a long consultation with my wife, as to whether or not we really had any well-grounded reason for wishing to return to Europe. It would be childish to undertake a voyage thither simply because an opportunity offered for doing so.” ~Father in SRF
“What initially began as a life threatening crisis, has mellowed into a ten year history of obstacles overcome, spiritual character growth, academic and physical strengthening, and a deep awareness that life is a daily miracle. May God bless our efforts so richly!” ~ Authors of Prepare and Pray
“Our goal as Christians is NOT to “survive at all costs,” nor to contribute to the humanistic “survival of the fittest” mentality. True Christians do not fear death or suffering and they strive to pass this hope and peace which passes all understanding, on to their children.”
Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come on you. ~ Revelations 3:3
But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes on them, as travail on a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thes 5:1-4
If we follow Yhvh’s word and walk in obedience, we will not be left in the darkness. We will know!
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ! ~ 1 Thes. 6-10
We keep the Feasts of God because they are a foreshadowing of things to come. Yeshua WILL return to fulfill the fall Feasts and accomplish His good and perfect will! We can’t let ourselves be distracted with worldly holidays and traditions that are NOT in the Bible ~ if we do, then His return WILL overtake us as a thief in the night!
Meanwhile, all we can do is:
Prepare and Pray Lesson 16: Ten Years Later
Prepare and Pray, is a family preparedness study based off the book Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss. SFR is a delightful “living” book that is rich in natural science, vocabulary, geographical details, history and physical science. It is a timeless classic with strong moral and spiritual content. We read the original version and love the rich language. The subjects we cover in our curriculum include Bible memory, Handi-work/Crafts, Life skills, Clothing, Shelter, Health, Safety and Nutrition, Natural and Physical Science, Geography and History. The discussion questions provided provoke deep discussions. And I love the Toddler Tales for the little ones.
I think the thing that stuck out to me most in this chapter is that Franz is finally considered mature and ready for manhood at the age of 24, as determined by his father, with respect to his judgements and abilities, rather than by a cultural norm that says a child is an adult at age 18 without respect to their maturity, abilities or parental authority.
“. . . that our eldest son is now of an age to be dependent on himself. I shall, therefore, henceforth leave him at liberty to act in all respects according to his own judgement: and, especially in the matter of voyages and excursions, he must not be hampered by the fear of alarming us should he choose to remain absent longer than we expect. I have such entire confidence in his prudence, and at the same time in his affection for us, that I am certain he will never needlessly cause us anxiety.”
This is my hope for my boys that we will have such confidence in their prudence and affection for us! Just as the Robinson boys had work to do, so do we. As we discussed each character trait of the Robinson boys, we also evaluated where we are and where we hope to be ten years from now.
I began with my oldest (who is 13). I printed off a list of character traits and had him write the definition of each trait with a verse from Scripture that describes that trait and a blessing for displaying this trait. I also had him do this for negative character traits that we want to avoid. He had to write the desirable trait that we want to replace it with as well as write a list of natural consequences if the negative trait was displayed. This was a good lesson for him and one that I hope we will continue to develop as we shape and mold his character.
I used the Character Traits Check List from Heart of Wisdom, Doorpost’s If/Then Chart and Blessing Chart and the book Parenting With Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments
Also in this lesson, we talked about how our family would survive in an extended crisis. We have become more conscious of how we use and save items that can be reused. This is not always easy in a throw away society (so much is considered disposable).
We talked about what kinds of recreational activities we would enjoy doing as a family if we had no electricity, telephones or internet (like learning to play a musical instrument, games and handi-crafts). I would love to acquire a treadle sewing machine, spinning wheel and floor loom. I would also love a foot powered potter’s wheel. The boys said they would build forts and toys made from wood, explore, collect rocks and unusual items to make a museum like the Robinson family did.
One of the assignments this lesson was to start a family journal. My scrapbook is a family journal and memory keeper and my blogs also serve as an online journal of our family, but it did get me thinking about another aspect of our family that I do not journal much about and I would like to.
Many of the other activities in this lesson we have already done or did not have much interest in doing right now.
One of our discussion questions caught our eye. It was on gardening techniques and how to deal with challenging situations such as steep slopes (terrace gardening), dry soil (irrigation, mulching), poor soil (composting and raised beds), cold temperatures (cold frames, green houses), small spaces (trellises, container planting). We have many of these conditions on the homestead we are building in Montana, so we tried some of the techniques.
On the lower banks of a seasonal creek bed, we planted a terraced strawberry garden from babies that we transplanted. While we were digging, we discovered about 6 inches of composted pine needles that resulted in a very rich black soil. Underneath that was a lot of rock that we dug out.
We placed the rocks as stepping stones and also to prevent erosion.
I made sure that we gave them plenty of room to grow. They have a way of spreading and taking over the place.
We also planted blueberry bushes along the upper edges of the bank of the creek.
We added coffee grounds to the soil for acidity and used large rocks to create a border and prevent erosion of the soil.
We raked the nearby pine needles over the top and then added hay for more mulch. We also built a make shift fence to keep the cows out.
All that hay will be tempting, but I am hoping the fence will keep them out. This is only temporary because while it may keep the cows out, it will not keep deer and other critters out.
I enjoyed the rest of our discussion and reading Toddler Tales to the little ones. I wasn’t sure that Mali was listening but he came up to me afterward and asked me what to do if a cougar attacked you. (In the story, Susanna frightens away a cougar by opening up her cape with her arms and looking big.)
Other posts in this series can be found in my sidebar under the category Prepare and Pray.
Prepare and Pray Lesson 15: Preparation for Perilous Times
Prepare and Pray, is a family preparedness study based off the book Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss. SFR is a delightful “living” book that is rich in natural science, vocabulary, geographical details, history and physical science. It is a timeless classic with strong moral and spiritual content. We read the original version and love the rich language. The subjects we cover in our curriculum include Bible memory, Handi-work/Crafts, Life skills, Clothing, Shelter, Health, Safety and Nutrition, Natural and Physical Science, Geography and History. The discussion questions provided provoke deep discussions. And I love the Toddler Tales for the little ones.
- Water storage
- Food
- First aid supplies
- Warmth/Light/Cooking
- Sanitation
- Transportation needs
- Personal needs
- Homeschooling resources
We also discussed food sources for long expeditions, including pemmican and even made a batch.
Pemmican
This was actually an activity from an earlier lesson that we didn’t do. But it was mentioned again this lesson, so we thought we would give it a try. To make this, we used natural turkey jerky, nuts and berries (ground fine in the blender) and then mixed with coconut oil (rather than fat) ~ not an original recipe for sure. It tasted just like jerky, nuts and berries and everyone liked it until I refrigerated it and the coconut oil solidified.
We also talked about raising chickens for food (instead of pigeons as Mrs. Robinson did). We talked about what we could feed chickens rather than commercial feed: unground grain, bugs, table scraps, dried milk, ground egg, greens and vegetables.
The Use of Herbs
In this lesson we discussed “the use of herbs to relieve symptoms of common illnesses. Herbs do not heal, neither do foods, medicines or doctors. Only God heals.” We feel that He has given herbs for the use of man, so we learned how to harvest and store herbs as well as how to use them. Here is what we made:
Homemade Cough Syrup
We made an infusion of echinacea, wild cherry bark and licorice root by boiling the herbs in 1 quart pure water down to 1 pint. Then we strained the herbs and added honey. It tasted like a really strong, really sweet herbal tea. I refrigerated it and I hope we don’t ever use it.
Tinctures
A tincture is made by soaking herbs in an alcohol or vinegar base. I was conflicted over giving a child an alcohol based tincture until a friend suggested that it could be dropped into a hot tea so the alcohol will evaporate out. The herbs are allowed to sit in the alcohol/vinegar base for 2 weeks and the jar is shaken daily. Then the herbs are strained out.
Homemade Salves
This spicy hot Warming Salve works wonderfully by warming cold toes and feet on chilly days or nights.
We used:
- 12 g cayenne pepper
- 1 T mustard seed
- 1/2 T ginger powder and ginger root
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 T coconut oil
We made a double boiler by putting a small pan inside of a bigger pan and filled the bottom pan with water. Over low heat, we heated the oil and spices in the top pan and let them simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Then we strained them through a coffee filter letting it drip for several hours.
After we had the oil, we melted it with a small amount of beeswax to give it a salve consistency.
I think the color is so pretty and it works wonderfully. I put some on my cold toes to warm them up last night.
GOOT
I read a great article at Walking Therin called Strengthen Your Immune System and decided to make their recipe for GOOT.
GOOT is a garlic oil salve made using garlic, olive oil and coconut oil in a 1:1:1 ratio (3 T Garlic crushed or pulverized, 3 T olive oil, and 3 T coconut oil). I blended it in the blender to make it smoother and didn’t strain out the garlic pieces because they were so small, but next time I will. Because of the coconut oil in this it did firm up in the fridge. It smells so good (and garlicky).
This next activity was an idea I had after spending so much time camping this summer. First of all, I believe that good old fashioned hand washing with soap and water is the best way to keep harmful germs away. We have a hand washing station set up at our campsite that consists of a 5 gal jug of water, watered down hand soap (for easier rinsing) and a bowl for washing in. Even so, there have been times that a hand sanitizer would have come in handy. Like the time the boys caught a snake while on a hike. Snakes carry salmonella. So a hand sanitizer would have been helpful to use after they handled the snake until we could get back to camp.
I have never been fond of a commercial hand sanitizer, though, because of the harsh chemicals in them. So, I went on a hunt for the common ingredients listed on the label of a common brand. The main one happens to be ethyl alcohol, also known as pure grain alcohol. Walmart sells it in their pharmacy – $10 for a 1 pint bottle (16 oz or 473 ml). Or you can buy Everclear at the liquor store – $14 for a 750 ml bottle (that’s about 25 ounces)
From what I could find online (and on the back of the Germ X bottle), I needed at least a 62% alcohol concentration for the hand sanitizer to be effective. We figured that at 95% alcohol by volume, that if we used 75% alcohol, we would have an effective hand sanitizer.
Here is what we did:
- 3/4 cup ethyl alcohol (this is what kills the germs)
- 1/4 cup (less 1 T) vegetable glycerin (keeps your hands from drying out)
- 1 T aloe vera gel (another moisturizer)
- Few drops of jojoba oil and Thieves essential oil (scent, moisturizer and antibacterial/antiviral properties)
Clove Orange Craft
Mrs. Robinson discovered cloves – so we discussed the historic spice trade and its role in colonization, exploration and eventual evangelization. I thought this would be a fun way to include the little ones in our study. I poked the holes in the orange and let the two little ones add the cloves (good hand eye coordination practice). I think it smells so good!
Click here to see other lessons we have done to “Prepare and Pray” for times ahead.
