Thank you so much for purchasing my eBook, Prepared Kids! Below are the resources I mentioned in the book. Enjoy!
Non fiction books:
- Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide–Creek Stewart
- Survivor Kid–Denise Long
- Ultimate Survival Guide for Kids–Rob Colson
- The Boys’ Book of Survival–Guy Campbell
- Willy Whitefeather’s Outdoor Survival Handbook for Kids–Willy Whitefeather
Fiction books:
- Jake and Miller’s Big Adventure–Bernie Carr
- The Hunger Games Trilogy–Suzanne Collins
- Maze Runner Series–James Dashner
- Hatchet, The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Hunt–Gary Paulson
- Island of the Blue Dolphins–Scott O’Dell
- Julie of the Wolves–Jean Craighead George
- Little House on the Prairie books–Laura Ingalls Wilder
- The Swiss Family Robinson–Johann David Wyss
- I Survived series–Lauren Tarshis
- Witness to Disaster series–Judy and Dennis Fradin
- Magic Treehouse Books with natural disasters (including books 13, 23, 24, 28)-Mary Pope Osborne
- The Magic Schoolbus books with natural disasters (including Inside a Hurricane, Twister Trouble, Electric Storm, Weathers the Storm, Lost in the Snow)–Joanna Cole
Preparedness movies kids can actually watch.
Rated G:
- Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (G)–14 year old Angus and his yellow labrador fight to survive in the Canadian wilderness after their boat is capsized in the waters off the Pacific Northwest.
- My Side of the Mountain (G)–13-year-old Sam Gribley dreams of wilderness living inspired by Henry David Thoreau, so he packs up and leaves home to live his dream. He is able to feed himself, make a shelter, and live away from civilization.
- Seven Alone (G)–True story of the seven Sager children who continue west on the Oregon Trail after both their parents die on the journey.
- Swiss Family Robinson (G)–The heroic tale of the courageous exploits of the Robinson family after they are shipwrecked on a deserted island. Using teamwork and ingenuity, they overcome the obstacles of nature and transform their new home into a “civilized” community.
- The War of the Worlds (G)–1953 film chronicling the invasion of Earth by Martians.
Rated PG:
- Against the Sun (PG)–Three US Navy airmen crash land their torpedo bomber in the South Pacific and find themselves on a tiny life raft, surrounded by open ocean.
- Alaska (PG)–Two teenagers journey into the Alaskan wilderness to rescue their father, a bush pilot whose plane has crashed.
- City of Ember (PG)–Teens work to secure the future of a post-apocalyptic subterranean city when the supplies start to run out.
- White Fang (PG)–A young man tries to fulfill his father’s dying wish of finding gold in the Yukon valley. Adaptation of the Jack London classic.
Rated PG-13:
- Behind Enemy Lines (PG-13)–A Navy navigator is shot down over enemy territory and is pursued by a secret police enforcer and the opposing troops while his commanding officer goes against orders in an attempt to rescue him.
- Cast Away (PG-13)–A ruled-by-the-clock Fed-Ex employee is stranded alone on a remote island and struggles to stay alive and save himself.
- Contagion (PG-13)–“Contagion” follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days, as the worldwide medical community races to find a cure.
- Dances With Wolves (PG-13)–Lt. John Dunbar, exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians.
- Dante’s Peak (PG-13)–Adventure about a long-dormant volcano about to erupt with devastating force in the town of Dante’s Peak.
- Deep Impact (PG-13)–An enormous comet is just a few days from colliding with the earth.
- Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay part 1 and 2 (PG-13)–In a dystopian future world, Katniss struggles save herself, her family, and rebuild society. Outdoor survival skills especially prevalent in The Hunger Games.
- Jeremiah Johnson (PG-13)–Powerful story of a man who turns his back on civilization and learns a new code of survival in a brutal land of isolated mountains and hostile Indians.
- Red Dawn (PG-13)–The outbreak of World War III has occurred, leaving a group of mid-western high school students turned refugees to slowly organize themselves into an effective guerilla force.
- The Day After Tomorrow (PG-13)–A climatologist tries to alert the US government on the dangerous long term effects of global warming, not realizing that those changes are going to happen in weeks, not in years, as originally predicted.
- The Postman (PG-13)–Set in a post-apocalyptic American West where a massive war has left most of the country in total disarray.
- The Way Back (PG-13)–Inspired by a true story, it begins in 1940 when seven prisoners attempt escape from a brutal Siberian gulag and begin a treacherous 4,500-mile trek to freedom across the world’s harshest landscapes.
- WaterWorld (PG-13)–In this futuristic thriller, Earth is covered with water and the human race struggles to survive on dilapidated boats and makeshift floating cities.
Some television shows can offer useful preparedness help and inspire “what if” conversations as well. Try these (many are no longer currently in production, but past episodes can be found online).
- Bill Nye the Science Guy–Episodes on natural disasters and weather
- Fat Guys in the Woods–Positive and educational reality show featuring nature novices thrown into survival situations with little training.
- Grizzly Adams–Adventures of a 19th century woodsman in a remote mountain area of the American West.
- Little House on the Prairie–Pioneer era living based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- Magic School Bus–Episodes covering natural disasters
- Jericho–After mushroom clouds appear on the horizon, fear of the unknown propels the town of Jericho into mayhem when all communication and power is shut down.
- Survivorman–Les Stroud’s survival adventures
Websites:
- Ready Kids, Ready.gov’s kid’s section: https://www.ready.gov/kids Games and activities for kids.
- FEMA’s Youth Emergency Preparedness Curriculum: https://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/assets/documents/34411 Education resources for teaching emergency preparedness and response to children in grades 1-12
- NASA SciJinks: http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/ Activities for older kids and teens
- National Severe Storms Laboratory: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/students/ Coloring pages and weather games
- Sesame Street Let’s Get Ready: http://www.sesamestreet.org/toolkits/ready Geared toward very young children with basics like learning their whole name and where they live
- Smokey the Bear: https://smokeybear.com/en/smokey-for-kids Wildfire prevention and safety for kids
- Sparky the Fire Dog: http://www.sparky.org/index.html Fire safety games and activities
Apps:
- Monster Guard from the American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/monsterguard Role playing game best for ages 9-11
- Knots 3D http://knots3d.com/ Step-by-step 3D models of how to tie over 100 knots. Geared to adults, but even my little ones like it.
- First Aid by the American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/get-help/prepare-foremergencies/mobile-apps Another that is really adult oriented, but my younger kids will watch the simple-to-understand videos.
- Fred the Preparedness Dog http://www.fredthepreparednessdog.org/ Activities such as matching, puzzles, word search all centered around preparedness
- Ready Wrigley Activities http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/readywrigley/ Preparedness coloring pages
- Sesame Street Let’s Get Ready http://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/apps Goes hand in hand with their website
- Do Your Part, Be Fire Smart http://www.positivepromotions.com/do-your-part-befire-smart-educational-activities-book-with-fire-safety-app/p/kcb-675/ Fire safety activities
