Hobbies And Interests
Zombie Attack
The zombies have attacked in the dead of winter, and it&'s up to the kids to survive on their own. The parents or caretakers play zombies, and the kids play the survivors. Equip the kids with basic zombie defense tools, such as foam dart guns. Kids must go into the backyard or into a nearby park and build a base camp out of snow or sticks. Hide a red flag, which symbolizes an alarm to call reinforcements, somewhere nearby that the kids must find and take back to the base camp to win the game. Survivors can paralyze zombies for a few seconds by hitting them with snowballs or foam darts. Zombies cannot enter the base camp. Emphasize the importance of staying warm in the winter by making sure the kids bundle up before going outside with gloves, hats, scarves, boots and coats. If a zombie finds a survivor who is not wearing all of their winter gear, the survivor becomes "incapacitated" for five minutes and is unable to play.
Make It Back to the Road
Drive a group of kids to a state park or another out-of-the-way location. While there, take the kids out into the wilderness and teach them the importance of staying safe in the wintertime. While the goal isn&'t to scare the kids, teach them that it takes only three minutes of being in freezing water to get hypothermia, and that in cold weather the body slows down to conserve energy and fingers and toes may get frostbite. Help kids realize the importance of staying warm and wearing protective clothing to conserve heat. Teach the kids how to read a compass if they get lost in the wilderness, then give each kid a compass and a whistle to blow in case they become separated from the group. Take the kids down into the wilderness, away from the road, and then let them figure out how to get back to the road. Be sure to supervise them and help them if they get stuck.
Survival Teams
Get together two or more groups of kids to role-play winter wilderness survival teams. Go into the backyard or to a state park, or any place with a lot of trees and open space. Make sure before leaving to go outside that all the kids are dressed appropriately for the winter, and have one parent or caretaker supervise each group of kids. Explain to the groups that they were on a plane that crashed into the wilderness, and they must use their resourcefulness to survive. Each group must make decisions on what they&'re going to build their shelter out of, what they&'re going to eat, how they&'re going to protect themselves from the cold and who is going to be leader. Have the parents supervise, but don&'t interfere with the kids&' choices. After making these decisions, the kids must find a way out of the wilderness and back to civilization, which can be simulated by following the compass to a nearby landmark. The winner of the survival teams is the group that best learned how to discuss their choices and cooperate together to get out of the wilderness.