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The Tree of Knowledge Never Ceases to Grow.

I was on my way to go work on the Ancestral Knowledge office/museum and along the way decided to stop at the national arboretum to spend a few hours walking around, for no other reason than to get out of my head and briefly enjoy the wonderful day.  If you haven’t been to an arboretum, they are great places to find and identify natural resources and the national arboretum is special in that it hosts plants that aren’t found in the region, for instance long leaf pine needles.  It is also a great place to learn how to identify, learn, and journal all sorts of trees and plants that grow all around the world and you can take note of the similarities of those that are native to our region and their similar uses.

As I was walking around, I noticed this Magnolia growing along the road side.  It was about 15’ tall and an interesting characteristic grabbed my attention, it had one single low growing branch that was extending about 15 feet from the trunk, seemingly hovering 12” above the ground.  This branch made me peruse my memory banks about all the Magnolias I have ever met and I can’t recall any having a branch like this one. 

 As I walked away thinking about that single branch, I looked back and took note that it was pointing directly south, this got the gears in my mind turning and thinking about aidless navigation and the 8 directions.  It was at that moment when I noticed another Magnolia tree a couple hundred yards away, up on a hillside.  It was MASSIVE, as wide as it was tall.  I was awestruck by its distant profile, drawn to it like a moth to the moon, it was calling for a visit.

The sun was bright and warming the left side of my back and the tree was getting bigger and bigger with every step as I slowly approached this incredibly massive being. On my slow approach I began to orbit its circumference, taking in its size and presence as a whole.  As I approached even closer, I started to think about that long branch from a minute ago.  My thoughts were along the lines of, “HOLY SHIT, these branches must be 50 feet long… “

Soon I was very close and I could begin to see into its ground level canopy. It was dark and dappled with bright light that broke through, the contrasts were blinding.  As my eyes adjusted on my approach, I was able to see deeper into its umbrella and began to notice it was surrounded by dozens if not hundreds of other smaller Magnolias, not the long hovering lateral system of branches that I had imagined.  The smaller magnolias ranged from 2’ to 16” diameters.

I entered its canopy and as I was visiting the surrounding trees, to my surprise, I found that each one was actually a sprout from the central tree’s branches. The tree was cloning itself! Spreading across the land, more so toward the south.  As the branches extended from the main trunk, they touched the ground and disappeared under the leaf litter, then several feet away from that was the outer ring of newer trees.  I can’t explain all my thoughts about what I was observing, as this would turn into a short book about magnolias and the philosophy of life and primitive skills.  I noticed that the trees that surrounded the mother tree were well established, the larger ones being 10 times the diameter of its original branch connection with smaller shoots along the way. The main branches looked like umbilical cords that were slowly disconnecting from the main tree.

As I was hanging out, I felt like I became invisible to all the dozens of people that were walking by. In the 20 minutes I spent under that tree, nobody attempted to enter this amazing space under its canopy, not even any of the many young kids that passed by.

The experience I was having opened the floodgates of thoughts and self-doubts; What the hell was I doing with my life? Why did I take on this project trying to create an office/museum for Ancestral Knowledge and sacrifice my free time to do so? Why am I stressing out trying employ others and provide opportunity for their growth? Why am I trying to convince myself that everyone teaching in this “back to the earth” movement is here with the same purpose as I am? Am i the only one around here that is not status or money driven by something trendy & cool? Why do I continue to try to navigate the judgment, drama, division, and gossip found entrenched in the “earth skills” movement in the search for community? Then, the most important thought, why have I been trying to convince myself that everyone in this movement is here for the same reason, to protect and provide for the next 7 generations?

Then the negative thinking was overcome by thankfulness, my thoughts wandered back to all my mentors and teachers that shaped my reality; Tom Brown Jr, Charles Worsham, Errett Callahan, Jon Young, Ed Wentzler, Joe Lau, Eddie Starnater. I began to think about how honorable, incredibly humble, and generous they were in their teaching. They always gave credit to their teachers and always acknowledged the origin of the skills they taught and they claimed no ownership of them. Also, they didn’t see themselves as important or as leaders, only as messengers or sign posts. They were gentle in their approach and generous with their knowledge. They didn’t believe they were any more special than me, they listened to what I had to say, they treated me as an equal, recognizing that I was in a different stage of development, somewhere they had once been themselves. I also realized that they held back the deeper more profound lessons until I broke through their defenses with my passion to learn.  They had walls that were built by those seeking wisdom and knowledge that didn’t appreciate them or tried to discredit them.  I began to realize this amazing tree was showing me a road map of lineage and how ancient wisdom and knowledge is passed on, even in this modern world.

This experience validated my purpose and where I fit into the overall mission, and where I was along my journey toward the world of the unseen and eternal.  This tree brought forth a powerful memory from a very important year of my life; I was having breakfast one morning during the second year of the Coyote Tracks summer camps, sitting across the table from me was Tom. While we were eating, I noticed that Tom stopped eating and was staring past me with a mystical, wide-angle gaze with his piercing deep blue eyes and he said, “Bill, look around, do you see all of this? This is all because of one person, this is all possible because of one person, this wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for one person, it only takes one person to change everything”  I always thought he was just referring to his mentor, a Lipan Apache named Stalking Wolf but i realized, he was talking about someone who hasn’t yet been brought back to the Earth and how they could be responsible for tipping the balance. It took me years to understand what he meant, and this tree took his statement to a whole other level.

This Magnolia revealed to me, where that breakfast conversation has led me and so many others, the expansive sharing of Grandfather’s teachings, the road map for humans path back to a deep connection with the Earth.  It showed me how we learn from our mentors, form these powerful bonds, how at first we need them constantly in our lives, but over time distance gets between us, we become grounded, set our own roots and begin to grow on our own, and all along the way learning more as we teach and teaching more as we learn. We then eventually slowly disconnect from our mentors in the physical. It showed me that one day our mentors will be gone, no longer in the physical world but the teachings will live on, always connected in an unseen and eternal way and the lineage will continue beyond us.

It never ceases to amaze me that no matter where you are in this world, when you let go of your ego and enter nature as an open book, we are led to the lessons and experiences that we need to guide us along our path.

It gives me great comfort knowing that, in this time of uncertainty, one thing remains pure, real, and powerful… our connection to each other and our connection to the Earth.

Post submitted by Bill Kaczor, co-founder and executive director of Ancestral Knowledge

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Spring Time Fox Activity

Red Fox Behavior and Den Activity in Early Spring

As winter fades and the landscape softens with the first signs of spring, red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) enter a crucial stage of their yearly cycle—raising their young. Early spring marks the peak of denning activity, with mated pairs focused on securing shelter, hunting tirelessly, and nurturing their newborn kits. This period is a fascinating time to observe fox behavior, as their secretive yet resourceful nature is on full display.

Mating and Den Selection

By the time early spring arrives, most red foxes have already completed their breeding season, which typically occurs between December and February. Gestation lasts around 50-53 days, meaning that by March and April, vixens (female foxes) are retreating to their dens to give birth.

Foxes don’t always dig fresh dens. Instead, they often repurpose old burrows left by other animals—such as groundhogs or badgers—expanding and modifying them for their needs. A good den site offers:
✔ Seclusion – Hidden among dense brush, in wooded areas, or along hillsides
✔ Multiple Exits – Providing escape routes if threatened
✔ Dry Ground – To prevent flooding and keep kits warm

Birth and Early Kit Development

A typical red fox litter ranges from 4 to 6 kits, though litters as large as 10 have been recorded. At birth, kits are blind, deaf, and covered in short, dark fur. The vixen stays in the den, nursing and keeping them warm, while the male (dog fox) takes on the role of provider, bringing back food for the family.

During these first few weeks, the den remains quiet and well-guarded. The vixen may only leave briefly, relying on the dog fox for sustenance. Kits begin to open their eyes around two weeks of age, and by three to four weeks, they start becoming more active within the den chamber.

Den Activity and Parental Roles

By mid to late spring, kits grow bolder and begin emerging from the den, exploring the immediate surroundings under the watchful eyes of their parents. This is when fox families are most visible, as:
🐾 Kits engage in playful wrestling, which helps develop hunting skills.
🐾 Parents, particularly the vixen, start bringing back live prey for training.
🐾 The den site becomes littered with food remains—rabbits, rodents, birds, and even scavenged scraps.

While the vixen continues to nurture the young, the male’s role shifts toward teaching survival skills, such as stalking and pouncing. Foxes may also move to secondary dens during this time, either for safety reasons or to avoid parasite buildup.

Signs of a Fox Den in Early Spring

If you’re looking for evidence of fox den activity, keep an eye out for:
🦊 Freshly dug earth around burrow entrances
🦊 Tracks leading to and from the den
🦊 Scattered bones, feathers, or prey remains nearby
🦊 Playful, high-pitched yips or barks at dusk and dawn

The Transition to Independence

By late spring and early summer, kits become increasingly self-sufficient. Parents start leading them farther from the den, introducing them to new hunting grounds. By three to four months old, young foxes begin fending for themselves, though they may stay with their family until early fall before dispersing.

Observing Red Foxes Respectfully

If you come across a fox den in early spring, observe from a distance to avoid disturbing the family. Foxes are naturally wary of humans, and unnecessary interference could cause them to relocate. The best way to appreciate these animals is through patience and respect—allowing their wild instincts to unfold without disruption.

Spring is a magical time in the life of a red fox, filled with tender care, playful moments, and the first steps toward independence. As the season unfolds, their dens serve as a cradle of new life, a hidden world where survival skills are passed down, ensuring the next generation of foxes thrives.

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Finding Hope in the Winter Forest

Stepping outside into the entrance of the forest near my home dominated by cedar, oak and tulip poplar I see bare branches -a mix of grey and brown trees reaching tall towards the white fluffy clouds and grey skies above me, and their roots hidden in the white blanket of covered earth below me. The snow feels fluffy beneath my feet and as I look down I see a flurry of fresh animal tracks as if the forest creatures had a party here last night 🙂 I see clear squirrel prints going every which way, deer prints walking in a straight line and even fox prints too. It makes me wonder what was happening around here? As I walk a little further out, a herd of about 30 deer stop in their tracks and we both stare at each other. A few turn away from me ready to flee with their white tails up in the air. As I continue to walk they stay and I can feel them watching me. The life in the forest is alive and well despite the freezing temperatures and naked tree branches awaiting new foliage. As I round a corner I almost walk on top of a holly tree sprout. The first green I have seen in this forest today. It immediately makes me smile.

The holly tree is a very sacred tree in Celtic mythology, representing peace, hope and goodwill. Holly leaves resist lightning and they used to be planted near peoples homes to protect them from lightening strikes! Because of their spiked leaves it is a wonderful abode for birds to protect them from predators and when their flowers bloom in the springtime their scent is beloved by the bees and butterflies 🙂 As an evergreen, no matter how dire it feels some days to me out in the bare bones of a winter forest the life represented in those green leaves bring me immediate warmth and joy. It is a good reminder that the leaves on all the trees will sprout again, flowers will bloom, and we will soon hear the buzzing of pollinators.

Seeing this little sprout of the holly tree peek through the snow reminds me of the opening circle we held during one of our homeschool programs. We had asked the kids what they most loved about Nature. A handful of those students who had been with us for a while thoughtfully answered in various ways that ‘being out in nature was very calming for them, it was peaceful, and made them happy.’ I think one of the special things about our programs is the sheer amount of time in Nature – something that doesn’t seem to happen too often (without intentionally carving out the time to do so) in our society these days. These very heartfelt answers gave me a lot of hope for our future – just like that little sprout of the holly tree. When children feel the impact and beauty inherent in the natural world it can create ripples of hope for our future on this planet far wider than we may realize.

– Laura Rose, Field Instructor

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Tracking: A Story Waiting to be Read

“Tracks occur where the sky touches the earth” The Tracker – Tom Brown Jr

I have this vivid memory of taking a cardboard box, some string and a carrot into the woods across the street from my house.  As seen in the cartoons, I found a stick, tied the string to it and propped up the box with the stick and put the carrot underneath.  With the opposite end of the string in my hand, I laid in the brush several feet, watching, waiting.  I don’t remember how long I laid there, but I had nothing better to do, so it was quite a while. I was feeling good about this attempt as cartoons made it very clear that carrots were a rabbits preferred food, not to mention I would always see rabbits along the edge of the woods. I was hoping one would come along and go for the carrot at which point I would pull the string and trap it under the box.  To my surprise, and disappointment, nothing came and I didn’t understand why.

If only my grandfather, or even my “great” “great” grandfather had been taught the old ways of their “great” “great” grandfathers, so that my father could pass them onto me.  But unfortunately, that is not my history.  However I had this deep passion to learn the old ways at a very young age. 

Life went on, time passed, and thanks to the skills my father possessed and could pass on, I learned the ways of being a successful “modern” man, modern awareness and how spot the predators of the city and suburbs.  Then one day, thirty years ago, I read a book changed my life.

I was given a copy of The Tracker written by Tom Brown Jr. I couldn’t put the book down. Next thing I knew read his next 5 books and had a more questions about who I was and what is our purpose as humans on this earth.  At the end of each book there was a note in the back saying something along the lines of “if you’re interested in learning more about these skills, contact the Tracker School…”

Without telling the long version of the story, I ended attending the Standard class (a level 1 class) at the tracker school.  There I learned, with 125 others, the sacred order of survival and our basic needs to live; shelter, water, fire, and food.

During the standard Tom taught hours and hours of animal tracking, down loading enough information to fill a college credit course.  I couldn’t believe how much information was stored in a single track on the ground. Throughout the week It became very clear Toms passion was tracking and he was a tracker.

Reading that book, finding the Tracker School, and attending that class filled a void within my being that I had no idea existed.  Everything about my childhood started to make sense.  My passions, how I learned, the things that made me feel alive all came together within my being and I began to feel complete, with a drive to learn more about who I am and what my purpose was through learning the “old ways”. 

Tom said, “tracking is like reading a book, there is a story that is being told with each track being a word, The trail a paragraph, and the story ends when you find the final track.” He also said “when you’re tracking an animal, you become the animal and begin to “see through their eyes,” living their story.”

With each track you can learn so much. How fast they were moving, which way were they looking, if they were comfortable or on alert, hungry or satiated and so much more. The more you more you track, the more questions you ask, the more you ask more becomes apparent, sentences, and paragraphs of the story would become clearer. If only I was taught how to read tracks at the same time, I was introduced to the written word… if only.

Bill Kaczor – Director/Co-founder

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How our Ancient Traditions can help us Today

While most people may think of primitive skills/bushcraft in purely practical terms (e.g. making a shelter to stay dry, firemaking to cook and keep warm), an often overlooked aspect of learning and practicing these skills, is the community and sense of empowerment that comes from being in nature.

When I began working at the Wood Wise summer camps, the bulk of my nature experiences, like most people from cities and suburbia, came from yearly camping trips with my family. I remember our tried and true method of making a fire: drive to the camp site’s store, buy firewood and then douse it in lighter fluid and light in the fire pit. Fire in addition to being one of humanity’s earliest and most important discoveries is also a community builder. Most can attest to the comradery and familiarity that a camp fire brings.

When I started working at Wood Wise Camps, I was introduced to Bow Drill:
Bow Drill is one of the oldest fire making tools, consisting of a wooden bow, tied with some form of cordage, a hearth board, a handhold, and a spindle. It has been used by people from North America to Egypt. The Egyptian style of Bow Drill has been used since around 2000 BCE, The Egyptian bow drill differs from other styles by tying the spindle to the string using a clove hitch and then wrapping the excess cord around it.

One of the activities we did at camp, was group bow drill. Seeing a group of around six people, pushing and pulling a rope, easily working in tandem to reach our goal of fire, reminded me of something I think we’ve lost in modern society, community. For most of our history, people lived in smaller, more connected communities with every person having a role to play in it. I think by practicing these skills and getting back to nature, we not only gain survival skills but a direct link to how our ancestors lived.


I would consider myself to be a fairly shy and withdrawn person, but being able to connect with this small pocket of community and to act as a Mentor with these skills, has grown my confidence. I have seen this same transformation take place in the kids I’ve taught, children have come to programs shy and timid but upon getting into the woods, building debris shelters and experiencing nature, they come alive.

Today, it’s important to engage in a community that encourages cooperation and sharing of ideas and technique, especially as trends show every subsequent generation growing more isolated than the last. I can not think of a better way to connect with others and your environment than to learn and practice the skills that our ancestors used to survive and thrive.

By Ben Kamm (Field Instructor in Training)

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Awareness and returning to “baseline”

What does the word awareness bring to mind for most people?

Maybe…Time management skills, a good sense of social etiquette, quick reaction time while driving?

The demands of our busy lives may give us a different idea of the “aware” human, but try to think of instinct, on more animal terms. In the forest, we have a chance to practice these skills away from the disruptions of other humans and the busy, modern world, and to carry them out into that world with us. Listening to the subtle cues in the language of the forest and creatures can help restore our sensitivity and perception.

How do most humans move through the city?

We tend to look straight ahead, our vision fixed on our destination, walking with firm and quick steps in sensation muffling , foot compressing shoes.

When moving through nature, we can learn to roll our foot in a way that minimizes sound when we walk, feeling every obstacle before we have a chance to break it, “fox walking” through the woods. This is done best barefoot, or in thin soled shoes/moccasins but can be achieved in almost any footwear. If you’d like to try, start barefoot. Walk with relaxed, slightly bent knees. Place the blade of your foot upon the earth first, and roll towards the center, your heal landing last. This allows you to adjust your movement if you feel something like a rock or stick that could snap. Some find a kind of walking meditation in this exercise, and with continued use, it may start to come naturally to you. There is more intention in this way of walking, you may find that it forces you to observe the present rather than dwell in your thoughts.

Where do we tend to focus our gaze when navigating the city?

Most people tend to look straight ahead, as previously stated. They may miss things above or below them. People who have a sense of hyper-awareness may use a form of wide angle vision already, watching others from the corner of their eye, when their guard is high.  We can learn to open our vision, widening the boundaries of our sight, until we can watch all that is moving around us, versus one fixed point.

An exercise in “Wide Angle Vision”, or “Owl Eyes”:

Stand with your arms a bit wider than your body. Wiggle your fingers and stare straight ahead. Slowly bring your hands out as far as you can, until the motion of your fingers is on the very edge of your range of vision. Keep looking straight ahead while watching this motion. This can make it easier to slip into Wide Angle Vision, with practice.

How do we listen, vs the animals we observe?

Our ear dish is rather small, compared to a deer or a dog. You’ve probably seen these animals swivel their ears in order to pinpoint a sound. We can mimic this larger, more effective ear dish, with our hands. We can also create a more pinpointed sound, by swiveling our cupped hands, or turning them around, to listen behind us. We can open our ears to more, creating the dish with our hands for the sound to bounce off of, angling forward and back, as the deer do.

  Think of the forest as a watery surface, each disruption you cause, through sound or movement, sends out a ripple that we call a concentric ring. This concentric ring consists of alarm calls from birds and squirrels, and warnings from fleeing creatures, warning of your presence, traveling through the area. When the ripples you cause have calmed, the forest has returned to “baseline”. These concentric rings create anywhere from a 20 minute to a 40 minute disruption in the baseline. We use Sit Spot as a tool to increase our awareness and practice this return to stillness. As we learn to walk silently, to listen and to see, we can sit in this quiet state for hours. We start to see things as they are, no longer only experiencing human disruption.

If you find the time, take a pause this week. Sit beneath a tree, open your deer ears, and let things be still.

By Eden Cornelius (Program Coordinator and Field Instructor)

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Ancestral Knowledge Receives 2022 Best of Greenbelt Award!

Ancestral Knowledge Receives 2022 Best of Greenbelt Award

Greenbelt Award Program Honors the Achievement

GREENBELT October 19, 2022 — Ancestral Knowledge has been selected for the 2022 Best of Greenbelt Award in the School category by the Greenbelt Award Program.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2022 Greenbelt Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Greenbelt Award Program and data provided by third parties.

Each year, the Greenbelt Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Greenbelt area a great place to live, work and play.

About Greenbelt Award Program

The Greenbelt Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Greenbelt area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Greenbelt Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

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Barbie is Dead!

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”

Nature empowers females (Notice that we call her Mother Earth, not Father Earth.). Although there are certainly laws of nature that must be “obeyed,” we generally don’t think of the planet in paternalistic terms. It’s difficult to behold the abundance of life brimming forth from every nook and cranny of this bizarre space rock and not feel the power of the womb, and realize that the forces at play are the maternalistic ones of nurturing, caring, and giving.

Every time a parent gives us feedback about how their daughters come home from our programs more animated, capable, and confident from climbing over rocks and roots, getting dirty, carving with knives, making things with their hands, learning about plants, and all the other things we do out in the woods, it is a truly heartwarming experience. We live to receive emails like this:

“So proud of my daughter, Sophia. She started off the week not sure if she wanted to go to Ancestral Knowledge Wood Wise I Camp, anxious at first that she was the only girl until a few more girls showed up. She came home every day with a layer of dirt and a smile on her face. Today she was so proud that she had earned her bead for going out in the woods alone, sitting quietly for half an hour, and observing animals. I’m grateful to the young women who were her role models as counselors this week. Sophia seems stronger and more confident. Ancestral Knowledge Camp seems to be an effective counter to princess culture. (See https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/06/24/princess-culture-is-bad-for-girls-now-theres-proof/) Let’s hope she carries these lessons with her. Wood Wise II is next week! She is on her way to becoming a strong young woman. Thank you!”

All that being said, it’s important to keep a balanced perspective and remember that our young men face plenty of their own challenges in the modern world. In an age where the masculinity of our young people is pathologized, criminalized, and medicated out of existence, time in nature is more important than ever for all our children, regardless of gender. Just like our daughters need Mother Earth to bring forth their strengths and cure them of timidity, our sons need Her to teach them lessons of empathy and connectedness.  Wild nature is the perfect antidote for Ken, too. Plastic people don’t seem to fare too well out there, and good riddance.

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Teaching Kids to Love the outdoors during Winter time!

 

Teaching Kids to love the winter

Teaching kids to love the winter is not that hard. We at Ancestral knowledge have been guiding children for over ten year in winter camp outs and outdoor activities. Most kids naturally love playing outside no matter what the weather. When given the chance children learn not to fear the cold. Here are some wonderful tips that will help kids learn to love the winter weather:

1. Make it fun
If it not fun and rewarding chances are that they’re not going to be interested. Most all kids love to play on ice puddles, built snow shelters, go sledding, have snow ball fights, play with ice icicles, snowboard and ski.

2. Play with Friends
To help motivate your child it helps to invite a few friends over. They can do all types of fun outdoor activities together that they will enjoy.

3. Appropriate winter clothing
Good winter clothing allows kids to be comfortable. Along with a winter jacket and snow pants I recommend; boots, socks, gloves, scarf and hat to keep kids warm. We encourage all our students to have extra wool socks and gloves and always carry an extra blanket to help warm kids up.

4. Celebrate the fun and excitement at the end of the day
Celebrate the cold and honor your kids for braving the winter weather. It is important to recognize winter conditions can be challenging and you can help them problem solve the challenges of winter weather.

5. Participate in outdoors clubs or outdoor winter programs
Outdoor clubs, winter hikes and wilderness youth programs with expert instructors are a great resource in helping your kids to develop a love for the winter. These outside programs teach kids fun and exciting winter activates that parent don’t often know or have the time to teach.

 

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Are you Prepared to Get Out and Play this Winter?

We encourage everyone to get out and enjoy the outdoors during the winter time.  However everyone responds to cold temperatures differently. Keeping feet, hands, and clothing dry is very important because toes and fingers are most susceptible to damage from the cold. Whenever possible carry an extra pair of socks in case your feet get wet and a couple plastic shopping bags to put over the dry socks to avoid the boots saturating the dry socks. Wet feet, hands, and clothing need to be addressed in a timely fashion because wet clothing will cause you to lose warmth. If you get wet its best to get indoors or change those layers. If that’s not possible build a fire to warm up and dry out those wet clothes.  Being prepared and dressing properly will allow for hours of winter fun and exploration!

The follow descriptions will help you dress for various cold weather conditions.

The Base Layers – The first layer of clothing closest to the skin should be a type of long underwear or base layer. They should be lightweight, comfortable and cozy. Try to avoid cotton because it holds moisture and can become heavy and cold if wet. Wool or synthetic blends of clothing are the best materials. You’ll find long underwear available at various prices and styles. One trick is to use synthetic sweat pants or tights if you don’t have a base layer available.

The Extra Insulation Layers – The insulated layer of clothing is worn over long underwear for extra warmth. Materials such as a fleece jackets or wool sweaters are great. Again avoid cotton if you can because its fibers soak up water and become heavy making you feel wet and cold. During the coldest temperatures multiple layers may be necessary.  The best thing about layering is that you can add or shed a layer depending on your comfort level.

The Outer Layer (Outer winter coats and Snow pants) – The outer layer or shell should be waterproof, providing protection from wind, rain and snow. Waterproof shells typically have minimal insulation so they can be worn over the inner layers without being too balky . You’ll find outer shells in both jackets and pants, making them ideal for a number of cold-weather activities. Your winter coat should have a hood, be wind-resistant, water-repellent and breathable. Down jackets, filled with goose feathers, are excellent for warmth but need to be protected in wet weather with a rain jacket.  Fleece-lined ski jackets are excellent also. One-piece snowsuits might be appropriate for kids who spend all day outdoors in the winter. Snowsuits are highly water-resistant and provide the maximum protection from the wet snow.

Winter Hats, Neck warmers, and Face-masks – Half of your body heat is lost through your head. Traditional scarves, neck warmers, hats and face masks help keep your face and body warmer by stopping valuable heat loss from the head and neck. Wool, synthetic or fur are the preferred materials.

Gloves and Mittens – Cold hands can ruin a day. It best to have water-resistant mittens, which keeps hands warmer than gloves.   Gloves, however allow for more dexterity. In wet snow or rain water resistant material is important. Fleece and wool mittens become useless when wet.  Wet gloves don’t keep hands warm unless you dry them out.  Insulating your wrists aids dramatically in keeping you hands warm. Old wool socks with the toes cut out and a thumb hole added make great wrist gators.  Wearing water proof mittens with a glove liner gives you the ability to have both warmth and mobility when needed.

Socks and Boots – Instead of cotton socks opt for polyester and wool-blended socks that keep toes insulated even when damp with sweat or wet from snow. You want waterproof or resistant boots. Make sure they are not too snug. Go up a size when buying winter boots to compensate for thick wool socks.

REI has a good reference page on layering.

Most of these items can be found at thrift stores. If you wish to purchase new items, REI, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hudson Outdoor, Gander Mountain, and other outdoor and camping stores all sell these items. Target sells poly-pro long underwear in kids sizes.