Learning About Navigation, Knots and Juggling From “The Dangerous Book for Boys”

I mentioned recently that I’m currently reading
The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden.

I’ve been trying to teach my older boys about compass basics: North - South - East - West. They have toy compasses, but of course the friggin things all point in different directions.

I generally have a good sense of direction based on the son. But it’s hard to teach my kids that.

We learned a few new tricks from the book. One of which was to set up a Shadow Stick. With a three foot stick, a bit of geometry and fifteen minutes to spare, you can determine which way is North. Pretty cool.

It is wise to never depart on a journey without knowing how to tie a good knot. I’ve always had a hard time remembering the best ones. It’s scary to think of the scores of trips home from the Home Depot with tons of lumber on the Dadster’s roof, all held by my shabby knots. The book illustrates five classic knots for a variety of uses. Well worth checking out.

On any journey, one must find ways to entertain the body and mind. That’s where the juggling lessions came in handy. My kids liked that part. In fact it got out of control with the younger ones flinging balls everywhere. My advice, take it outside.

We’re struggled with finding balls the right size for small hands. We tried wiffle balls and tennis balls and I have no idea where to buy bean bags. But the Iggulden brothers had a great suggestion how to make your own juggling balls with balloon and rice or flour. You could probably use sand as well.

-BD

Full Disclosure: The folks at Harper Collins had contacted me to ask if I’d be interested in checking out the book. I am not being paid for this. My comments and opinions are my own as a courtesy for receiving a copy of the book.