Book Review: Survival Mom by Lisa Bedford

Remember the Y2K scare? I do. I was just out of high school, unmarried, with no children, and I remember how funny I thought it was when the big day came, and all those people stockpiling bottled water and toilet paper just looked a little silly.

Fast forward a few years.

Do you remember Hurricane Katrina? I do. I was in my early 20s, married, with a 3 month old baby. I remember watching the footage on tv in absolute horror, and realizing that could be me. That could be us. Suddenly disaster preparedness made much more sense. I didn't build a bomb shelter or anything, but after that I tried to make sure we always had some extra diapers, and bottled water, and formula after my son weaned.

Last year a storm knocked out our power for nearly two days, and I realized we were still not nearly prepared enough.

Disaster preparedness is not just for eccentrics and doomsayers. It's for regular families, like mine and yours.

Blogger Lisa Bedford, aka The Survival Mom, has authored a book by the same name, to bring us all up to speed on what disaster preparedness looks like for families. (Softcover, 323 pages. ISBN 978-0-06-208946-5)

Whether you're just looking to get through a couple of days without power after a storm, or trying to insulate against job loss or a financial crisis, or are actually trying to prep for a total collapse of civilization, Lisa has tips, specific guidelines, and other advice you'll find helpful. (I fall into the first camp, by the way.)

Much of the book is devoted to the specifics of acquiring, storing, and prepping food and water for an emergency situation. I learned a lot. I liked that rather than just making sort of general statements about storing "enough" food for each person, she gave actual specific guidelines about quantities, menu planning, rotating out the stored food so none is wasted and so on. (She also points out things I hadn't fully considered, like how having 14 boxes of Cheerios in the pantry is probably not sufficient food storage. You probably could live for a while on cereal alone, but you wouldn't want to. Your kids wouldn't either. The focus is on responsible, usable food storage, not hoarding.)

Throughout the book, I was impressed with the specificity of her recommendations: actual products to research, stores to find recommended items, procedures for food prep.

In addition to the information about food, you'll find a wealth of information about things like getting organized, living without electricity, (shudder,) dealing with financial crisis, safety, and evacuation.

Which recommendations you follow, and to what extent you are going to follow them depend heavily upon what it is you're trying to prepare for.

I'm not interested in storing food for a year, and being ready to go off the grid at any moment.Some of you may be. I'm also not the target audience for the rather lengthy discussion of firearms. We don't, and we won't have guns in our home. I do believe if you're at all interested in preparing for natural or other disasters, (and you should be, if you have children,) you'll find plenty to do, research, contemplate and discuss in this book.

It was a worthwhile read that I'll be referring back to, as we gather a more responsible stash of food and water, and other necessities, like a solar charger for my beloved iPhone.

Lisa Bedford, The Survival Mom.

If you'd like to keep up with The Survival Mom on the web, you can find her on FB, Twitter, and of course, her blog.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to participate in this book tour.

Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of this book to review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Case of the Missing Mountain

  I recently joined the review team at The Homeschool Village, and am looking forward to sharing our experiences with you all. As such, here's our first HSV review:



We were recently sent a copy of The Case of the Missing Mountain, by Kim Jones. It retails for $14.99, and is an 80 page, paperback activity book, which teaches about Mount St. Helens, from a Young Earth, Creation based perspective. (This book is published by Master Books, which is a part of the New Leaf Publishing Group. They are a great source for Christian books.)

The book is full of puzzles, codes, and mazes, which teach about this particular volcano, volcanoes in general,  and various other natural phenomena in the surrounding area. There are before and after pictures of Mount St. Helens, (and the surrounding areas,)  and related experiments to do at home.

The goal in the book is to solve 7 "mysteries." At the conclusion of the book, you can print a certificate and badge to celebrate your status as a "Mystery Ranger."

At the end of the book, there is a section which connects the eruption at Mount St. Helens with the biblical flood and Noah's Ark. The premise is that the devastation, and subsequent regeneration around Mount St. Helens could be used to illustrate the the feasibility of the flood, as a real, historical event.

L, who is 6 as of last week, enjoyed working in the book. It was challenging to him as a beginning reader, and required some help from mommy. A child of 7 or 8 might be able to do much of the book independently. (Although for what it's worth, I enjoyed doing it with him. That's part of the fun of homeschooling, right?)

The pictures in the book were really interesting, especially the before and afters. The puzzles and codes captivated L, who has recently really gotten into things like word searches. The experiments are interesting and fun, but they're actually doable, meaning they don't require mom to acquire lots of exotic supplies, and they don't take hours.

L enjoyed doing the old standby, vinegar and baking soda volcano.

A a result of starting in this book, I think we're going to do a little mini unit on volcanoes. L wants to learn more. :)

We enjoyed this book, and would recommend it. It sounds as if there will be other books in the series. We'll be on the lookout for them.

As an aside, I thought the the bio I received about the author was pretty interesting, so I'm posting it as well.

About Kim Jones:  National Park Ranger Kim Jones lived adventure as a ranger at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in Washington! Interpreting mysteries of science and history to park visitors, Kim’s love of nature and adventure met a perfect match! However, in her job as a park ranger, Kim’s faith in God and belief in creation was challenged! The answer to that challenge came from an unexpected place…a mountain that had been blown to bits!

Exploring Washington, during her time off, Kim discovered the Seven Wonders Creation Museum near Mt. St. Helens. The jaw-dropping evidences of creation she learned there helped reinforce Kim’s faith and spurred her on to work at the museum and assist in guided tours of the volcanic area the next summer. That summer was when the “Mystery Rangers Series” was born.

Kim’s trail adventures along life’s path also include being a fourth grade teacher, curriculum designer and teacher for outdoor school programs, Arkansas State Park Naturalist, assistant backcountry guide and counselor and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in Outdoor Education from Northern Illinois University.

Kim’s passion for teaching children about God’s Creation in nature through hands-on experiential fun-filled activities can be seen in her first book in the Mystery Rangers Series, Mystery Rangers: The Case of the Missing Mountain, published by Masterbooks.

Kim is married to her knight in shining armor and has two cute dogs. She continues enjoying teaching about God’s Creation through writing, hands-on natural interpretation, games, and team building at outdoor camps. Kim is available for public speaking and presenting Creation Camps. See thenaturetour.com for details. 

         

Disclosure: We were provided with a review copy of this book as a part of the HSV review group. No other compensation was provided. All opinions are my own.