25 Missions to teach your children aged 5 to 15 resourcefulness, responsibility, and independence in a unique fun way. We focus the activities for kids on a particular skill such as service, entrepreneurship, outdoor survival, vehicle maintenance, woodworking, saving money, creative thinking. For instance, in Operation Timbuktu your cadet (child) will provide complete navigation instructions for their driver to and from a destination of their choosing. In the MacGyver challenge, their neighboring town is being overrun by a rare colony of Egyptian Gas Ants. Will you be able to build a mechanism to deliver the antidote from the lab surviving a 6-foot drop?
The missions are standalone activities that provide just enough information and reference all the relevant resources to complete. Give your children permission to succeed or fail on their own merit. They’ll have fun doing it and feel a real sense of pride and accomplishment at the conclusion. Technology use is minimal and if included is only for mission planning. We crafted the tone and language of the individual missions for boys but there is no reason girls can’t take part. Most of the missions would be relevant and interesting for boys and girls alike.
While the cadet is completing the missions, they are earning Man Points. At the conclusion of the missions if they’ve earned enough points they qualify for the Celebration of Man, a fun-filled event to reward their achievements.
Inside the book you’ll find two sections. The parent guide providing instructions for running the missions with feedback and instruction for each task. The cadet guide is for kids only and includes a standalone mission briefing and instructions. The missions are style after military field manuals with entertaining illustrations and engaging backstories. If you’re looking for compelling summer activities for your boy, then you’ve found your book. These missions also work well for school vacations or even long weekends.
- Operation Timbuktu: Navigate a Mechanized Vehicle to a Fixed Way Point
- Operation Metaknife: Learn Knife Skills and Whittle a Letter Opener
- Operation Good Neighbor: Help Out a Neighbor in Need
- Operation Inferno: Build and Start a Fire
- Operation Packmule: Ready Your Gear for Travel and Load Vehicle
- Operation Pennypinch: Saving for a Big Ticket Item
- Operation Rise and Shine: Prepare Breakfast for Your Squad
- Operation Brokenspoke: Overhaul and Maintain Your Bicycle
- Operation Gas Pumper: Fuel the Squad Transport
- Operation Kickstart: Start a Kid Small Business
- Operation Condor: Build a Birdhouse
- Operation Cleansweep: Ready and Clean Your Living Quarters
- Operation Knot My Job: Knot Tying in the Heat of Battle
- Operation Avocation: Research and Develop a New Hobby
- Operation Perseverance: Design and Keep a Physical Fitness Goal
- Operation Wheels on the Bus: Utilize Public Transport to Reach a Destination
- The Macgyver Challenge: Save the Village from Noxious Gas Ants
- Operation Falling Water: Build a Water Balloon Launcher
- Operation Correspondence: Write a Letter to a Relative
- Operation Foxhole: Dig a Fighting Hole to Survive a Frontal Assault
- Operation Time Crisis: Manage Your Teams Schedule and Save the Town
- Operation Safe House: Build an Emergency Shelter
- Operation Blowout: Replace a Tire on a Mechanized Vehicle
- Operation Bugout: Embark on an Overnight Outdoor Deployment
- Operation Skidmark: Perform Laundry Operations