Thirty minutes and a dish towel. Learn a three-motion code from 1911, spell a secret word across the room, and learn what to do today if you really need help.
Dad Field Manual editors · Drafted with AI help · Published Oct 15, 2026
A dish towel, bandana or flag on a short stickHave
Paper and pencil for the code chart and messageHave
A flashlight for the dark-room round (optional)Have
Where: Two people facing each other across a room, 10 to 20 feet apart.
Before you start
Clear the swing space. The sender swings an arm to each side, so keep furniture and other people out of reach.
No hard sticks. Use a towel in the hand, or a flag on a short cardboard tube or a wooden spoon, not a broom handle.
Never shine a flashlight into anyone's eyes.
02Steps
Learn the three motions
Dad showsHold the flag straight up. Motion 1 is a sweep out to the sender's right and back. Motion 2 is a sweep to the left and back. Motion 3, called front, is a dip straight down and back up.
Read the code chart
TogetherWrite a short chart on paper. E is 1 2. T is 2. I is 1. A is 2 2. N is 1 1. O is 2 1. S is 2 1 2. Send 3 after a word. Pause briefly after each letter.
Send your first letters
KidThe kid stands across the room and sends T, then E, then N, with a pause between letters and a 3 at the end. Dad reads the motions out loud and writes down the letters. Does it say TEN?
Spell SOS
TogetherSend S, O, S: 2 1 2, 2 1, 2 1 2. Talk about what SOS means and why the letters were chosen for a call for help.
Swap and send a secret word
TogetherTake turns. Each picks a short word from the chart letters, sends it and the other reads it. Keep it to E, T, I, A, N, O and S, such as SEA or TOES.
Dark-room round
TogetherTurn off the light and send with a flashlight, swinging the beam right, left and down the same way. Whoever reads the word first wins.
03If it stalls
If the receiver can't tell 1 from 2, make the swings bigger and slower.
Pauses matter more than speed. A fast sender with no pauses is unreadable.
Let the kid pick the first word. They'll work harder to read their own.
04Variations
Ages 5–6
Just three signals: 1 for yes, 2 for no and 3 for come here. Ask yes or no questions across the room.
Ages 7–9
The full plan.
Ages 10+
Extend the chart with the rest of the alphabet from the 1911 book, and send a full sentence, with a 3 after each word.
A field card like this one for the weekend, one quick plan for a weeknight, and nothing else. Free. The first letter hasn't gone out yet. Sign up now and you'll get it.
One weekend plan every Friday. We never sell your address, and every letter has a one-click unsubscribe. See a sample issue · Privacy
1911 scouting handbook, pp. 204–206. The 1911 book gives a wig-wag (Myer) code where each letter is a pattern of 1s and 2s, with 3 for the end of a word. It describes one position (flag upright) and three motions: right, left and down in front, with a slight pause after each letter. Project Gutenberg (public domain in the USA) Checked Oct 15, 2026
Whistle and flashlight distress signals today. The National Park Service Outdoor Emergency Plan says to stay put if you cannot retrace your steps, call 911, blow a whistle three times, take a break and blow three times again, and flash a flashlight in the SOS pattern: three quick, three slow, three quick. National Park Service Checked Oct 15, 2026
Dad Field Manual · Field card 67 · Classic Field Skills
Send secret words with the wig-wag code
Thirty minutes and a dish towel. Learn a three-motion code from 1911, spell a secret word across the room, and learn what to do today if you really need help.
Time
30 min
Cost
$0
Ages
7 and up
Where
A big room or hallway
Since 1911: Wig-wag flag signaling is a game today, not a rescue method. If you are lost or hurt outdoors, stay put, call 911 if you can, and signal with a whistle (three blasts, pause, repeat) or a flashlight (three quick, three slow, three quick flashes).
What you need
A dish towel, bandana or flag on a short stick
Paper and pencil for the code chart and message
A flashlight for the dark-room round (optional)
Before you start
Clear the swing space. The sender swings an arm to each side, so keep furniture and other people out of reach.
No hard sticks. Use a towel in the hand, or a flag on a short cardboard tube or a wooden spoon, not a broom handle.
Never shine a flashlight into anyone's eyes.
Steps
Learn the three motions. Hold the flag up. 1 is a sweep right, 2 a sweep left, 3 a dip down.
Read the code chart. Copy the chart: E=12, T=2, I=1, A=22, N=11, O=21, S=212, and 3 ends a word.
Send your first letters. Send T, E, N with a pause between letters, then 3. Dad reads them back.
Spell SOS. Send S-O-S as 212, 21, 212.
Swap and send a secret word. Take turns sending short secret words with the chart letters.
Dark-room round. Dim the room and send the same motions with a flashlight beam.
If it stalls
If the receiver can't tell 1 from 2, make the swings bigger and slower.
Pauses matter more than speed. A fast sender with no pauses is unreadable.
