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Hi everyone!! I'm an elementary school teacher and will be starting a hiking club at the school where I teach. It will include only 4th and 5th graders (9-10ish years old). We will meet twice a month, once for planning and other info (focusing on different Leave No Trace concepts such as being prepared, etc... . We will also talk about first aid. ) The other day will be the hike day. We will meet at the trailhead (no buses/school vans) and hike for about an hour. I'm looking for any help you can offer. I have decent hiking experience. I'm wondering if any of you out there have any ideas of other topics we can explore on their level during the planning meeting, or anything else you can help with. For Marylanders, we will be hiking in Patapsco Valley SP.(and one longer weekend hike to the AT near Frederick)..our school is just outside the city on the SW side. So any other ideas of places very close by where we can hike would be appreciated. Thanks so much!! Happy trails!
Feral Bill
09-20-2009, 21:13
Best of luck with this worthy venture. Don't underestimate the little guys.
LIhikers
09-20-2009, 22:57
Let me suggest you contact a Whiteblaze member named gsingjane, you can find her on the members list. I know she runs hikes and backpacking trips for girl scouts. I would be surprised if she didn't have some good advice for you.
You may want to look into insurance for your group, especially if this is a school sponsored organization. You might be able to get some through your local boy scout troop very cheaply. Around $10 per student.
hikingshoes
09-20-2009, 23:27
Ms.Lilred is on to something there.Id also have some consent forums to cover your organization.Plus a detailed list on the courses,P.O.C.lists on who to call,and a chain of com.(copy for mom/dad).maybe alittle over the top.but thats my 2cents.Hope it helps.Charles:)
You may want to look into insurance for your group, especially if this is a school sponsored organization. You might be able to get some through your local boy scout troop very cheaply. Around $10 per student.
bigcranky
09-21-2009, 07:46
Ditto on the legal stuff, unfortunately. Have you checked with the school system attorney? He or she should be able to tell you if you are covered should someone get injured.
On a lighter note, that's a great age to get into natural history, biology, botany, geology, etc. Bring binoculars, a hand lens, field guides on all sorts of topics -- birds, flowers, herps, etc. Get in the creeks and look for crayfish and mayfly larvae and salamanders. Hoot for owls, pan for gold, stand on top of a hill and name every mountain (or town) that they can see. Bring maps and compasses and teach navigation (on trail of course.)
Have fun.
warraghiyagey
09-21-2009, 08:08
Hi Peanut!! :sun:sun
Hi everyone!! I'm an elementary school teacher and will be starting a hiking club at the school where I teach. It will include only 4th and 5th graders (9-10ish years old). We will meet twice a month, once for planning and other info (focusing on different Leave No Trace concepts such as being prepared, etc... . We will also talk about first aid. ) The other day will be the hike day. We will meet at the trailhead (no buses/school vans) and hike for about an hour. I'm looking for any help you can offer. I have decent hiking experience. I'm wondering if any of you out there have any ideas of other topics we can explore on their level during the planning meeting, or anything else you can help with. For Marylanders, we will be hiking in Patapsco Valley SP.(and one longer weekend hike to the AT near Frederick)..our school is just outside the city on the SW side. So any other ideas of places very close by where we can hike would be appreciated. Thanks so much!! Happy trails!
Upper Loch Raven Reservoir,
Gun powder State park,
Gwynns falls trail start at the park and ride at I 70 and security blvd
and the McKeldin portion of Patapsco State Park nice little falls, deer everywhere and the trail will work their legs out. Also there's alot nice picnic areas
Led a Sierra Club hike this weekend. An 8 year old girl showed up with her mom. We went 6 miles with a swimming hole stop at lunch. The little girl was a great hiker. Never complained. She brought a long a small blown-glass seal and insisted on swimming in the creek with it. Naturally she lost it and was in tears. But someone found it and saved the day. Hopefully she learned her lesson.
sheepdog
09-21-2009, 16:08
They might have fun trying to hang a bear bag or learn how to pitch different types of tents.
Ladytrekker
09-21-2009, 16:57
My two cents. Try to research what kind of birds are in the area and no them and try to identify the flora and fauna. My son loved to learn the names of birds and then we bought a book tried to identify what we saw like lichen, mushrooms, fungus it is fun to learn what they are. Have fun.
Pay them a penny (nickel, dime, whatever) for each piece of trash they pick up. A pedometer might make it fun as well.
Dances with Mice
09-21-2009, 20:06
I haven't used one myself so I'm not clear on how they work so this might or might not be a cheap idea.... like I don't know if you can download the photos yourself or if you have to pay to get your photos.
Have each hiker bring one of those one-use digital cameras to record their hike. Back at school have a photo contest graded by the class. Give small hiking gifts (Nalgene, compass, emergency whistle) as prizes.
How many kids do you think will be on the hikes? What will the children to adult ratio be? I would be sure to include tips on how to hike in a large group and set protocols on how an individual will signal others when/if they are separated from the group. For instance once you lose sight of the individual to your front the an immediate stop should occur and a signal such as a whistle should be blown to signal ahead to turn back and regroup. I have two active kids and know that it is hard enough to keep them in line and on the move so I could imagine hiking with a group of kids.
Thanks everyone!! Great ideas....keep 'em coming!! I'll have no more than 9 kids with me (probably less), and most likely at least one other adult. Thanks for all the advice or hints, no matter how small they might seem. I appreciate it!
Feral Bill
09-21-2009, 23:30
I would never take other peoples kids out without another adult. Too much liability.
one in the lead, one sweep. Getting to the road near dark with kids missing is no fun. Trust me.
If you are camping during the school year, tarps are ideal. They are fun for kids to set up and you can always see what's going on inside.
Thanks! Any other thoughts?
Since my son and I are starting to do a lot more backpacking, I thought I would try and start up a Backpacking Group locally in the West and Middle Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and South East Missouri area.
I just want to see if I could get any people interested in a backpacking group.
If anyone is interested just message me and I will start putting a list together.
Thanks,
J
OOPS sorry my mistake I wanted to make my post a NEW THREAD. Please delete I dont want to hijack someone else thread. I will start a new one
My apologize
Issue them mason jars with hole punches in the lids and see who can catch the most interesting bugs, the most bugs, the smallest, the largest, the most colorful bug, etc.
As others have brought up, you'll have more trouble with the parents than the kids, unfortunately. Get permission slips from parents, detailing what they are allowing their kids to do. If it's officially school sanctioned, they may already have insurance coverage, but check to make sure such activity is covered.
YoungMoose
09-23-2009, 18:53
Thats a cool idea. Just get your legal stuff in order. I am thinking of how to get a hiking club in my school becuase there isnt anything like that. I know for my school you need to propose the idea to the board of education and all of that stuff. Also i just need to find a teacher who is willing to do it. Good luck im sure that kids will think that its a cool idea so they will try it and love it.
Wolf - 23000
09-24-2009, 06:19
Hi Peanut,
You could plan like an environmental game with the kids. For example, find a nice place where you can spread out a little (not much). Give the kids a small arear about 2 square feet and have them explain as if they were an ant. Give the kids a few minutes to think about it. At a young age, I would let them pair up with a partner. It lets their minds wonder. Even the simple things can be something important if you were an ant - a log might be their home, a leaf could be a sun roof, etc. It's fun to see what kids come up with.
Hopes this helps,
Wolf
A compass course.
Even if its just from one tree to another in a small area.
You can teach a lot of simple geometry around that.
The Weasel
09-24-2009, 10:39
Since you're a teacher, it's safe to assume you know most of the stuff about how to organize such things, and that your administration is watching the rest of it.
As for making hikes enjoyable with youth, go to the nearest Boy Scout Service Center, also known as a "Council Office." They have a "Scout Store" that will have Cub Scout materials, many of which will involve hiking and outdoor activities. Look for the ones described as "Webelos", which is the 10 year old age group. You'll get a lot of useful information from those, without having to join Scouting.
One thing not to do is to "overplan" the hikes. 10 year olds want to explore on their own, but they also can be very nervous about "the wild" (even very un-wild) areas. So let them 'be themselves' somewhat. Some will check out every tree, others will stay close to adults. Just let it happen. Don't make it a 'forced march' but use the idea of 'smiles not miles'. At that age group, don't plan a hike of more than about 5 miles. That will take you about 4 hours with 10 year olds, if you don't make them "keep up" constantly. (Yes, you need to encourage dawdlers.)
TW
Rocket Jones
09-24-2009, 11:31
Maps! Draw a simple map of a small area, maybe the size of a meadow or trail junction near a creek. Then use photocopies of real maps where you can show the kids how the terrain matches the map (peaks, trails, creeks, etc).
beakerman
09-24-2009, 12:29
basic orienteering--just getting around on a course you don't have to complicate it by having measurements of tree diameters and such just identify the tree species. One of the things we used to do when I was a youngun was do pole numbers. We had a park that had a powerline run through it, the big double wooden pole type, and we had to go from pole to pole and write the number for each pole down. If we were on the wrong pole it was obvious and the poles were close enough together you had to be careful not to get the wrong one--aiming at the left hand pole of a pair 100 yards away is a challenge especially if youdon;t know which pole you are supposed to be aiming for you just have a compass bearing and distance.