Today Jen and I taught co-op. When we put our heads together we come up with some colorful ideas. We thought it would be fun to have Outdoor Skills Day. Since we don't want pre-K through second grade getting freaked out about being lost and alone in the woods, we toned it down. Made it more campy. First they paired off in groups and were given a sheet of paper with codes that showed pictures of stick, stone and leaf markers that they would have to locate on a trail through the neighborhood. Everyone made it home.
Then Jen read a story by the fire. How cool is it to do school by the campfire?!
Andy followed with a demonstration about primitive shelter building . The kids helped finish the shelter by adding more pine boughs and tree limbs. After, they all got to try "sleeping" in the shelter. No one got rained or snowed on.
Then Jen set up a relay race with two teams. Each person in the team was responsible for getting a set of layered clothing, taking it off, then passing it along to the next teammate. I forgot that most of these kids just learned to dress themselves. It was hilarious watching them put on eight different items. The last kid had to put it all on and zip themselves in a sleeping bag.
Finally, our food element. We displayed on a tray some edible foods that can be found in the forest. The kids sampled berries, and dandelion leaves. Somehow there were no takers on the ants and worms. Andy showed the kids how to cook with fire. Everyone made ash cakes and buried them under ashes and embers to cook into something that is similar to a English muffin. It is topped with generous amounts of butter and honey.
The height of the event was when Jen and I showed our true survivor skills by roasting and eating crickets. It wasn't too bad. They have a nice nutty, crunchy flavor.
I think we're ready to take them camping.
1 comment:
Wish I could just hire you to teach my children. You're awesome!
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