Picture it if you can: 43 4th graders come into the gym on a day that they have been told to wear clothes meant for playing and be prepared for a field trip in a local park. I tell them about Orienteering. Who likes to play in the woods? Who doesn't mind getting muddy? Who likes to play games and solve riddles? Who wants to play a game where you can never be 'wrong' but make choices that are best for you and how you see things? Who wants to play a game where the winning isn't as cool as the figuring things out and feeling successful?
And this is what they look like at the end of the day:
And these were kids that said they didn't want to run!!!
We start off with a video segment of the Arthur Show because we were filmed for that show 3 years ago. We show the kids competition equipment and clothes.
Next, we learn about maps and I show them how I made their school map with an aerial from Massachusetts GIS data
Here is their school map. We play games on that map and then have lunch.
The kids are excited and the teachers can't believe how enthusiastic EVERYONE is.
Maps do this to people- any age any background and any experience.
At the end of the fun day, everyone is exhausted and excited. Their minds are full of orienteering vocabulary and they want more. I have never had anything but positive results from what I do whether it is teaching in a school, facilitating a birthday party, creating a town wide event, or bringing it to corporate with GPS.
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