A Week at Outdoor Ed

For the last four years, I have been taking my fifth grade classes to Walker Creek Ranch in Marshall, California for a week of outdoor science camp. Despite the amount of work it takes to get my kids out there, this week continues to be one of my favorite weeks of the entire school year, hands down.



Student Growth

Leading up to the event, students are very nervous. Leaving their parents and comforts of their own homes, for an unknown experience can be terrifying. They don't know what the food will be like, who their roommates will be, or what their days will be filled with. They ask endless questions, and want to see pictures, and want their concerns to be heard. I do my best to address them, without giving away too many surprises about what they will encounter and experience.

My students this year really stepped up to the occasion! The majority of them were very well behaved and had a fantastic time. They pushed themselves up to the top of Walker Peak on their all day hike, and challenged themselves to do a creek crawl in the very chilly Walker Creek. They got to learn specialized science content from their naturalists, and reflected on their way of life and how they can be more connected to nature. At the closing ceremonies, the most repeated message was one of caring more about the world around them.

The absolute best part of this trip, is providing a place for my students to get out of the classroom and prove to themselves what they are capable of. Oftentimes, I get to see a whole different side of students at Walker Creek than I do in the classroom. Students who have a really hard time in the classroom, can often excel once they get outdoors. I can now recognize strengths in them that I had never seen before. I have one student who frequently struggles in class to make friends or complete school work, but at Walker Creek he became well known for his knowledge of reptiles and ability to catch lizards and classify snakes. It touches my heart to see them shine in different ways than I'm used to. They also push themselves tremendously to try new activities and foods, and make tons of new friends with students from other schools in the district. They are exhausted by the end of the week!


Teacher Growth

Not only is this week great for my students, but it's an amazing time for me as well. At this time of year, teaching 5th grade can be very challenging, believe it or not. I find myself getting more and more frustrated and tired as my students start to get more and more ready for summer, middle school, and puberty. This week with my kids totally revitalized me for the rest of the school year.

I was eating lunch with two boys from my school on Wednesday, when one boy said to me out of nowhere, "You're free out here." I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly so I asked him what he said. He repeats, "Well, at school you have to be all strict and stuff, but you're so free out here." His comment hit so close to my heart it brought a tear to my eye; I just couldn't have put it in any better words myself. Very simply, I am freed of my traditional curricular teaching duties, which frees me up to be me, do some really important bonding with my students, and provides me space for personal reflection.

One of the most tiring parts of this trip is that you must be available to your students 24 hours a day, which means they may, and they will, show up at your door at 2:30 in the morning because they're homesick or don't feel good. Fortunately for me, my class slept quite well, and my latest visitor usually came at 11:30 every night. She would get homesick most evenings and needed a little support. These nightly visits with her became one of my favorite parts of the trip. We would share stories from the day, talk about our fears, and best of all, talk about our pets at home. I would never have a chance to bond in such a way in the classroom. I think it is truly important for my students to see my "free" side, and for me to get to know them more personally and support them when they are feeling their weakest. We all have a much stronger relationship now that we know each other in a whole new light. They also got to see me stumble out of bed into the dining hall, without brushed teeth or hair, and my PJs still on...hopefully they still have some respect for me ;)

I also got to spend some time alone while hiking between student groups, or staying on infirmary duty during the day. I spent a lot of time reflecting on how lucky I am. How lucky I am to have a career that takes me to places like this. How lucky I am to be in such an incredibly beautiful place, which is literally only a few miles from my home. How lucky I am to have such a fun job, with such amazing students. How lucky I am to have such amazing colleagues, both those that were there with me (who are so strong and stayed up endless hours taking care of students and dealing with challenges all day and night), and those who were staying connected with me through Twitter and Voxer throughout the week providing support and earning me a free ticket to Google Summit! At this time in the school year, it is hard to remember all these things to be grateful for, so I am especially grateful for my time to reflect and enjoy what's going on around me.

I am exhausted and spent most of today sleeping to try to regain my energy, and I'll be working most of tomorrow to catch up from the week I was away from school, but that still doesn't change the fact that I can't wait to go again next year!