Fall Voyage Starring 5th Grade Discovery

      My wife, Beth, has a deep fondness for a wonderful quote by Plato.  She brought the quote to my attention when we began dating as a means to inspire our relationship to grow in a certain direction, as well as, and perhaps more importantly for me, to share a shiny sliver of how she sees the world.   I was reminded of this quote this morning when pondering how I would share the greatness of fifth grade voyage, as well as the impact it had on me, with you, the families.   The quote is this:

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
-Plato-

     The quote doesn't quite express in full what we experienced, but it comes close to capturing what I believe to be the most beneficial gain of our adventure; the cultivation of a healthy community.  
 
     There were a handful of times my eyes swelled because I witnessed a few of the greatest attributes of humanity being genuinely expressed by some of the youngest people on the planet: kindness, compassion and bravery.  My emotions ballooned for three reasons: first, I experienced a bit of pride because they are my students.  Not so much because I have inspired them, or taught them to be a certain way, but simply because I get to associate with them.  The second reason I was affected was because I was reminded of just how important, to those kids lives, my job is.  These little great people, your kids, my students, deserve the best learning experience that I can give them.  No slacking, No whining. 

     Kids typically learn how to understand the world through play.  Whether it's play constructed by adults to develop a certain skill or free form play born out of a child's interest or whim.   In my experiences when I have been witness to children playing, or part of child's play, what I witness is often small bits of a child's developing perspective and skill.  As worthy as these micro-developments may be of celebration, it's the development of a fine human characteristic to the point were it can be practiced that demands our honor.   When I witnessed my students express kindness, compassion and bravery for each other my eyes swelled because those characteristics are few of the exceptional elements that make being human beautiful.

     We are lucky to be a part of a school that respects character development as an essential and necessary part of education.  Our voyage was only four days.  But, I can assure you that in those few days we learned more about one another than we had in the first four weeks of school.  From here, our crew will only grow stronger. 

     The crew was split into two patrols and as a result of there being two halves my time with each patrol was also split.  I did not accompany the kids on their over night backpacking adventure, instead I stayed near camp to be a part of rock climbing, high ropes, zip line, Leap of Faith and Ga, Ga Ball.  Below are a few of the images I snapped.   There are many, many more images posted on Educo's website.   There are over two thousand images.  Yes, incredibly overwhelming.  If you are interested, my suggestion is to look for the images where the kids are anchored to a safety rope.

     I had a wonderful time, and as far as I could tell, so did each of your children.   I hope I can make time in the next few weeks, while the memories are fresh,  to share with each of you bits about what I learned about your child.

 

Food Line.  Ellie and Justin cooked and then served.  

 

Aiden and Sarah under the moon.

Absorbin' the vista

Lots of things to move from one bag to another.

Garage Sale!

Feelin' good about the overnight backpack.

                                        Galapagos Lizard Patrol.  Ask to hear their chant.

                                     Cooper learning how to orientate.   Next step compass.

  Cole pushin' through the crux of the climb.

Aidan pondering his next move. Up or Down?

 

Kaytee pushing through the fear.

Sarah working hard to stay focused and calm.

                 

 Camden and Cooper problem-solving.

 Hailey pleased to be heading out for an overnight.

 Conner leaning under the weight of his pack.

 Emma sharing favorite part, most challenging part and part that required most team-work post high ropes course.

 The Lizards Patrol learning how to orientate from Mr. Tom.

 Jolie trouble-shooting how to get from one place to another during orientation class.

 Hailey and Tiernan hangin' out waiting their turn to climb real rock.

     Alex, Aiden and Gregory prepared to climb the "big wall." 

Only someone with a dirt mustache can think this hard.

Acid River, Growth Circles and Piles of Gear

       I wish that I could have my camera strapped to my eye at all times.  There were so many wonderful "desisive moments" that I long to be able to share with you, that just didn't get photographed.   Like when our five 6th grade crew members created, and then performed, Lost in the Mountains: Being Prepared v. Not Being Prepared.  An excellent skit designed to teach the 5th graders about the differences between synthetic/wool clothing and cotton; a fine piece worthy of a second performance.  A few other classic moments from the week that I wish I had images to support was the Growth Circle activity (emotional) and the gear check (crazy).  

     Our crew spent the last week divided between academics and prepping for 5th grade voyage.   Part of preparing is dividing the crew into two patrols.   Once divided the patrols will spend the week at EDUCO working together to overcome and process through challenging moments, develop leadership and relationships.    Below are a few snap shots from some of the weeks voyage prep.

 Problem Solving the Acid River

 The kids figured out a variety of ways to use the "magic shoes"

 Proud!

The X's indicate were the kids are now, mentally.  Upon our return the kids will reevaluate their position.  The center ring symbolizes the Comfort Zone, the next ring out is the Growth Zone and the outer ring symbolizes the Panic Zone.   Climbing outdoors has many kids feeling challenged.  The Growth Zone is the place to be for optimal learning. 

Gear, gear, gear, gear.

Field Work at Botanical Gardens

     This past Wednesday our crew traveled to the Denver Botanical Gardens were our focus was to explore the relationship between the sculptural art-works and Wabi-Sabi, and by default practice critical-thinking skills.
  
 Our time at the DBG was limited but our experience was great.  We meandered through most of the garden but spent most of our time observing and questioning from three pre-specified locations.  The heat was oppressive, conversations were rich and humorous and contemplation was deep.  Everyone was focused, respectful and inquisitive. 

 Look closely.  There's a handful of our crew in the middle of the sculpture, up on the hill.

 Practicing looking more closely.

Record sheets help develop a students "critical thinking" skills.

Hooked on the Japanese Garden, and the one-turtle show.

Part our crew, part Mr. Josh's and part Ms. Lisa's.   

Beautiful sculpture by Tetsunori Kawana

Pleased with our mornings success.