instructours

Posted on 9/22/09

I conduct student tours (normally 4th-9th grade)
professionally and often 'hike' through places like Arlington
National Cemetery (usually a three hour experience) and
national parks.

Here are the 'duhs':
Dress: Proper shoes and socks - very important!
Insect repellant and sunscreen.
Bottle of water.
Hat.

Here are some personal 'tips':

A supportive buddy system of at least three students:
Students responsible for each other in a supportive way who
will encourage and monitor one another as well as inform you
if there is a 'situation'. If there is a 'situation', one
student will run to you, and the other will stay with the
affected student.

A buddy group that will always be in the back of the entire
group to insure no one lags behind. When you see that group,
you will know automatically that no one else is behind them.

A buddy group counting system: Have each group choose their
own name and at each stop, gather the students and have a
group count by names: DO NOT assign numbers to each student
and have them call off numbers at each stop - that is very
time consuming!
Give them something to look for during the walk.

At each meeting, introduce some of the trees, plants, and
animals they might encounter - especially poison ivy, oak,
and sumac! They can look up some of these yopics in advance
on the internet.

This is also a good time to introduce some earth science:
rocks, and land formation.

Discuss weather conditions and types of clouds and formations.

Perhaps you will be in an historic area, give a brief history.

Teach them one song, but also instill in them the value of
listening to the birds, insects, and the wind in the trees!
Silence for part of the walk would be a wonderful exercise!

Take time to 'smell the roses'!

Enjoy!

On 9/22/09, Jenny :) wrote:
> Hi everyone! I'm not sure this is the best board for my
> questions, but it seemed the closest fit.
>
> I'm starting up a hiking club with my school, for 4th-5th
> graders. We will have one planning mtg. and one club hike
> per month. We will hike closeby after school, or, on a
> special occasion, we will travel 45ish minutes on a
> Saturday to hike on the MD AT, for a little bit of a longer
> hike. We do not have buses/vans, so the children will be
> driving separately (via their parents). I'm wondering if
> there are any schools out there that have hiking clubs,
> because I'm looking for any help I can get. I have a lot
> of hiking experience, am CPR certified, and Wilderness
> First Aid Certified. I've never taked a group out though,
> so any help would be appreciated, any ideas for topics to
> cover, any ideas of guidelines to have (ex: if there is a
> hiker behind or in front wanting to pass, we will stop,
> step to the side, and let them pass). Thanks sooo much!!

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