Fall Voyage

Our Fall Voyage was wonderful! We had perfect weather up there. The White Tigers and the Bronco Kittens had a great time, challenged themselves and learned so much. Of course, while they loved all of the activities, they also loved riding the bus and sleeping in the cabins.

Here is a link to our crew photo album which has lots of photos from our Voyage - chaperones airdropped their photos to me at camp (they wanted you to know that they did not clean up the shots of the ground, etc.  -  you will be seeing all of our photos - the good, the bad, and the amazing. We have some talented photographers in our crew. Then below the link are descriptions of the activities that we did during our Voyage:

Ms. Jill's Crew Fall Voyage Photo Album

Highlights for the Crew

• Riding the chartered bus - that, yes, had its own bathroom - that yes, almost all of us had to try out
• Sleeping on bunk beds in the cabins
• Obstacle Course
• Two students lost teeth
• Hanging out with their crew

Highlights for the Teachers

• Watching the kids help each other out so often and being so kind to each other.
• Seeing how much the crew enjoyed being with each other.
• Watching the crew respond to our suggestions and directions about how to make the experience better.

Why do we have a Fall Voyage?

We have a Fall Voyage for many reasons.

• We take voyages to push students just a little bit out of their comfort zone. Real learning occurs when you are pushed out of your comfort zone and are challenged to try things you have not done before. For some first graders the biggest challenge is simply being away from home for a night and learning that they can trust other adults and themselves. For others the challenge is being responsible for themselves and their gear instead of counting on mom or dad to keep track of everything. Most are challenged in some way by the activities of the voyage. They must learn to work together, show perseverance when trying to find solutions to challenging problems, push themselves physically, and start to show independence in an age-appropriate manner.
• I love the voyages because I get to see the students in a completely different environment and see other strengths that they have that might not show up in a classroom.
• The voyages are also a great place for the students to practice the social skills that we have been working so hard to learn in class. Students also bring back some of the confidence and new skills that they learned on the trip and are able to apply them to academic learning.
• We also all form tight bonds as a crew and are able to work very well together for the rest of the school year.

What did we do at Camp Elim?

In addition to eating, sleeping, packing, unpacking and taking care of ourselves, we also had time for some learning and some fun. Listed below are the activities we did along with a very short description.


Initiatives (Problem Solving Challenges)

Web of Life - During this activity, we learned a little bit about how plants and animals depend on each other and their environment.

Camouflage Hide and Seek - A unique version of hide and seek that can be played in a wooded area. We learned about predators and prey in this fun game.

Nature Hunt at the Lake - This was a beautiful walk around a lake.

Recreational Activities

Alphabet Hike - During the hike we had to look for things that started with each letter of the alphabet.

Obstacle Course – There were several physical challenges at this station. This activity was a huge hit with the crew.

Solo Hike – The hike was very short and we stopped in a nice area filled with space and trees. The kids chose spots within a set boundary and they sat by themselves just thinking, reflecting, writing or drawing about the Voyage and what they had learned.

Thank You Chaperones!
We had a fantastic group of chaperones this year and we so appreciate their time and help on this Voyage. We couldn't have done it without them! Thanks to:

Ms. April (Delanie's mom)
Ms. Heather (Roark's mom)
Ms. Jennifer (Avery's mom)
Ms. Shannon (Rhys' mom)
Mr. John (Sadie's dad)
Mr. Josh (Dekker's dad)
Mr. Justin (Violet's dad)
Mr. Nick (Harper's dad)

And, of course, much thanks to Ms. Cate and Mr. Ken for all of their support and consistently positive attitudes and smiles!