Early this month the Uinta class (Upper Elementary, 9-12 year olds) embarked on a great adventure to Fremont Indian State Park as part of their Great Outdoors Expedition. The students have spent time in the classroom studying the Fremont Indians and on GO they have given attention to human interaction with nature and so this was a great way to culminate their studies as they walked the trails and read the stories of the Fremont Indians while eating and sleeping in the out of doors. Students, teachers and parent chaperones worked together to create a comfortable camp space and prepare delicious meals to be shared.
On the first full day of our visit, we drove a short distance to Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort where we practiced making fire, zip lined, and struggled our way through the ropes course. According to BRCMR, “these activities are designed to encourage self confidence as participants work through the various challenges, and also promote working as a team to achieve goals.” Everyone had a really great time with the activities provided and definitely felt the stretch of working as a team on activities that were out of the every day comfort.
Other time on the trip was spent hiking, exploring the petroglyphs and pictographs and playing nature and team building games. The students prepared pottery before the trip to be placed in the pit fire, which produced really amazing results. On Wednesday evening Donda shared stories of Native Americans around the camp fire and Giuliana played a soothing piece on the flute. The students entertained with jokes, games and stories but it seemed that the most enjoyed part of the trip was exploring the land near the camp site during free time.
Many thanks to the teachers and parents who worked tirelessly to make this trip possible. The time students in our programs spend out in the greater community is of huge benefit to their experience and education.