Home Grades
2-3 Adventure Classroom Overnight campouts What to Bring
Spring 2012 Adventure Classroom for
Home Schoolers (Grades 4-6)
“Every child has
inside him an aching void for excitement, and if we don’t fill it with
something which is exciting and interesting and good for him, he will fill it
with something which isn’t exciting and interesting and good for him!” (Theodore Roosevelt).
The natural world gives us
a marvelous setting in which to find this adventure, as well as experience
God’s beauty, learn new skills, and make friends. This spring, WILD GUYde
Adventures will be providing several
outdoor experiences for home-schooled students in grades 4, 5, and 6 and their
parents. Activities like rock climbing,
canoe paddling, hiking, and caving will provide outdoor opportunities for
children to experience exciting fun with friends, physical skill learning, and
fitness apart from traditional team sports.
Who is invited? Home schooled
students in grades 4, 5, and 6 and their parents. Participants do not need to be “super
athletes,” but they should be comfortable with extended vigorous activity. At least two adults will accompany each
outing.
Format: Five adventure
trips -- hiking in the National Forest*, rock climbing, flatwater
canoe skills at a lake, a canoeing river trip, and caving underground. The adventure days will provide beginner
instruction in the fundamentals of each activity. Skills will include paddle strokes, basic map
reading, rock climbing, knot tying, and outdoor safety. In
addition, this year we are again offering Frontier Scout Day – a special theme
day for this age group. And we are
leading two overnight camping trips
for boys and their fathers/mentors. On
all WILD GUYde trips, students will be introduced to Leave No
Trace principles of natural resource usage, to help them become good stewards
of God’s creation.
*Hiking locations are rotated on a biennial basis, so
last year’s participants can expect some exciting new locations!
Logistics: Adventure
Classroom groups meet in town and then travel out to activity sites by private
vehicles (parent participants). All
sites are within 60 minutes of Harrisonburg, VA.
What to bring: WILD GUYde
Adventures will provide all group and
specialized activity equipment (helmets, harnesses, ropes, canoes, etc.). A personal equipment-to-bring
list for participants will be provided.
When? Selected
weekdays in May and early June, 2012:
·
Blueberry Trail Hiking – Mon., 5/21
·
Lake Shenandoah Paddling – Wed., 5/23 (PM)
·
Rock Climbing – Thurs., 5/24
·
Caving at Kees – Tues., 5/29
or Thurs., 5/31 (pick one)
·
South Fork River Canoeing* – Tues., 6/5
·
Boys Frontier Scout – Wed., 6/6
·
Girls Frontier Scout – Thurs., 6/7
·
Hiking Campout
trip – 6/1-2
·
Fat Tire Campout (mountain biking) – 6/8-9
Overflow dates will be announced in April.
*River trip participants must first attend the Lake
Shenandoah flatwater paddling day.
How much? $22 per person for each trip, or $100 for all five. Frontier Scout Day is $40, and the Campout
trips are $50 each.
Is it safe? The outdoors
is not a safe place. Part of what adventure
means is that not all risks are eliminated.
By teaching proper skills and precautions, and using the right
equipment, we attempt to manage risk.
Participants will be asked to complete a Medical Form, and sign a
Participant Agreement acknowledging various dangers.
Memorabilia: Participants
will receive a trip card from WILD GUYde for 1 trip, and a Smokey patch if registered for all
5. Students are also encouraged to bring
a camera to save their own memories.
Sign-up: Students and
parents may register for 1, 2, 3, 4, or all 5 adventures. Day trips are limited to 12 participants
each; priority registration will be given to early commitments, and to students
registering for multiple dates. Download
a Medical Form
and a Participant
Agreement from www.wildguyde.com
, and mail with payment to WGA, 1047 Stuart St.,
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And finally, who are
these WILD
GUYdes? Lester R. Zook is a professor at
EMU, and director of the Outdoor Ministry program there. He has been leading wilderness adventures
for college students and camp groups for the past 20 years. He is a Wilderness First Responder, and is
a certified member of the American Mountain Guides Association (Single Pitch
Instructor). He and his wife Robin
have four children, attend
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Certified
Single Pitch Instructor |
This year, Frontier
Scouts will take a journey back in time to the early 1800’s, when the
Appalachian Mountains were being explored by Daniel Boone and Davy
Crockett. This special one-day adventure
will have 4th, 5th, and 6th graders learning
mountain skills like whittling, leather craft, stalking, fire-building, and
lashing. Outdoor games and learning
activities will fill the time, and students will have a take-home craft at the
end of the day. Leave-no-trace practices will be emphasized, helping children to
learn how to protect the natural environment, and be good stewards of God’s
creation. Children will also have fun at
the end of the day swimming in the river and exploring the landscape.
When: Wednesday, June 6 (boys) and Thursday June 7 (girls),
2012, meeting in Harrisonburg around 8:30 AM, and then traveling out to a
designated location in the George Washington National Forest. The event will conclude between 4 and 5 PM
(rain date, June 8).
Who: 4th, 5th, and 6th
graders (boys and girls). Participants
do not need to be “super athletes,” but they should be comfortable with a full
and vigorous day of outdoor activity.
What to bring: Outdoor clothing, a backpack (book bag style),
sweatshirt or jacket, bug repellant, outdoor footwear (hiking boots or
sneakers), a bag lunch and snack food, water (at least 1 qt, and preferably
two), a folding pocket knife (no fixed or serrated blades), swim suit, small
towel, and river shoes (old sneakers, aqua shoes, or sandals with a heel
strap). Optional items include a whistle
on a lanyard, a sharpening stone, a camera, and a coonskin cap.☺
Is it safe? The outdoors
is not a safe place. Part of what adventure
means is that not all risks are eliminated.
By teaching proper skills and precautions, and using the right
equipment, we attempt to manage risk.
Participants will be asked to complete a Medical Form, and sign a
Participant Agreement acknowledging various dangers.
Sign-up: Cost for the
day is $40, and $35 for an additional sibling. This adventure is limited to 12 students;
priority registration will be given to early commitments and family clusters.
Download a Medical
Form and a Participant Agreement from www.wildguyde.com and mail with payment to
WGA, 1047 Stuart St., Harrisonburg, VA, 22802
(check payable to WGA). To ask
questions, contact Lester Zook at 540-433-1637 or lester@wildguyde.com. Be prepared to provide name, address and
phone number, and age. 75% refund for
cancellations up to 7 days prior; no refunds thereafter.
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And finally, who are
these WILD
GUYdes? Lester R. Zook is a professor at
EMU, and director of the Outdoor Ministry program there. He has been leading wilderness adventures
for college students and camp groups for the past 20 years. He is a Wilderness
First Responder, is a certified member of the American Mountain Guides Association (Single Pitch Instructor),
and has guiding permits in the George Washington and Monongahela National
Forests. He and his wife Robin have
four children, attend Weavers Mennonite Church, and have home-schooled their
children through elementary school. Ethan
Zook has been a camp counselor and adventure leader at numerous
camps. He is a Red Cross Lifeguard, a
Virginia EMT-B, and a member of Rockingham-Augusta Search and Rescue. Aaron Zook is a climber, caver and
paddler, a Red Cross Lifeguard, and has been through Wilderness First Aid. WGA is an equal opportunity employer and provider, and
is a member of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, the National
Speleological Society, and the Access Fund.
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Single Pitch Instructor |