It is time to rewind here a bit to the 4th Grade Field Trip to Durbuy. Currently, I am at a coffee shop and have the time to really give the story its due credit!
I would have NEVER guessed that I would have received the biggest bruise of my life while chaperoning the outdoor education experience with 9 and 10 year-olds! The irony is that I have spent the majority of my life on some sort of athletic field, but all my past "beauty marks" are not even in the same league.
Day One:
We arrived on a Monday and the first activity was kayaking along a very small river. All 112 students were fitted in a 2 person kayak, placed with a friend, and they were off in a kayak for a 10 k float. Now, 10 k for some of the students was a MAJOR undertaking!! The teachers and Durbuy staff were sent out intermittently to watch the students. The person in the back of the kayak is the driver and has to have their act together to manuever the boat accurately. Let me tell you it was bumper cars at first!! Kids were steering into the banks of the river and finally (most) of them were able to get the hang of it and navigate in a forward manner together.
Those that were not able to paddle efficiently were eventually "picked up" by the Durbuy staff members and were attached to the main boat and could just ride along without having to paddle. By the end, it was a full train of yellow kayaks and kids attached together at the caboose of our group :) Along the way, several kayaks had overturned and the kids either took shelter to the side or were rescued by other teacher or kid boats. I would say there were 5 boats this happened to.
We were close to the end of the float when I came upon two students on the side of the bank that had overturned. I paddled to the side and the students were safe and okay. We waited and motioned for two boats to come over and pick up the stranded students. Off they went. As I was putting my kayak back into the river (drum roll please.........) sure enough, I tipped entirely over and went for a swim! Aaaaaaaagghhhh... I quickly stood up to be in waist deep water, but my kayak had filled up. Now, it was my turn to be rescued! Eventually, another staff member came over and grabbed me.
This was NOT even the moment I received my bruise! When I flipped I had on 3 layers on top and two on the bottom as it was a chilly day. Also, I had on a backpack of supplies and my cell phone to contact other teachers in the event of an emergency. The cell phone did not like the splash of water and kicked the bucket. The good news is that the kids had a great time, the WARM shower later felt great, and the school reimbursed me to purchase another phone.
Day Two:
The next set of activities broke the kids up into smaller groups for Via Ferreta, Caving, and Mountain Biking. Via Ferreta is smiliar to rock climbing and is an Italian Phrase that refers to steel cables that are attached into mountains. Climbers use cables to manuever from point to point. There were 2 teachers that are very experienced Via Ferreta climbers and they stayed at the activity to lend out their expertise. I was moved over to mountain biking.
We finally fitted the children with helmets and biked for our group of 35 or so. We proceeded on a ride of about 10 k. Again, 10 K for some students was a MAJOR undertaking!! The experience definately pushed some kids and others were asking for more. Part of the ride was on this fairly busy rode with some cars. Now, we had a safety talk first and were motioning the students to stay to the right. With the inexperience of some of the riders, kids were drifting to the middle at times to get their bike going.
A car with a trailor of some sort was coming towards the group. I happened to be in the middle of the pack so the car HAD CLEARLY passed some children on bikes in front of us. I was stunned by the speed of the vehicle. Now, we had literally just crossed over a 1 way bridge that was a switchback. My mind immediately thought that I need to turn around and quickly stop the next set of riders from going over the bridge to let the car pass. I did just this. However, as I was in front of the car, the car was putting some pressure on me and making me uncomfortable! As I was passing the bridge myself with the car VERY close on my tail, I turned around and motioned to AGAIN slow down. I was quite irritated that this car was being this unsafe around the bridge and children. As I motioned for the car to again slow down, I rounded the corner after the bridge and hit a pot hole. Off I went over my handle bars and flopped to the ground! There were 3 students who witnessed this. One of them is an emergent English speaker and speaks mostly French. She happened to be one of the students and she said, "Okay!" I quickly got up and the car did not even stop. Both my coat and shirt under my coat had wripped. I was left with a banged up elbow and "The Bruise" from where bike seat had fallen on top of me!
It was quite a day to say the least. The next day I was asked to go with the mountain biking again and two other teachers and I said surely if the route is changed to eliminate the traffic concerns. The next route was beautiful and we were on trails along the river :)
All in all the kids had a fantastic trip. We are doing narrative writing pieces about their adventures and can not wait to hear how some of their stories turn out! I am left with some good material of my own to share :)
I would have NEVER guessed that I would have received the biggest bruise of my life while chaperoning the outdoor education experience with 9 and 10 year-olds! The irony is that I have spent the majority of my life on some sort of athletic field, but all my past "beauty marks" are not even in the same league.
Day One:
We arrived on a Monday and the first activity was kayaking along a very small river. All 112 students were fitted in a 2 person kayak, placed with a friend, and they were off in a kayak for a 10 k float. Now, 10 k for some of the students was a MAJOR undertaking!! The teachers and Durbuy staff were sent out intermittently to watch the students. The person in the back of the kayak is the driver and has to have their act together to manuever the boat accurately. Let me tell you it was bumper cars at first!! Kids were steering into the banks of the river and finally (most) of them were able to get the hang of it and navigate in a forward manner together.
Those that were not able to paddle efficiently were eventually "picked up" by the Durbuy staff members and were attached to the main boat and could just ride along without having to paddle. By the end, it was a full train of yellow kayaks and kids attached together at the caboose of our group :) Along the way, several kayaks had overturned and the kids either took shelter to the side or were rescued by other teacher or kid boats. I would say there were 5 boats this happened to.
We were close to the end of the float when I came upon two students on the side of the bank that had overturned. I paddled to the side and the students were safe and okay. We waited and motioned for two boats to come over and pick up the stranded students. Off they went. As I was putting my kayak back into the river (drum roll please.........) sure enough, I tipped entirely over and went for a swim! Aaaaaaaagghhhh... I quickly stood up to be in waist deep water, but my kayak had filled up. Now, it was my turn to be rescued! Eventually, another staff member came over and grabbed me.
This was NOT even the moment I received my bruise! When I flipped I had on 3 layers on top and two on the bottom as it was a chilly day. Also, I had on a backpack of supplies and my cell phone to contact other teachers in the event of an emergency. The cell phone did not like the splash of water and kicked the bucket. The good news is that the kids had a great time, the WARM shower later felt great, and the school reimbursed me to purchase another phone.
Day Two:
The next set of activities broke the kids up into smaller groups for Via Ferreta, Caving, and Mountain Biking. Via Ferreta is smiliar to rock climbing and is an Italian Phrase that refers to steel cables that are attached into mountains. Climbers use cables to manuever from point to point. There were 2 teachers that are very experienced Via Ferreta climbers and they stayed at the activity to lend out their expertise. I was moved over to mountain biking.
We finally fitted the children with helmets and biked for our group of 35 or so. We proceeded on a ride of about 10 k. Again, 10 K for some students was a MAJOR undertaking!! The experience definately pushed some kids and others were asking for more. Part of the ride was on this fairly busy rode with some cars. Now, we had a safety talk first and were motioning the students to stay to the right. With the inexperience of some of the riders, kids were drifting to the middle at times to get their bike going.
A car with a trailor of some sort was coming towards the group. I happened to be in the middle of the pack so the car HAD CLEARLY passed some children on bikes in front of us. I was stunned by the speed of the vehicle. Now, we had literally just crossed over a 1 way bridge that was a switchback. My mind immediately thought that I need to turn around and quickly stop the next set of riders from going over the bridge to let the car pass. I did just this. However, as I was in front of the car, the car was putting some pressure on me and making me uncomfortable! As I was passing the bridge myself with the car VERY close on my tail, I turned around and motioned to AGAIN slow down. I was quite irritated that this car was being this unsafe around the bridge and children. As I motioned for the car to again slow down, I rounded the corner after the bridge and hit a pot hole. Off I went over my handle bars and flopped to the ground! There were 3 students who witnessed this. One of them is an emergent English speaker and speaks mostly French. She happened to be one of the students and she said, "Okay!" I quickly got up and the car did not even stop. Both my coat and shirt under my coat had wripped. I was left with a banged up elbow and "The Bruise" from where bike seat had fallen on top of me!
It was quite a day to say the least. The next day I was asked to go with the mountain biking again and two other teachers and I said surely if the route is changed to eliminate the traffic concerns. The next route was beautiful and we were on trails along the river :)
All in all the kids had a fantastic trip. We are doing narrative writing pieces about their adventures and can not wait to hear how some of their stories turn out! I am left with some good material of my own to share :)
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