Education in the Great Outdoors

Adventure education is all about doing and not just teaching. It's about solving the problem and taking the lesson from it as you go. Molded after rope courses, climbing walls, and initiative problems created by the military, adventure education offered for teen groups is designed to create quick bonds, develop teamwork, and break down barriers that often occur between kids of different backgrounds.

Many camps offer day rates with the chance to use climbing walls and rope courses. Check your local listings for those closest to you.

There is more to initiative problems than the ropes though. For example, yesterday I formed a giant spider web with string in a doorway at the Y. The teens were presented with the problem-- get everyone to the other side without breaking the string or holding the string for anyone else. They smiled and began to tell me how easy it would be. Then, I told them the twist-- only TWO people are able to touch the ground as they go through.

It took them 45 minutes to solve it and get everyone through the web. My counselors and I stood back and watched offering no help. I'm proud to say they figured it out together.

Another simple group initiative is the amoeba race. Divide your kids into teams. If you have ten or less kids, I suggest keeping them one team and and letting them race against their best time. Get all the kids into a tight group without telling them why and tie a rope around the whole group. Announce the obstacles (they could be trees, tables, whatever outdoors, or chairs indoors.) As a group, the "amoeba" has to race through the course. This game takes more teamwork than you think since some of the kids will be turned around backwards and sideways. Another twist with a smaller group is create the amoeba and give them a place they have to go to. Once I used this game to get my group from one part of the Y to another and used it as a quick way for them to get to know each other.

If you are looking for some good resources on adventure education and group initiatives, then I highly suggest any books by Karl Rohnke. I have been using his Books "Silver Bullets" and "Cowstails and Cobras II" for a few years now. Both discuss adventure education and its benefits at great detail, how to start a program, and then lists of games and activities.

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