Learning doesn’t always need to take place in the classroom. The 50th Annual Lake Geneva Schools' Outdoor Education Program brought lessons to life for sixth graders during the week of April 23.
Students spent two full days in the great outdoors at YMCA Camp Maclean in Burlington. The program provided students with a variety of unique learning experiences. These experiences involved a hands-on approach to learning about human interaction and socialization, as well as a laboratory experience in working with ecology, nature, and outdoor skills.
Students’ favorite activities included: fishing; collecting organisms from a swamp to observe and identify under microscopes; archery; competing in relays that simulate life on the prairie; building campfires; making butter; using GPS to find hidden objects in the woods; and achieving personal goals on the rock climbing wall and high ropes course. These activities provided students with learning opportunities that do not exist in the traditional classroom and that integrate with many curricular areas.
Through this experience, students were encouraged to exhibit initiative, creativity, leadership, respect, self-reliance, and the ability to work within a group. By living, working, and learning in a natural environment, it is hoped that all students will develop an appreciation and respect for the earth and for their environment.
The school’s outdoor education program has been a part of the Lake Geneva Schools' sixth grade curriculum since 1968. For many kids, it’s the only camp-like experience they’ll ever have.
Lake Geneva Middle School was honored to receive the Charlotte Peterson Grant from The Environmental Education Foundation, a local organization that promotes environmental education and awareness in the Geneva Lakes area, to assist with equipment and supplies for the Outdoor Education Program.
6th graders Jacki Garcia-Amador, Yasmin Aranda, Lizzy Vigueras, Gina Stanaway, Delilah Cardiff, Ellie White, Anahi Rodriguez, Brenynn Juchems, and
8th grade counselor Savannah Wheaton
Abrey Lopez, Lucas Adkins, Abril Garcia-Aguilar, Jacob Billingsley, Allie Cooper