Lynn and Joe’s fourth grade class at the Black Rock Mountain summit.
Fall camping season has arrived! Lynn and Joe’s class was first on deck when they went on their fall camping trip to Black Rock Mountain State Park in Mountain City, GA for two nights right before Fall Break.
In addition to traditional camping activities, like hiking, collecting bugs and making s’mores, the fourth graders learned to pitch their own tents, played games and even put on an awesome talent show where the students performed skits, sang and showed off some karate skills!
Camping trips are a part of TCS’s outdoor education program to teach outdoor skills like canoeing and whitewater rafting to our third through sixth graders. It’s also an opportunity for students to head outside the classroom to get hands on with some of the things they’re studying inside the classroom.
For Lynn and Joe’s fourth graders, this trip helped them build on the basic camping skills they learned during their third grade camping trip, and, more importantly, the students learned to work together, problem solve for each other and step up when they felt tired or uncomfortable from being away from home.
Of course, the kids had a blast! They loved the freedom of a relaxed schedule and even enjoyed all of the responsibility that goes along with camping, like setting up their own tents. One highlight from the trip was the 2 ½-mile hike up to the Black Rock Mountain summit where everyone got a glimpse of Tennessee and North Carolina. Cadelyn, a first time camper, had this advice for other new campers: “When you’re hiking up a steep mountain, make sure to watch where you’re going so you don’t slip and fall down.”
TCS fourth graders will head back outdoors this spring when they take a four-day trip to St. Simons and Cumberland Islands as a part of their barrier islands unit in science.
