Presentation for children

[Paul Magnanti]

Soliciting some presentation ideas from the hive mind…

My close friend has recruited me to give a talk to her son’s coed scouting troop.  The children are in second grade, and the presentation will be outside.

A bit different than the talks I give to adults with pretty photos that are inside a library. :)

Does anyone have some ideas of giving a talk to children of this age?

I am thinking of doing “What to carry on a long walk” type thing but make it more interactive.

Set up a lightweight tent, a traditional tent and a ginormous backpacking tent.  Have the children get in it, asked which one the kids would want to carry and why.

Likewise with backpacks.

Talk about the animals I see out there.

Maybe some trail food and show the wonderful junk food I can eat their parents won’t let them :)

 

Etc.

Giving talks to eight-year-olds is a bit different than what I normally do so any ideas are welcome.

Thank you!

 

 

[Paul Wagner]

Good ideas,  The more you can give them  to do, the better off you are.  Yes, if you can stand to have them climb into your tent (in pairs?) that’s great idea.  Have them lift different pieces of equipment, as well as a full pack.   Make them snacks…but also give them the chance to taste something crazy like astronaut ice cream, rather than just a power bar or gorp.  In fact, it would be great if you showed them how you cook a dinner–pour boiling water into the envelope, and leave it sitting them while you talk.  Then when it’s ready, everybody gets a taste.

And if you’re like me, you’ll talk about navigation and how to stay found.  Show them maps, mark a trail show them how you check your progress against a creek crossing or a trail junction.

Never hurts to go over the ten essentials, and show them how you take them in your pack on a trip…Have fun.  I you do, the kids will, too.

[Nick Gatel]

Try and pin down your friend as to what she and the troop are expecting.

Young kids don’t care about gear because they don’t make gear purchase decisions — except tents — they like tents. And they couldn’t care less about the difference between UL or a base camp tent. But it would be nice to show them the tents you use for backpacking and car camping. Just be prepared they will want to play with them.

It would be nice if you could show some pictures, especially pictures of animals you have taken yourself.

You might want to talk about backpacking from a very high level and start by asking if any of the kids have gone backpacking and then ask them to share with the group their trips.

Now for what I think would be the really good part. It is unlikely any of the kids have ever met someone who has done a thru hike. So share your triple crown. A map of the US with the 3 trails would be cool. If you can’t show slides, then print out a paper map for each one, and be prepared to explain how far 3,000 miles — perhaps how many round trips from Boulder to DIA it would. Next I would talk about the CDT in more detail since it is the closest thing to where you live. Talk about deserts and mountains and the kind of animals that live in these places. Set enough time to answer questions about the thru hike, as they will likely have plenty.

 

[Kattt]

I take kids that age on 3 hour hikes for the local resort all the time. We hike down to the beach; on the way I point out spittle bugs, scat of all kinds, tracks, ticks(!!) etc. Once we get to the secluded beach we have a blast and it’s different every time. Sometimes we find little pieces of driftwood and tie them together to make a tiny raft ( there is a creek running into the ocean there ) or we race pieces to the ocean,  sometimes we make bows with some fresh branches of the willows that grow by the creek, sometimes we gather whatever washed up and see how we could use it if we were stranded on a deserted island ( we have had some glorious adventures with this one). The list goes on.

I don’t know what “outside” will look like for you and the kids, but at that age I think less talk and more “doing” works better. They get talked to while they sit and watch others demonstrate things all the time. Maybe bring sheets and a pile of sticks and have them try to pitch a sheet as if it were a tarp. Or bring some small blue tarps . Have a pile of rocks nearby but don’t point them out to them and see if they find them when they need to  pound a stake into the ground .  Have a pile of sticks of different lengths and see if they figure out a way to use them. Have them lie down of different types of ground to feel the difference, including slight slopes. Ask them where water would run or puddle if it rained hard . Would they prefer to  wake up in the warm sun after a cold night…..how can they pick a spot that will give them that, etc.

My 3 cents ;)

Sounds like fun!

I would suck as a teacher indoors, but give me some kids outdoors and I can give them an experience; I still know how to play with whatever I can find….and I always bring them back dirty.

 

edited because I get these are scouts so a lot of what I suggested they do already, but I still think that having them figure things out and not just give you their thoughts on what you have provided is more valuable.

[Katherine .]

They care about *fire.* Which, of course, is a tricky one. If you want to go there, you could talk about when (and if) it’s OK and when it’s not. Then how to.

Backpacking is also a little bit like playing house for me — “look at my cute little miniature kitchen. Here’s the plumbing. now, here’s my bedroom…”

Some sort of topo map game could be find – who can find the most steep section? which way is this stream flowing? Do the thing with drawing on your knuckles.

Learning to pitch a tarp could be useful for fort building in general.

[Matthew / BPL]

How about the ten essentials?

[Michael L]

Interactive is good but you can’t let them run away with the conversation.  Their questions are often actually comments…..

maybe set up a car camping tent and a typical backpacking tent.  Have similar packed ones so they can feel the weights while exploring the tents.

Smores are a hit but that is if you do the fire thing.

Talk about what you take picture of and what they can take pictures of. My son loves to take his camera on hikes and snap pics of all kinds of stuff.

If you set up a “camp” they can explore it and you can give an interactive demo of what’s there.   I know they don’t care about gear like an older kid, but maybe have a stack of stuff and play a game of what do you take and what do you leave behind.

Maybe you could have backpacking/camping games that you could show them.  We usually keep busy with water, fire, and exploring, but sometimes in the tent lightweight games are good.

[MJ H]

They care about *fire.* Which, of course, is a tricky one.

With kids about that age and no ability to go outside, we did something where we brought in everything for a fire from tinder up through arm-thick pieces and had them practice laying the fire.

[Paul Wagner]

“Interactive is good but you can’t let them run away with the conversation.  Their uestions are after comments…..”

Sorry, but it you are worried about letting little kids like this run away with the conversation, you probably shouldn’t be teaching at this level…

[MJ H]

Sorry, but it you are worried about letting little kids like this run away with the conversation, you probably shouldn’t be teaching at this level…

Sorry, but if you only let people who were good at it do volunteer teaching for children, kids wouldn’t learn anything outside of school. Somebody has to just jump in and learn it. Kids are not .34 oz/yard cuben fiber. They’ll recover from a chaotic lesson faster than the adult giving it.

[Michael L]

“Sorry, but it you are worried about letting little kids like this run away with the conversation, you probably shouldn’t be teaching at this level…”

 

Come on man.  It is a good warning and a fair one.  People who are new to this or new to this age group might not know this.  And while a good instructor will quickly learn and adapt, a heads up is not a bad idea.  I wasn’t suggesting letting the kids take over…it was a warning about how kids can get carried away sharing.

My example was coaching.  Another coach would ask the kids, “Does anybody have a question?”  Inevitably this lead to 2-4 kids telling stories instead of a Q&A.  After two days of this, the coach figured out to say does anybody have QUESTIONS – not comments?  It solved the problems.

[Kattt]

Questions, answers or  sharing are never going to compare with hands on letting them do and figure things out. Of all subjects this one lends it self perfectly for not following the classroom approach.

[Paul Magnanti]

Thanks for the good advice all.

 

I was leaning towards more an interactive workshop type setting so the ideas you all gave helped immensely. I like the idea of mentioning DIA since that is about 50 miles from Boulder or two days walking for me. Helps out it into context for the kids.  The CDT, depending where the class is held, may even be seen from Boulder..or at least the mountains it  goes on.

And I am pleased to see even when discussing how best to teach children, there is some back-and-forth sniping. The internet has not disappointed me. ;-)  Being serious, since I do not have children nor am I an elementary school teacher, advice is always good.

I’ll have to post a trip report of sorts and let everyone know how it went. The talk is towards the end of this month.

[MJ H]

Being serious, since I do not have children nor am I an elementary school teacher, advice is always good.

Just don’t show fear. Or use your good tent as a prop for an interactive workshop.

[Ian]

Things they’ll likely have questions about (some previously mentioned)

• Pooping in the woods (don’t have to get too graphic but always good for a laugh)
• Bears
• Favorite backpacking treats
• Campfires

Talk about how you got into backpacking and some things you’ve learned along the way.  Perhaps share a story of a time where you had to work your way through a difficult situation.  Discuss what being a good steward of our wild places means to you.

[Steofan M]

Give them LOTS of hands-on and expect some rough treatment of the gear. They will also trip over every guy-line.  Ian is right about the favorite treats.

Have fun!

[Steven Paris]

I did a hiking presentation for my daughter’s girl scout troop when she was in second grade. My local REI gave me a lot of stickers, Leave-No-Trace stuff and small carabiners to hand out to the kids (which they loved).

I brought my gear to show them and that got a little chaotic. I’d keep that short and simple, with a “hook” like the “10 Essentials” as a way to talk about what’s needed to stay comfortable and safe while backpacking.

[BlackHatGuy]

Disclaimer: I am not an educator and I don’t have children (though many friends think I’ve never really matured past 8 or so….).

If it’s outside and allowed, I’d start off the whole thing by showing them how to build a fire (by assisting them as they build a fire) and talk about how building a fire is one of the most basic and important skills to know for backpackers (not lecturing, but ‘chatting’ as they/you build the fire, and how smaller fires are much better than big fires, etc.).

Then I’d use the fire to assist them in making some cool backpacking treats. (They do most of the work, keeps them engaged).

Then we’d all sit around the campfire and I’d begin to tell them a cool backpacking story – like the time I walked 500 miles! Who wants to hear about the time I walked 500 miles in the mountains! (I think lots of hand would go up).

Then tell them a story about one of your long hikes. Doing this will help keep their attention (you’re telling a cool story, not ‘teaching’ them about backpacking), and allow you to touch on a lot of different aspects of backpacking. Allow questions during the story. Make up stuff if necessary to touch on areas on which you’d like to impart information.

ie: One night it rained so hard I thought I might float away in my tent!

Q: How did you keep your stuff dry?

A: allows you to talk about site selection, proper shelter for the conditions, etc.

ie: And then I came around a corner and there was a big bear in the middle of the trail!

Q: Were you scared?

A: Well, I was a little nervous, I can tell you that! But before I left on the trip I did some research about bears, and what I found out was… allows you to talk about bears and other animals and how to react to different situations. Also allows you to touch on proper planning as part of any trip.

etc. etc.

Storytelling is an effective way of imparting information, especially for younger audiences. They learn alot when they don’t think you’re actually teaching them anything, and have a tendency to stay better engaged if they don’t think they’re in a ‘learning’ situation, but instead just having fun.

[Gordon Gray]

Hey Paul,

What lured my girls to WANT to go backpacking was s’mores.

Perhaps start a Mountain House dessert (apple crisp, pudding, ice cream sandwich, ect…) in the beginning of the talk.  They will look forward to having a taste during you talk.  Keep em engaged.

Pudding in a ziplock with dehydrated milk is always fun to shake – done in 3 mins.  Fun to use your spork straight out of the bag too!

[Paul Magnanti]

Again, thanks for the ideas all. I sincerely appreciate them. LOVE the ideas of fun camp food.

Maybe show off the alcohol stove, make a dessert or two with it and share it the kids.

Marni has put the following in the newsletter if anyone is curious:

”

Our presenter this week will be Paul Magnanti (nickname: Mags). He is Elijah’s unofficial Uncle (known as Uncle Mags). The outdoors is his passion. Hiking and backpacking, in particular, are his first outdoor loves. He has hiked the Triple Crown of hiking (AT, PCT, CDT), and some other longer trails. He just loves being outside as much as possible.

For our meeting, Mags will share some fun stories from the trail, demonstrate some of his light-weight back-packing gear and show off some of his many tents/sleeping structures!”</span>

As a side note, my buddy Josh and I take his two sons out backpacking around father’s day weekend. Elijah knows me as the guy who makes snow ice cream and brings treats Mommy (Marni) does not let them have normally. :)

 

From 2014:

 

 

[Katherine .]

You’re gonna awesome. Lucky kids!

[MJ H]

You could try a whole meeting on “How cold can metal get before you can’t lick it without your tongue sticking?”

[David Thomas]

>”Giving talks to eight-year-olds is a bit different than what I normally do so any ideas are welcome.”

8 years old is just getting out of the completely-off-topic-question phase that peaks at about 6 years old.

Kindergarten presenter (me): “So when you were bouncing all around the room, that was like a gas.  When you squirmed around in a tight space, that was a like a liquid.  When you locked arms, you became a solid.  You were the same children in all those different conditions, but with more energy as a gas and less energy as a solid.”

Me: Any questions about gases, liquids or solids?

In some child’s mind, “liquid – tea is a liquid – my grandmother drinks tea – we saw grandmother last month – Yeah, I can talk about myself!”

Boy raises hand.

Me: “Yes, you have a question about gases, liquids and solids?”

Boy: “My grandmother lives in Arizona and we went to see her for Christmas.  Her dog is named Princess.”

Me: “That is a not a question.”

[David Thomas]

+1 on bringing snacks

In the early 1960’s, my parents splurged and took my older sister to Disneyland and left me with the grandparents.  After spending an exciting day on all the rides and attractions, they asked her what was the best part of trip.

“The buttered popcorn.”

[Michael L]

Me: “That is a not a question.”

And that was exactly what my warning was about.  Little buggers like to talk about themselves.

 

All in all, I think Mags will kill it.  I wish he’d come train my son on backpacking.  Probably do a better job then me.  I’ve read about his snow ice cream before!

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