On a cold day in January, Jackson and Barb headed down to Plymouth, MA to run a workshop for elementary school PE teachers. Knowing that we had a competitive group on our hands, we started off by pitting two teams against each other in a race to collect as many checkpoints as possible using a map of the school grounds. Then we convened in the gym to run through our Animal-O/Geometric-O progression and fielded some great questions from the teachers.
We will let Jenna Sorensen, the K-5 department head for PE & Health, tell you how it went from their perspective:
“Thank you so much to you, Barb, and Jackson for a great professional development. You really have developed something that is of value to our students and touches on so many important areas; life skills, practical knowledge, and social emotional learning, in conjunction with physical movement, communication, teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking! All of the Phys Ed staff had fun and saw the value in incorporating orienteering into our curriculum. We had our department meeting afterwards and discussed possibilities and options for implementation."
Workshops like this incorporate activities that we have taken years to develop. We have a whole constellation of Navigation Games staff, volunteers and supporters who have provided feedback, blood, sweat and tears to modify, adapt and improve each activity over many years! They all deserve credit and praise - a true team effort!
We would like to bring orienteering to new schools and youth-serving organizations in 2024. We help you get maps made, provide staff training and materials, and work with you to create lesson plans that work well with your students, your space and your program goals. Please contact us if you’re interested in working with us!
Glad it went so well. Such a great company and great program they have developed!! Cathy Hill