Every year they used to send the fifth graders up to a week away in New Hampshire. This year, owing to a lack of money and a concern about the kids’ welfare, they stopped doing it. Instead, we have Adventure Week, right here. MilliCal has been underwhelmed. They had they hiking through the town Reservation today, eaing bad pizza (“It tasted like salty cardboard!” complained MilliCal) and singing odd songs. She insisted on sharing the songs with me. And she petted a turtle.
Yesterday they spent all day in the gym at one of the local schools and did art projects. Her Rocket Ship ended up looking like “A Flying Cactus with Flames Coming Out Of The Bottom” (her description).
Tomorrow they go to a place called Project Adventure, and they’re going to learn Climbing. Friday they’ll do actual Climbing, and have a Party at the Middle School.
If she’s bored out of her mind, take her out of school for the week (well, tomorrow!) and go do something a million times more fun than her class is doing! Bungee jumping or skydiving or something else wild and crazy to make everyone else jealous of her and her cool dad!
Heh. My experience of any kids’ program that feels a need to put the word “Adventure” in the title is that it’s going to be one of those organized snoozefests so beloved of Serious Educators, with lots of “you WILL learn something, dammit!” activities that stop just short of being so boring that the kids are forced to sneak out in droves in order to survive. The Serious Educators cock-tease them by promising them “Arts and crafts!”, and handing them construction paper and glue, but then hamstring any true creativity by totally directing the activity to suit their adult goal-oriented agenda: “Now. Make a rocket ship. Rocket ships look like this [holds up sample]…”
They also take their victims on tedious tramps through woefully familiar surroundings and pretend it’s vital and exciting. “We’re going to go hiking at Rock Springs! We’ll see lots of stuff!” Um, no, we won’t, we’ll see the same stuff we see every damn time we have to go trudging around out at Rock Springs.
My condolences to MilliCal. Give her some construction paper and glue tonight, plus a tube of glitter, and tell her to make whatever she wants, with my blessing.