What happens if your kid doesn't go to outdoor ed?

[Anonymous]

NP here, with a 5th grader.

So is Outdoor Ed a sleep away camp?
Cool!

Do they learn how to make and put out a fire? Do a little bit of orienteering and survival skills?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous
No thanks. It's not full blown bullying. It's more that I have a kid who is odd man out---even within her group of friends. If a slumber party is miserable, then I suspect outdoor ed will be worse.

RE: administration - the administration and teachers can't protect kids. You are delusional if you think they can. That's why I'm trying to figure out how big a deal it is to miss outdoor ed. And I certainly can't have my kid tell people she's skipping because girls are mean to her.

OP, if even the children who are supposedly your child's friends make her miserable, then you have bigger worries than Outdoor Ed.

You sound just like the mean girls, pp.

You obviously don't have a quiet kid who is a bit of a loner--how nice for you!
You have to realize that your post wasn't helpful (at best) and was likely intentionally unkind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
NP here, with a 5th grader.

So is Outdoor Ed a sleep away camp?
Cool!

Do they learn how to make and put out a fire? Do a little bit of orienteering and survival skills?

Nope. 2 nights, 3 days with quasi science instruction and running through the woods. And s'mores. You pay for it, and they drag the kids outside for hours at a time even in the rain or snow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DC's school went in two waves based on social studies teacher. if you are so worried about child being bullied for a 2 1/2 day trip, you need to take to administration not DCUM.

Of course admin will say she'll be taken care of and they may be able to pay her special attention but it's also possible they can't or that attention doesn't help the problem. Presumably OP understands the situation and is addressing things in other ways. There are still reasons not to push the issue with outdoor ed. It's really a family decision which they may want to make without the admin's input.

Completely different issue, but my DC had problems at outdoor ed that had nothing to do with the other students and everything to do with the administration.

I'm worried about that, too.

My kid uses the bathroom frequently, and they made a big deal about how they are outside in the woods for hours at a time and will need to be escorted by an adult to the bathroom--that will embarrass my kid.

My kid doesn't like sleeping around people who snore. She's a light sleeper and it will literally keep her up all night--and lack of sleep will trigger a migraine.

Maybe you should use the Outdoor Ed to find out how to help your daughter with some of these issues, especially the bladder one.
My DC had someone in their cabin who needed to sleep with the lights on and slept in the nude. Needless to say my DC didn't sleep at all at Outdoor ED, but still managed to have fun. Yes the cabin may have awkward people, rude people, snorers etc, but kids need to engage in the real world and Outdoor ED is a relatively safe foray into that real world. You may also be adding to the problem by worrying so much. I am not quite sure what you consider "full-blown" bullying, but if your daughter is afraid to go on these trip b/c of what the kids will do (even her friends) then there is real problem, IMHO. You don't need violence to call it bullying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No thanks. It's not full blown bullying. It's more that I have a kid who is odd man out---even within her group of friends. If a slumber party is miserable, then I suspect outdoor ed will be worse.

RE: administration - the administration and teachers can't protect kids. You are delusional if you think they can. That's why I'm trying to figure out how big a deal it is to miss outdoor ed. And I certainly can't have my kid tell people she's skipping because girls are mean to her.

OP, if even the children who are supposedly your child's friends make her miserable, then you have bigger worries than Outdoor Ed.

You sound just like the mean girls, pp.

You obviously don't have a quiet kid who is a bit of a loner--how nice for you!
You have to realize that your post wasn't helpful (at best) and was likely intentionally unkind.

OP's child's "friends" aren't friends; they tease OP's child and make her miserable. It's not "mean girl" to point out that this is a problem, and furthermore a bigger problem than "should I let my child skip Outdoor Ed?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
NP here, with a 5th grader.

So is Outdoor Ed a sleep away camp?
Cool!

Do they learn how to make and put out a fire? Do a little bit of orienteering and survival skills?

Nope. 2 nights, 3 days with quasi science instruction and running through the woods. And s'mores. You pay for it, and they drag the kids outside for hours at a time even in the rain or snow.

Yup. And, amazingly, nobody comes home having melted or gotten frostbite.

[Anonymous]

Hi, Op

I had a daughter who did not want to go away for Outdoor Ed. What we did was I was a chaperone with her and we both went. This helped my daughter as she wasn't as nervous with me around and she did have fun. Maybe you could volunteer as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No thanks. It's not full blown bullying. It's more that I have a kid who is odd man out---even within her group of friends. If a slumber party is miserable, then I suspect outdoor ed will be worse.

RE: administration - the administration and teachers can't protect kids. You are delusional if you think they can. That's why I'm trying to figure out how big a deal it is to miss outdoor ed. And I certainly can't have my kid tell people she's skipping because girls are mean to her.

OP, if even the children who are supposedly your child's friends make her miserable, then you have bigger worries than Outdoor Ed.

You sound just like the mean girls, pp.

You obviously don't have a quiet kid who is a bit of a loner--how nice for you!
You have to realize that your post wasn't helpful (at best) and was likely intentionally unkind.

OP's child's "friends" aren't friends; they tease OP's child and make her miserable. It's not "mean girl" to point out that this is a problem, and furthermore a bigger problem than "should I let my child skip Outdoor Ed?"

?

Friends tease each other. Have you never had three kids over? There's often an odd man out scenario...and that's typically my kid. The quiet chubby kid is often the target---even among friends. And while most girls are kind one on one, the dynamic often changes when group mentality takes over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it's good for kids to be pushed past their comfort zone.

Not if they are typically the butt of jokes and one who always gets teased. I've been encouraging, but I won't force her to go.

I'm the one that posted about comfort zone. When I was in 6th grade (fcps) we did a one day trip to hemlock overlook park. My older brothers class did overnights there, but it was cut by the time it was my turn. I was thinking about that day when I posted. I was a heavy kid, poor with bad clothes. I had one friend, but we weren't paired on the bus together so I didn't see her all day. I thought I would be miserable, but I wasn't. It was really nice being outdoors all day, and we did a zip line thing that I was terrified to do, but I did anyway, and even kids that generally never talked to me cheered me on. I have such strong memories of that trip and so few memories of my day to day classroom stuff.

Obviously you know your child best, but what if she gets bunked with someone she has never met and becomes best friends? What if her counselor takes her under her wing and becomes a good mentor. You just never know how something may turn out. It's 2 nights? What's the worse that could happen?

My ds is a socially awkward, dorky kid, the kind who isn't disliked, but isn't really part of a social group. He went back and forth on whether or not he was willing to go on the trip. I gently pushed him, and he decided to go. He had a great time, much like PP. Kids often act differently in a new environment, away from the routines and expectations of the classroom. I think it helped that the kids did not get any choice about who they were partnered with-- they just accepted, and ran with it.

I know not everyone's experience will be good, but ds' schoolmates were supportive of each other, and showed great teamwork. They had a lot of fun.

To finally answer OP's question, I know at least 3 kids who went to school instead of going on the trip. They had their own schoolwork to do, and were "babysat" in other grades' classrooms while their grade mates were gone. If it were me, I'd be more anxious and embarrassed about that than about the trip! If your dd doesn't go on the trip, I'd just keep her home those days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DC's school went in two waves based on social studies teacher. if you are so worried about child being bullied for a 2 1/2 day trip, you need to take to administration not DCUM.

No thanks. It's not full blown bullying. It's more that I have a kid who is odd man out---even within her group of friends. If a slumber party is miserable, then I suspect outdoor ed will be worse.

RE: administration - the administration and teachers can't protect kids. You are delusional if you think they can. That's why I'm trying to figure out how big a deal it is to miss outdoor ed. And I certainly can't have my kid tell people she's skipping because girls are mean to her.

Maybe this will help her make friends

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

?

Friends tease each other. Have you never had three kids over? There's often an odd man out scenario...and that's typically my kid. The quiet chubby kid is often the target---even among friends. And while most girls are kind one on one, the dynamic often changes when group mentality takes over.

A person who is mean to me is not my friend. A person who makes me a target is also not my friend. I think that your quiet, chubby kid needs some new friends who actually are friends. Perhaps she might even meet some at Outdoor Ed.

[Anonymous]

Our school was clear that you could not request that kids be put together. You could, however, request the kids be kept apart.

Wow, our school is the exact opposite - according to the meeting - my kid isn't going until later this year. The sixth grade teachers made it clear that you could request friends to be in your group. Interesting.

[Anonymous]

Gaithersburg MS said you could pick your student up every day and they didn't have to spend the night if you didn't want them to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gaithersburg MS said you could pick your student up every day and they didn't have to spend the night if you didn't want them to.

Is that because the camp is nearby?

[Anonymous]

AND THIS IS WHAT'S WRONG WITH PARENTS...do you think continually skipping activities and avoidance is going to help her get better? You are a snowplow parent, trying to remove ANY discomfort for your child. Your child is the one who will end up asking you to come with her on a job interview, and ask you to call her boss when things aren't going well. Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DC's school went in two waves based on social studies teacher. if you are so worried about child being bullied for a 2 1/2 day trip, you need to take to administration not DCUM.

No thanks. It's not full blown bullying. It's more that I have a kid who is odd man out---even within her group of friends. If a slumber party is miserable, then I suspect outdoor ed will be worse.

RE: administration - the administration and teachers can't protect kids. You are delusional if you think they can. That's why I'm trying to figure out how big a deal it is to miss outdoor ed. And I certainly can't have my kid tell people she's skipping because girls are mean to her.