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Ninth Grade Bushwhacking Campout
Imagine having a quiet conversation with your 15-year-old daughter in a location devoid of telephones, televisions, computers, Facebook and texting. Now imagine that conversation focusing on relationships, dating, setting boundaries and trust.
Twenty 9th grade girls and their dads from High Adventure Treks for Dads and Daughters (HATS) experienced a weekend retreat at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Lawton Oklahoma. The theme of the weekend was bushwhacking; making your way through the wilderness and making your way through relationships.
"Our Bushwhacking weekend had important lessons for girls as they enter high school and face all kinds of challenges,'" said Kipp Murray, Executive Director and founder of HATS. "It was designed to teach our ninth grade daughters how to blaze their own trail in the outdoors and in life."
"I loved being our group's Pathfinder," said Elise Richie, a home-schooled 9th grader. "If I came to a split in the trail, I would send my two scouts down each trail to determine which way to take the whole group. We took a bearing with our compasses on the highest peak and then made our own path!"
With all HATS campouts, Sunday morning is spent in breakout sessions where girls and their fathers share specially designed games and questions to strengthen bonds of communication. For this campout the dad and daughter breakout was blazing a new trail into relationships and setting boundaries.
"This weekend allowed me to start talking with my daughter about things I never thought I would be able to talk to her about," said Bob Nance, dad of JJ Pearce freshman Becca. "Having questions presented to us allowed us to get over the initial discomfort and start really talking to each other."
One girl in the group mentioned that some of her peers are already drinking and doing drugs. She said "I am so glad I can talk to my dad about these things."
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5th Grade Canoe Instructional Campout
at Lake Whitney
The fifth grade girls and their dads participated over two weekends being instructed in the proper uses and parts of a canoe and the paddle. Some of those uses can even be in the form of games, whether it is building a square with everyones paddle while blindfolded or learning starboard and port while playing the paddle game.
After learning the basics on dry land putting the canoe in the water was the next step in the learning process.
Once out on the water, the obstacle course allowed everyone to practice their new paddling skills.
And then the Mentors make it look easy!
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