The Gray Wolf Pups met at Lookout Mountain for the final
outing of their Spring 2017 season. We kicked things off by touching on our
skills focus of Navigation by looking at the map, picking a destination, and
then the mentors handed it off to the Gray Wolf Pups to take the lead and
navigate us there. Although not everyone tuned in enough while we were studying
the map and memorizing how to get to our destination, later on we still managed
to find our way despite a few wrong turns here or there.
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| Circling up to make a decision |
Before we headed off into the woods, the mentors thought it
would be important to do an activity that focused on inclusion in the group.
Directing the group to form a tight, inward facing circle, where each boy was
shoulder to shoulder, two of the Gray Wolf Pups were pulled out of the group
and given simple instructions; “you are trying to get into the circle” while
the rest of the group was given the simple information; “they are trying to get
into the circle.” This is a fascinating activity because inevitably we assume
that it is our goal to keep the outsiders from getting into the circle. After a
couple tries, and rotating boys so a few folks got to be the “outsiders” we
gathered up for a debrief. The mentors pointed out that no one was instructed
to keep anyone out of the circle and that it is our natural instinct to be
exclusive. We emphasized the importance of always being aware of who is on the
outside looking in, and that it is on each and every one of us to reach out to
others and offer acceptance whether it is in Explorers Club, at school, or
hanging out with friends.
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| Clamoring up a hillside towards the waterfall |
Getting along with our outing for the day we trekked into
Lookout Mountain in search of access to the water fall. After some trial and
error we made our way up the creek bed to the water fall where we relaxed and
ate lunch. Afterwards, we hiked around a bit to just above the waterfall in
search of a location for a big game of Spiders Web. Luckily, Tim was rather
familiar with this area since he spent a lot of time with his friends exploring
this area and even constructing a shelter when he was in high school. We found
the old location where Tim used to spend many a summer with his friends and it
was the perfect setting for our game. Deciding to have two spiders proved
rather difficult, but the challenged stretched our edges and we all got a
little better at sneaking through the sword ferns, devils club, and stinging
nettle and eventually the flies proved victorious.
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| Taking some time to eat lunch before playing Spiders Web! |
Finishing our outing we took some extra time in closing
circle to reflect on our season and look forward to our next year of Explorers
Club. The Gray Wolf Pups each shared a highlight from one of our many outings,
something they wanted to do for the next year (a skill, outing location, etc.),
and of course something they were thankful for. The mentors were thankful for
how the Gray Wolf Pups had really begun to grow together as a group over this
past season. New members or old members, it really doesn’t matter now as
everyone seems comfortable with themselves and the group and everyone has found
a strong voice when we spend time talking in circle. Additionally the Gray Wolf
Pups took a big stride forward in developing their navigation skills tuning in
their sense of direction with natural indicators, orienteering a compass, and
navigating using a map. With a well-rounded season in the rear view mirror, we
are eager to reunite for fall and get back to work (or more likely play), and
keep progression on our skills, developing our interpersonal communications,
and building our group comradery.
Make sure to check out the rest of the photos from our outing here!
Make sure to check out the rest of the photos from our outing here!
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| Celebrating a successful season! (some more enthusiastically than others) |
