Barnacles Explore Hundred Acre Wood

During our first adventure into Hundred Acre Wood, the Barnacles took advantage of an open outing schedule to tackle a variety of Explorers Club lessons and activities, such as learning  to track our steps  through a web of trails, playing games with honor, and Collaborate and Compromise. In our opening circle, the Barnacles discussed all of the roles and jobs we've been using to perform together as a group. In particular, we discussed the importance of sharing jobs  and the associated gear amongst members of our group, even if we thought our packs were already full! In Explorers Club, the motto "We. Not Me." is one that we often utilize to remind ourselves that when we explore together, we are always working  as team and learning to take care of ourselves without losing sight of the needs of the group. Click here to take a look at some other Explorers Club Mottos.

At our first split in the trail, the Barnacles learned an integral Explorers Club tradition, Collaborate and Compromise Circles. This is a tool we use to make sure everyone's voice is heard in the decision making process. When asked to make a group a decision, young explorers often default to voting, as it's a process we learn young and learn to value. While we believe there is certainly a place and time for voting, in Explorers Club, we prefer Collaborate and Compromise as  a way to hear all voices and opinions, even from those in the minority vote who may have otherwise been unheard. We learned "The Four C's of Collaborate and Compromise." Circle. Collaborate. Compromise. Consensus. We used these 4 C's to guide our decision making process about where to go and what to do with our time. Ultimately, we compromised on an hour of playing games and an hour of exploring a near by "secret cave" to which one of our explorers led us. In order to not lose our way in the complex spider web of trails, we learned to make stick arrows to track our path.

Once we reached our destination, we explored the cave with head lamps and tried to see how many Explorers we could fit inside. We also took this time to learn more about each other through conversations about our families, schools, and favorite hobbies.

After we had exhausted our exploration of the cave, we continued to explore and see what we could find in the Hundred Acre Wood. We found many different types of mushrooms, some so new you could still see the fuzzy margins which indicate recent growth!

We even came across wild life. First, we saw a frog we thought to be dead. After further investigation, we considered that the frog may just be hibernating due to the low temperatures. Just in case, we covered it back up with some pine needles and dead leaves for extra insulation. Later in the day, we had a much more active wild life sighting. We heard a woodpecker somewhere in the trees and tracked it down. After observing that it had a red spot at the top of its head and a white underbelly, we determined that it was a Downy Woodpecker.

After lots of exploring and playing games, it was time to head back. We ended our day as we almost always do with a Sit Spot, an exercise in learning to be still and silent in hopes that the forest shows us its secrets. We spent about 10 min looking, listening, and experiencing a quiet moment in the woods. Afterward, we wrapped up our day with our Attitude of Gratitude Circle. We all shared something from the day we were thankful for, from friends and games to sticks and mushrooms. It was a wonderful way to enjoy a brisk December day!

Here are more PHOTOS from our outing!