A Little Background....

Carrie Morgan has taught third, fifth, and second grade for 20 years at Edna Maguire and Marin Primary.
Meike Wanberg has taught fifth and third grade at Marin Primary for 14 years.

With a shared love of the outdoors and over 35 combined years of teaching experience, they created an outdoor hiking, exploring, and writing camp five years ago.

Our Goals:

Engaging children in an interactive, creative, and educational process on the trails of Marin, with a focus on developing language skills.

Where we’ve drawn inspiration:

·      The idea of reading like a writer has transformed our teaching and learning. Analyzing quality picture books written by known authors inspires writers to try new writing techniques. We will look carefully at the architecture that an author chose to communicate their thinking and then, try our hand at crafting a similar piece.

·      Theater games require thinking and responding in a fun and supportive environment. Kids and adults make each other belly laugh with the things they spontaneously come up with. But, the exercises also have a serious intent, too. They develop understanding of basic story telling and character analysis. Participants are put into hypothetical situations, given certain parameters, and play off of one another. Trust, cooperation, respect, and responsibility are a natural outgrowth.  The kids love these games; there is never enough time for them!

·      Being out in nature challenges our physical bodies and confidence. Solo or tandem hikes, professor walks, cooperative games, reading maps and finding our way along the trails, and group or individual challenges are just some of the activities possible outside. The thrill of accomplishing any one of these builds confidence, just imagine the growth during a whole day.

·      The kids. The dynamic working environment between student and teacher is inspiring and energizing. Each situation brings a deeper understanding and appreciation of each individual’s strengths and goals. Kids are amazing in their creative learning process. They inspire us to problem solve and create even better learning situations everyday.