Go West, Young 5th Graders!

Last Friday Derek and the rest of his 5th-grade class, divided into "families" of 4 students each, spent the day hiking to California, towing their Conestoga wagons. (Okay, they didn't really go all the way to the other coast, but by the end of their 6-mile trek, I believe they felt like they'd gone cross-country!) It was an event called Westward Ho, designed to teach them about how American pioneers in the 1800s moved from the populated Eastern part of the U.S. to the relatively unexplored Western Territories. The kids spent weeks outfitting their wagons (I donated our rugged Little Tikes vehicle, left over from dragging-kids-to-the-playground days...and the stories that Derek regaled us with--about 11-year old boys wielding hammers and nails--made me cringe and inspect for dire "construction injuries" each afternoon), "purchasing" supplies for the journey, meeting with their Wagon Family to strategize and divide up chores, and cooking some of the food they would need for their long, arduous trip...oh, and how could I forget...rehearsing their Square Dancing! (I listened to more complaints and grumbling about that--you would have thought they were forcing the poor children to eat bugs or something...although I got the distinct impression that at least in Derek's case, consuming insects would have been preferable to...touching girls!) They learned about some of the hardships they would face (unpredictable terrain, possible mechanical failures...parents with video cameras); practiced pulling, lifting, and braking their wagon as a team; and simulated some problem-solving exercises to get them used to thinking critically and creatively should unexpected challenges arise. The seemingly endless array of details fell into place one by one, including--at the last minute--throwing together an authentic Pioneer Outfit.

Finally the day arrived, and it was time to set out on this epic educational adventure. A snaky, stretchy line of girls in long skirts and bonnets, and boys in jeans, plaid shirts and wide-brimmed hats left the asphalt playground of the elementary school and began walking. Enthusiasm ran high, with much laughing and joking in the early, easy going. The first obstacle actually snuck up on us, as it came in the form of a completely innocuous-looking field of grass. Very TALL grass. The wagons--with their wheels built to tote toddlers down the sidewalk--proved difficult to wrangle through the "prairieland". I was proud of the boys in Derek's group as they paused, pondered, and proposed a plan to deal with the balky-wheel problem (in true Male Pioneering fashion, their grand solution was: kicking the wheels at regular intervals to keep them straight. I'm not kidding. And it did work!) A short time later, a true test of strength and stamina faced our explorers: the first of 5 streams they would need to cross in their quest for California. They had to carry their wagon down one steep, muddy bank, slosh through the water (hopefully without spilling cargo or dropping the actual wagon itself, of course), and slip and slide up the other side. Oh, and we parents? We were required to stand in the creek (up to our ankles in cold water, I might add! indignantly!) and prevent anyone from falling. Everyone made it safely, and it was a vastly entertaining operation...but from that point on, our feet remained cold and wet for the rest of the day (did I mention it was only 10 a.m.?)

After that, the settlers encountered fallen logs, large rocks, rutted portions of the path...all of which they had to work together to overcome (most of the time by lifting the wagon over, which became smoother and quicker with each incident). Derek's wagon family got along beautifully, toiling as a well-choreographed unit, but as the day dragged on, they joked a little less and drooped a little more, until finally they took on the aura of truly footsore, travel-weary pioneers in desperate need of a solid meal, a hot shower...and maybe a few hours on the couch in front of SportsCenter. (They did briefly perk up when we stopped for lunch. All of the students enjoyed sitting down for a while on the soft grass...and the boys relished being given permission by their teachers to go off into the woods and pee on the trees! Honest Outdoorsman Spirit, I tell ya...) That last half-hour before reaching our destination tested everyone's patience and endurance (Now that I think of it, I'm sure the original pioneer children coined the phrase "Are we there yet?"

At long last, we plodded up one final hill, across a small bridge, and back into civilization. The newest Western Settlers were never happier to see a parking lot in their entire lives, that much is certain. And since their teachers had requested that they bring in a spare pair of shoes and socks to school the day before, and had transported them to our ending point, our little campers revived at the prospect of warm, dry feet. Not to mention: FOOD. Each family prepared their Santa Fe Stew (with all the cooperation and can-do attitude required to...operate a can opener and dump ingredients into a pot), shook their cream to transform it into butter, and savored their first meal as brave, groundbreaking 19th-century Americans. To cap off the afternoon festivities, these intrepid boys and girls mustered every ounce of their courage and fortitude to show their parents (the thing they'd all been dreading) the Square Dancing. The boys' faces ranged from sullen to disgruntled to intense (as in "I will not trip, I will not knock anyone over, I will remember the steps). And, naturally, the girls smiled sweetly and appeared to be enjoying themselves. I can remember myself going through exactly the same thing when I was about Derek's age, so I do sympathize with the torture of being forced to do-si-do and promenade with the opposite sex...but as a parent, it was adorable. And the video I took of Derek dancing--and glaring at me--is priceless.

When it was all over, Derek and I made a beeline for our trusty steed, I mean Subaru, and headed home. We were damp, we were muddy, and we were exhausted...but it was an awesome day. (And after a Big Gulp, an indoor-bathroom break, and a steaming hot rinse, I was as good as new! Tomorrow, let's walk back to the East Coast!)