Next Friday, about 110 Emporia Middle School eighth-graders will have ‘gone fishing.’ And they won’t even have to cut class to do it.
It’s all part of Outdoor Education Day, a program Emporia State University started three years ago.
The idea is easily understood by almost any mom: Get those kids outside and get them some fresh air.
“There’s a lot of research saying today’s kids are ‘nature deficient,’” said Joan Brewer, who teaches in ESU’s physical education department. “They just don’t have the opportunities to get outside or get involved in outdoor activities.”
Sometimes that’s because of safety-conscious families who don’t want their children leaving the house, Brewer said. And of course, there are all the children who plop down in front of the TV set or the computer the moment they get home from school.
Next week’s event aims at breaking that pattern. From noon to 2:15 p.m., all those eighth-graders will be fishing, flying kites, orienteering and playing a number of outdoor games. Ultimate Frisbee is on the list, along with bocce and a lesser-known Swedish game called koob, where competitors try to knock down wooden blocks with thrown sticks.
The event will be held near King Lake on the ESU campus north of Interstate 35.
The children usually don’t take too long to get into it all. Or to love it.
“We always find kids who have never fished before,” Brewer said. “That’s pretty exciting for us, seeing them fish or fly a kite for the first time. And they get really excited when they first catch a fish.”
The day’s events are coordinated in part by Joy Dyke and Dustin Murray, students in the health, physical education and recreation department. A number of their classmates will also be helping out on Friday.
“I think they get excited to see the students out there and active,” Brewer said.