Explorer Biking Curriculum Extension

Intro: Starting in 2021, Explorer (K-1^st grade) camp sessions are now two weeks long. Explorer camp will now include four total days of biking instruction (two per week). During the first week of camp, Explorer groups will do one day of on-site biking and one day of off-site biking at a local park or trail. During the second week of camp, both biking days will take place off-site at local parks or trails.

Many campers this age (entering K-1st grade) have either recently or are still learning to ride on 2 wheels, and these four biking days will provide an opportunity for Explorer campers an extended time to learn skills, practice and gain confidence in biking.

Also new in 2021, all Explorer groups will spend the entire camp day at their designated recreation site (except for on-site biking day). Explorer groups will still spend roughly half the camp day doing their designated sport for the day, and the other half of the day doing art, music or yoga activities.

Explorer Biking Day Goals:

• To help kids make the transition from balance bikes to pedaling on 2 wheels

• Meet every camper at their level and teach them at least 2 new skills each day.

• Build campers’ confidence while having FUN through a combination of biking games, activities and group riding on bike paths and trails

The Avid4 Never-Ever Biking Progression:

1. Walk bike around holding handlebars.

2. Scoot downhill sitting on seat. Look up!

• This is the key. Spend a lot of time scooting.

• Avoid holding the back of the seat in the “traditional” way.

3. Hold up feet as long as possible—coasting downhill.

4. Touch one pedal with either foot.

5. Touch pedals with both feet.

6. PEDAL! PEDAL! PEDAL!

Special Considerations: Explorer biking days are unique in that there is a wide range of skills represented in any given group. Every camper will learn at a different rate, and it is very important for Explorer instructors to handle this issue with care when interacting with campers AND their parents. Our overwhelming focus will always be on safety, fun and learning in a positive environment. We will always meet each camper at exactly their level. Our goal is to meet every child’s needs to teach them new skills every day at camp. We will also celebrate each camper’s progress, and will highlight his or her positive accomplishments at the end of each camp day. Whether a camper pedals off confidently or is still working within our biking progression, every camper should leave their Explorer biking days with the tools & knowledge necessary to continue learning about biking.

9:00 Kids arrive and are welcomed into a group game with other Explorers

9:15 Intro to the day-Biking!

Sunscreen, water, restroom

9:30 Biking: Intro

• Helmets: Why do we always wear a helmet when we bike? How do we put it on? Look up to the sky to avoid pinching while buckling (or let kids buckle themselves). Strap should be loose enough to fit two fingers inside, but not so loose that it can slide off the chin. How do we set our helmets down? Happy Turtle/Sad Turtle.

• Bikes: ABC check

  • Air: squeeze your tires. If they feel soft, they might need to be pumped up!

  • Brakes: do you know how to stop your bike? Test your brakes (either pedal or hand brakes). Let’s make sure they’re working!

    • For hand brakes: talk about using Right hand (rear) brakes ONLY. They will help us stop slowly with the back wheel; using the Left (front) brakes can cause you to Superman over your handlebars!

  • Chain: Is your chain on the chain ring? Test by pedaling your pedals with your hands or by riding. If your bike has gears, make sure you ONLY move the gear shifter while you’re pedaling so the chain can shift! If you move it without pedaling, the chain can’t shift.

  • Danglers: Make sure you don’t have any straps, shoelaces or loose clothing that could get caught in your spokes or chain! Tie up any danglers.

  • Everything Else: Do you know where it’s safe to ride? Where it’s not safe to ride? Do you have sunscreen on? Plenty of Water? Let’s Ride!

9:45 Let’s Ride!

• Instructors: mark off a large, flat, open area with cones. Divide the group up as needed between riders and never evers. If you need help deciding who belongs in what group, the whole group can take a few ‘warm up’ laps together so you can assess each camper’s biking level.

• Warm Up: ride one lap around the circle. It’s okay to pedal, scoot, or even walk your bike! Leave plenty of room between bikers (enough for a Big, Stinky Elephant!) and practice stopping, too

• Divide & Conquer: at this point, divide the Never Evers into one group and the confident riders into another. For this day, any kid who can pedal (even for a few second at a time) can join the group of riders for bike games & activities.

Never Ever Group:

• Start by taking your bike for a walk. Hold both handlebars-no sitting yet! Make sure to leave plenty of room for your friends (or even a big, stinky elephant!) and practice stopping, too.

• Hold both handlebars and walk your bike straight then try a wide turn. Next, walk in a big circle.

• Now let’s practice getting on & off our bikes! Instructors: demonstrate how to lift one leg over the center bar (or seat) and sit down. Then, demonstrate how to lift your leg (really high!) to get off the same way.

• Everyone practice! Can you get on AND off all by yourself?

New Skill: Monster Steps

• Now, let’s get on our bikes and try walking with big Monster Steps! Instructors: demonstrate taking big, strong steps and pushing gently to roll on your bike.

• Let’s get onto our bikes and sit on the seats. Roll your bike by walking, and take big Monster Steps with your feet. Go straight then try a wide turn. Next, go in a big circle.

• Are your monster steps getting soooo big? Can you run with Monster Steps??

(…meanwhile…) 2 Wheeler Group: START HERE

• Obstacle Course: continue on the same large, flat, open area.

• Slalom Course: Instructors, set up a line of cones like a slalom course. Start with the cones far apart, then move them closer together.

  • How do our eyes help us bike? Should we look down at the pavement (fall over) or up, where we want to go? Use your eyes like laser beams to point your bike where you want to go!

  • Practice making gentle turns, then tighter as the cones move closer!

  • Can you make it through the course without touching the ground with your feet?

  • Can you stand up on your pedals while you make slalom turns? If you’re on a bike with hand brakes, can you ratchet your pedals (making small forward/backward strokes to keep them level)? Note: ratcheting pedals is not possible on a bike with pedal brakes!

• Slow Race: Instructors, draw a starting/finish line with chalk, or use cones to designate. Then, demo riding as s-l-o-w-l-y as possible until you cross the finish line.

  • Have kids ride in small groups and practice their slow riding skills!

    • Look up, keep pedals level, feather brakes & ratchet pedals

    • Do several rounds, see if campers can get slower each time!

• Pop-Overs: Instructors, find a few branches or twigs (ranging from thumb- to wrist-size in width). Starting with the smaller twigs, demonstrate ‘popping over’ the branch by getting a strong start, pedaling to gain speed & then looking straight ahead as you ride over the branch. Bonus: stand up on your pedals!

  • Have kids take turns riding over the branch, starting small and working up to bigger branches

    • The bigger the obstacle, the more speed is required!

  • Practice, practice, practice. What helps? (Speed, looking up, standing up).

• Bunny Hops: Instructors, now demonstrate how the front shocks work by pushing down and then pulling up on your handlebars to ‘pop’ the front wheel up.

  • First: ride straight, stand up on the pedals, and then push down & pull up on the handlebars quickly to ‘hop’ your front wheel into the air.

    • The front tire may not leave the ground. That’s okay! It take practice to get air time; even if your tire doesn’t pop up, you’re still putting less weight on the front tire which helps ride over obstacles.

  • Next: when you feel confident with the basic Bunny Hop, try hopping over an obstacle!

• Instructors: Bring the twigs/branches back, and demonstrate Bunny Hopping over them.

  • This takes timing as well as basic coordination. Get a strong start, stand up on the handlebars, and do your Bunny Hop just before you roll over your obstacle!

• What else can we use a Bunny Hop for? Cracks in the pavement? Over a rock or tree root in the trail? Keep practicing!

10:00 Snack Time! Everyone sitting in a circle (snack time is down time). Drink lots of water & then take a group restroom break.

10:15 Group Game: Instructors, gauge the energy level of your group. Some kids may need to run around (Mr. Fox, Red Light Green Light, Zookeeper, Where’s my ducky) and some may need a sitting circle game (Frogger, Rhythm Master, Drip Drip Drop, etc).

10:30 Biking!

Never Evers: Continue working through the Never Ever progression.

New Skill: Frog Hops! Push with both legs at the same time. Start with little hops, then make them bigger! Go straight then try a wide turn. Next, go in a big circle.

• Practice 3 hops in a row to gain momentum and speed: short, short, loooooong. (lift your feet!) Use your strongest legs & don’t forget to look up!

• Instructors: If campers are having trouble gaining speed or are feeling scared to go faster, you can put a hand on the middle of their back to reassure them (and/or give a gentle push) but remember: don’t grab the seat! If campers get the ‘wobbles’ have them practice looking up and getting strong starts. Getting enough momentum and looking up will cure the ‘wobbles’.

• Practice triple hops in a straight line, then try wide turns. Next, triple-hop all the way around a big circle. Look where you want to go! How many hops can you do? How far can you coast on your biggest hop?

New Skill: Pedal Taps

• When campers master hops and can coast for a few seconds at a time, they’re ready to start practicing Pedal Taps. This can be done on bikes with or without pedals. The key is simply to get kids rolling long enough to lift their feet to pedal height and tap their toes to the frame before stopping.

• First things first: let’s try one-foot pedal taps. Start scooting, and see if you can tap ONE foot to your bike’s frame while you coast. Go straight then try a big circle.

• Now, switch to the other foot! Go straight then try a big circle.

• Can you alternate? How about tapping BOTH feet?? Bonus: do you know your RIGHT from LEFT?

• Practice, practice, practice!

New Skill: Strong Starts & Pedal Taps

• Instructors:

  • First, model how to set your pedals up (with one up and one down, rather than pedals even). Which pedal is on top? This will be your first pedaling leg!

  • Next, model trying to pedal from a standstill (and falling over).

  • Now model how to start with a few strong 2-foot hops before pushing one pedal. Show how important it is to get a strong start & get momentum before pedaling!

  • Finally, model what happens when you look down with your eyes to find the pedals (and fall over). Ask campers what you need to do with your eyes? (Look up!)

• Have campers practice Strong Starts. Set up pedals, push off strong, start coasting (eyes up! Look where you want to go!) and then tap or push a pedal.

• Are your starts getting STRONGER? Next time you coast, try to push one pedal AND the next!

• Go straight then try a big circle. Don’t forget to practice your stops, too!

Final New Skill: Pedaling

• Free bike & Pedaling Practice: define boundaries of biking space and remind rules for leaving LOTS of space (stinky elephants!) between bikers. Instructors: let campers practice scooting, coasting, toe taps while you rotate to work one-on-one with each biker.

• Many campers will be ready to start pedaling with an instructor’s help. Remember, don’t grab that seat! Instead, focus on getting a strong start, setting the pedals up for success (so that one pedal is at the top of a stroke), and then walking/running alongside with a hand on the camper’s back for momentum and reassurance. If a camper is about to fall, you can grab a handlebar to prevent a crash.

• With an instructor’s help: set your pedals up, and get a strong start. Then, try to pedal! Don’t worry about falling; your teacher is here to help you.

2 Wheelers: Bike Path Ride!

• Ideally your riding group has enough time to ride off site for an adventure. It can be incredibly powerful for a camper to go on their first group bike ride at camp.

• Before heading out on the bike path, talk about riding safely on a trail by riding in a line and practice riding with Stinky Elephant spacing (enough room for a stinky elephant between each biker).

• Talk about what to do if a camper feels ‘lost’ on the trail (doesn’t see anyone in front or behind them)

  • STOP and wait! There will ALWAYS be an instructor at the end of the line.

  • NEVER take a turn if you’re not sure. Go back to rule #1 and:

  • STOP and wait! There will ALWAYS be an instructor or teammate behind you, and the leader will always stop and count heads before & after each turn.

• Hit the Trail! Instructors: There should ALWAYS be one instructor at the front of the line, and one instructor (or your most capable biker) at the end. Ride on trails that are recommended on the site report. This might be a paved bike path, dirt trail, or any combination.

• Make sure to maintain safe spacing, communicate using telephone, and stop often to count heads and let the group catch up. Take it slow!

• Emphasize fun & learning over distance & difficulty. Make sure to allow plenty of time to get back to the trailhead with time for water breaks, flat tires and quick games along the way.

11:15 Group Biking Games (for either group): End the Biking Day on a high note!

Click here for MORE biking games and activities

• Red Light/Green Light. Start with instructors as the ‘traffic cop’, then let campers take turns. Practice stopping & going.

• Next add other colors (yellow=slow, orange=realllllly slow, blue=freeze, etc etc). Let campers take turns being the Traffic Cop. Make up as many super silly colors/actions as you want!

• Victory Lap: each camper gets to ride, hop, scoot or walk their bike around a circle while the group cheers (Go, Kiri, Go! Go, Kiri, Go! Etc etc). End on a high note!

11:45 Lunch: wash hands with soap and water. Everyone seated in a circle while eating.

12:15 Group Game: get the wiggles out!

12:30 Begin Art/Music/Yoga Class

1:15 Run-around game

1:30 Story time, sing-along game, or group yoga activity

2:45-3:00 Closing Circle and parent pickup

Sticks, Cones & Ramps, Oh My!

Instructors: set up a course with an assortment of obstacles to ride around & over. Sticks or small branches, a line of cones, and tiny black bike ramps are all good options. Let campers ride in whatever manner is most comfortable to them. This might be walking or scooting, coasting, frog hopping, or pedaling. As long as we’re rolling, we’re biking!

First, Demonstrate how to ‘pop’ over a stick: get a strong start, look up where you want to go, then stand up on your pedals! (Or lift them in the air on a balance bike). At first, you’ll roll right over the obstacle. Have campers practice a few times.

Next, demonstrate how to do a bunny hop by standing up on your pedals and quickly pushing down/pulling up on the handlebars to allow the shocks to ‘pop’ your front wheel over the obstacle.

Have campers try a few times.

Next, Demonstrate how to ride through a line of cones like a slalom course: look up where you want to go! Try big, wide turns and then smaller, straighter lines.

Have each camper ride the slalom cones a few times.

Finally, Demonstrate how to ride over a tiny black ramp: Make sure an instructor is standing next to a ramp to spot you! Get a strong start, look up where you want to go, and lift your feet (or stand up on the pedals) while you go over. Make sure your landing zone is clear!

Instructors: stand next to the ramp, and spot each child as s/he goes over. If a camper needs help or momentum, you can grab one handlebar and put your other hand on the child’s back to keep them balanced and give them a little extra ‘oomph’

Now, can you do all 3 in a row?? Let campers ride the obstacle course, combining as many (or as few) obstacles as they want.

Freeze Bike (great for music day!): Instructors will need a portable speaker, ipod, instrument or some method of playing music. Play any fun, kid-friendly song or rhythm and let kids ride around while the music plays. When the music stops, all bikers have to FREEZE! …until the music starts again. Encourage kids to be creative and ride in a style that matches the music playing (slow, fast, happy, silly, rhythmic, smooth, etc).

Bike Telephone: Just like we communicate while riding in a group on the trail, we can pass silly messages along a line of bikers at camp! Usually the game of telephone involves whispering, but for this version we need big, strong voices! Instructors, ride at the front of a line of bikers, and call out simple instructions (stopping, go slow, wiggle your feet in the air, stand up on your pedals), and have kids pass the messages back along the entire line. Give enough time for the message to make it to the instructor at the end! When the group completes a round, someone else can come up with a new, silly message.

Bike Rodeo!

Instructors: set up a large, open area and mark boundaries with cones. Make it large enough for kids to ride big laps around the perimeter. Have campers line up at one end.

Who can name all the different things we know how to do on a bike? (Scooting, pedaling, standing up, slalom, slow riding, bunny hops, ramps, etc.). Let’s show off our bike skills in a bike rodeo!

Instructors: use your best rodeo announcer voice! Call out the first ‘event’ and have each camper ride a lap (plenty of space in between) doing their best scoot, pedal, slalom, stand-up, pop-over, etc. Yee-haw!

Nominate a camper or instructor as the Rodeo Clown to tell a silly joke or sing a silly song between each event.

Next event: pick another biking skill. Let campers ride together, then one at a time. Cheer for each other!

Continue with new & different ‘events.’ Ask for suggestions from the campers, or make up new ones! (Ride in a figure 8 or around cones! Combine standing on the pedals and riding over a ramp! Can you yell yee-haw while you do a bunny hop? Etc.)

Victory Lap: have each camper take a lap around the circle in their favorite ‘event’. Cheer for each other! End on a high note.

Avid City Obstacle Course (great for art day!)

First, have campers use sidewalk chalk to draw their own version of Avid City complete with stop signs, windy streets, rivers, trees, etc. Add ramps, branches, cones, or other obstacles. Then, campers can take turns riding through their city. Have them ride on the streets, over the river, stop at stop signs, and park their bikes in the parking lot. How does their city work for bikers? Do they need wider streets? More stop signs? Let campers add to their chalk city if desired.

Bonus: now, let campers take turns being the ‘traffic cop’ and play Red Light/Green Light!

Bike Parts Relay (non-riding game): Instructors, show campers the main parts of a bike. Then, set a bike upside-down and divide campers into 2 lines, facing the bike. Call out various parts of the bike, and the kid in the front of each line can run up and touch or point to that part of the bike. The camper who gets it first then has to say what the part does! If they don’t know, the other camper can answer.

Continue until all kids have had several turns and/or you run out of bike parts!

Drip, Drop, Stop (good for hot days)

Before you start: Be sure to give campers a chance to ‘opt out’ of getting wet if they want. Some kids don’t like getting splashed!

Have campers ride laps around a large circle. Instructors: pick a spot on the perimeter of the circle, and have a full, squeezy water bottle handy. Give each camper a ‘drip’ (small squeeze on their head or neck) and call out ‘DRIP!’ as they ride by. Then, choose one camper to give a ‘drop’ (BIG squeeze!) and call out DROP! As they ride by. Then, immediately call out STOP! And all bikers have to FREEZE!

Continue riding & Drip/Dropping until all bikers are wet & cooled down!

Bike Courier Tell kids a little bit about how bike couriers (delivery people on bikes) work, especially in big cities where bikes can get around faster than cars! For this you’ll need a few targets (empty bins work great). Give the campers an object to deliver to the target, and have them throw it in as they ride past. Bonus: see if they can deliver multiple objects, or add chalk stop signs & obstacles to make it even trickier!