Quotes

Quotes from Students

What was your personal high point?

• Starting off: the rush of excitement

• Working hard

• When we found the first checkpoint

• Getting to know my group

• Just going into the woods

What was your personal low point?

• Getting lost, and knowing it was my fault

• Disagreeing about which path to take

• Running out of time

What preparations made a difference?

• Planning our route ahead of time

• We practiced listening

• Learning skills like pace counting

• Having someone keep time

• Agreeing on how fast we would go

How did you handle unexpected situations?

• We got lost. Then we found features we could locate on the map and made a new plan.

• When we realized we went the wrong way we reassured the person who made the mistake and started again

Quotes from our Interns

• Working with Navigation Games was a wonderful experience for me, and I believe for my students as well. The orienteering games and lessons we taught to the kids were a very effective channel for teaching leadership skills and teamwork. We were able to build relationships with the kids, which I hope benefited them, and allowed us to be more effective teachers. It was wonderful to see the transformation, particularly in the younger kids. When we started our classes they had trouble with both navigational and class directions. By a couple weeks in they were confidently working through problems. We often faced challenges in keeping the kids attention between activities with their energetic nature and the different needs required by each student. However, having the class outdoors and the athletic nature of the lessons helped keep a good balance and allowed them a much needed release of energy after a day of indoor schooling. They were particularly fond of gaining access to the real orienteers tools like animatronics. I had never seen them as attentive and excited as when we gave them scanning cards and allowed them to keep track of and register their times. They asked about it every day after. 

• I believe the games and activities we did with the kids really allowed them to gain confidence in themselves and a sense of community with each other. In the beginning they were very shy of each other and often their personalities butted heads. Over time however they learned how to navigate the kind of social challenges that comes with working with a group of peers. I am very proud of the way they grew into themselves as orienteers and students.

• Over the summer of 2020, I worked for Navigation Games. Navigation games teach kids or anyone how to read maps through the sport of orienteering. Some things I did throughout this time period were Neighborhood-O’s, Virtual-O’s and In Person Activities. Navigation games can really strengthen someone’s ability to read maps and try them out. By doing these activities I learned more about navigating, I wasn’t the best at navigating at the beginning of the summer but now I’m much better at it. Navigation games taught me to focus on my surroundings - it's good to know where you are, where you were, and where you’re going so that if you’re lost you know the next steps. In a way I was looking too hard, I needed to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I needed to look for big objects or big signs. Like looking for buildings, big trees, large patches of grass, etc. 

• My experience with these courses have so far been really good, because they are fun, well paced, and they feel rewarding when you complete them. I also enjoy these courses because I want to get better at reading maps and getting a better sense of direction, because those two skills can be really helpful in the real world. Also, because gps and maps are overrated and people rely too much on technology, it’s a good way to go back to the roots and use your brain.  

• One thing I've most definitely learned through my time working at NG is how to be a good teammate. Before This experience I'll be honest I wasn't the most patient person, but when working and explaining things to people that aren't specifically easy you have to have patience in order to complete the task at hand. I'm hoping that these skills I've learned will help me in everyday life and I'm almost 100 percent sure that this is the case. Orienteering is good for kids because it shows kids how everyday skills like reading maps can be helpful in life. It should be taught in schools due to the fact that it falls under physical education and its a efficient way to learn how to read maps and be outside in nature.

Quotes from Educators

• We really enjoyed our PD with Barb and Jackson on Wednesday. All of the Phys Ed staff had fun and saw the value in incorporating orienteering into our curriculum. We had our department meeting afterwards and discussed possibilities and options for implementation. 

• Thank you so much to you, Barb, and Jackson for a great PD. You really have developed something that is of value to our students and touches on so many important areas;  life skills, practical knowledge, and social emotional learning, in conjunction with physical movement, communication, teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking! 

• Navigation Games develops orienteering programming which they helped us start at Camp Grossman this past summer. It was VERY well received.  Everyone loved it.  It's a great outside activity and can be tailored to (almost) all ages. - Leslie Hochstein, Camp Grossman, 2021

• The team at Navigation Games was nothing short of amazing!  Barb, Ethan, and Charlotte provided well-prepared lessons that were both interesting and motivating for our students.  During a time when guidelines are constantly changing, Charlotte and Ethan provided both in-person and remote lessons that adhered to COVID-19 safety protocols through engaging lessons that encouraged students to use their physical, mental, and social skills in a fun learning environment.  I am so grateful for the orienteering experience that Navigation Sports provided to myself and my students, I highly recommend this program to any school looking to broaden the learning experience of both their students and teachers. - Kristen Cook, Cambridge Public Schools

• I have been running camp and adventure programs for many years now, and I was highly impressed with the quality of Navigation Games as a guest at my summer nature camps. With our options so limited by the current pandemic, they ended up being a perfect fit for a safe, fun, and educational outdoor activity. We could tell that the leaders were truly passionate about orienteering and cared about delivering the best program possible. The activities were engaging, age-appropriate, and thoughtfully organized. There was clearly a lot of prep work ahead of time for the activities and it showed! My campers all had a great time and came out with increased spatial awareness and navigation skills. I can’t recommend them highly enough! - Stephanie Springer, Environmental Education, Town of Brookline, 2020

• Ethan, Barb and the entire Navigation Games team were great to work at Amigos, whether in-person or online. The NG team was incredibly flexible considering my school’s hybrid learning plan, with half of our classes remote through Zoom and the other half in-person in a nearby park. They were able to adapt their curriculum to fit my students’ needs while still keeping the content fun and engaging. When teaching outdoors, the team kept a positive attitude in all weather conditions and gave clear instructions for students JK-3 to understand. When teaching via Zoom, the NG team used kid-friendly pictures and terminology to clearly convey orienteering topics and vocabulary. This orienteering unit was fun, educational, and engaging for all students whether in-person or online. I’m already looking forward to our unit next year with the Navigation Games team!  - Libby Bacher, Cambridge Public Schools, 2020

• I genuinely cannot wait to join my first orienteering race.  - Anonymous participant in a conference workshop.

• Great presenting/teaching style. Clear. Concise. Excited. Encouraging.  - Anonymous participant in a conference workshop.

• I really enjoyed running around and learning by experiencing.  - Anonymous participant in a conference workshop.

• It was great to do several hands-on activities but also to talk about extensions, modifications, and lessons. Thanks!  - Anonymous participant in a conference workshop.