On May 7 and 8, Canyon View's fifth graders spent two days at Camp Whispering Pines on Mt. Lemmon for an overnight outdoor education experience that capped the school year and the elementary chapter of their lives.

Building a fire

Why Fifth Grade Camp Matters

The research on outdoor education at this age is striking. Studies have shown that students who learn outdoors develop an array of skills including independence, confidence, creativity, empathy, enhanced decision-making and problem-solving skills, motor skills, self-discipline and a sense of self. A landmark 2005 study by the American Institutes for Research found that children who attended an outdoor education program had a significant increase in their self-esteem.

Camps like this also do something a school day can't quite replicate: they take screens out of the equation entirely. Research has shown that when children rely only on face-to-face interaction during camp activities, their skills with reading nonverbal emotional cues measurably improve. 

Getting ready for stargazing 

A Day in the Life at Camp Whispering Pines

The schedule was packed. Thursday opened with cabin assignments, team banner creation, and a chant that each cabin group performed at the Performance Center to introduce themselves. 

After a sack lunch on the patio, the students built personalized journals with duct tape and markers, then headed out on a 1.5-mile Trail Bingo hike along the Palisades Trail, with 262 feet of elevation gain. Each cabin group looked for items on a bingo board and crossed them off as they spotted them along the way, with leaders verifying the finds. Groups that completed a full board were entered into a prize drawing.

The afternoon brought a Backwards Scavenger Hunt, a team-building twist on the classic game where students assembled creative responses to prompts they hadn't yet been given. After dinner, the evening rotation began: geocaching with handheld GPS units, fire safety lessons, campfire songs, and a "10 Essentials" wilderness preparation class. The night closed with a stargazing session led by the Tucson Amateur Astronomers, complete with red-light flashlight etiquette and a no-bright-light rule that preserved the dark sky.

Friday morning, after breakfast in the lodge, students rotated through four hands-on adventure sessions led by the CFSD Community Schools Outdoors team: shelter building, paracord bracelets and wildlife watching, more geocaching, and structured team-building games. By 1 p.m., the buses were headed back down the mountain.

Making paracord bracelets

The People Who Made It Happen

Every detail of the camp was planned by Mary Grodman of CFSD Community Schools. Mary spent weekends in the lead-up to camp scouting the hikes and trails personally, walking them in advance to make sure they were safe and clear for our fifth graders. Parents may not see this work, but this attention to detail is one reason the whole operation runs as smoothly as it does.

Special thanks also go to the Ms. Herfkens and the fifth grade team — Mr. Suter, Ms. Hays, and Mrs. Clark — who guided their classes through the experience and ran the team-building activities on Thursday. The CFSD Community Schools Outdoors staff, including Autumn, Jake, Abbie, Sandy, Doug, Alex, Mackenzie, and Travis, led the evening sessions and Friday's adventure rotations. And our parent chaperones, who gave up two days and a night to bunk in cabins with energetic ten- and eleven-year-olds, made it possible for the whole class to attend.

The camp is funded by the Canyon View Family Faculty Organization (CVFFO) and parent donations. Because the cost of a two-day overnight far exceeds a typical field trip, families were asked for a $100 donation per camper to cover transportation, food, activities, and supplies. Donations above $100 fund scholarships so that no child is ever turned away from camp because of cost. We are grateful to every family who contributed and chaperoned.

Making long-lasting memories

What Stays With Them

Years from now, our fifth graders will not remember exactly what bingo squares they crossed off on the Palisades Trail, or which constellation Mary pointed out, or how their first paracord bracelet turned out. They will remember the moment their cabin chant got the loudest cheer. They will remember the cold night air, the smoke from the fire pit, the look on a friend's face when their shelter actually stayed up. They will remember being trusted to be away from home, to take care of themselves and each other, and to come back ready for middle school.

Are you looking for an adventure this summer? Join Community Schools Outdoor Adventures and enjoy it all—from hiking and backpacking to exploring caves, sharing campfire stories, and taking unforgettable road trips. There’s an adventure waiting for every explorer!   Learn more and sign up here: Community Schools Outdoor Adventures