HATCHET FIELD TRIP

The sixth grade recently finished reading the novel "Hatchet" by Gary Paulson. It's about a 13-year-old boy named Brian who finds himself stranded in the Canadian wilderness. Brian has to rely on his survival skills, both physical and mental, to stay alive. To celebrate the completion of the book, our class took a field trip to Mudcreek in New Boston, Texas. Our gracious hosts were Gary and Mary Ted Mayo (my parents) and our activities director was Gene Joyce (my husband). We began our day by going on a hayride and touring the property

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After our tour, we came back to the cabin and did our first "survival" activity. We built fires using flint and steel kits. We learned from our novel how important it is to have just the right types of brush and kindling, and practicing this skill was challenging.

The Mayos treated us to grilled burgers for lunch, cooked by Joe Mayo. 

After lunch, we headed for the woods to begin our next activity - a shelter-building contest. We split up into 3 teams. After receiving some tips on where to find certain wooded materials and discussing how Brian improved his shelter in the book...the contest began! 

After lots of bamboo-weaving, cedar brush gathering, and problem-solving...we had a winner!

We wrapped up the day with an ice-cold popsicle back at the cabin. It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy nature. We had a great time and made some amazing memories. 

WHAT AN AWESOME DAY!!!