Well I did it! I jumped into the deep end with both feet, and my first ever retreat seemed to be a success.

Day 1 – I had 2 teachers and we went over John Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren’snew curriculum. We took a hike, and we completed a few pages. It was an amazing day with so many questions and ultimately ideas about how this will transfer into the classroom.

Day 2 – I had 8 people for a day of hiking and nature journaling. After introductions we struck out on a hike in hopes of missing the rain. We got a bit lost, but finally found the overlook and enjoyed the view. Our hike took us back to the rain shelter where we had lunch and created some more amazing pages from things we saw on our hike. Note to self…..Don’t allow cell phones on the hikes so they will sketch more!

Day 3 – I had 5 of my naturalists from the previous days. We went to a city park and learned to draw landscapes. They got to play with all the tools and find out what they liked and didn’t like. I know many amazon orders were placed before they left the retreat haha.

Bonus Day 4 – A family stayed the rest of the weekend with me and Jason & I helped them earn their first ever Junior Ranger Badges with the State Park System.

I call this a very successful first Retreat and look forward to facilitating the next one at Lake Mineral Wells in October. I also have some one day workshops in the works at other state parks. Stay Tuned!