Adventures at the Mountain

Breakfast done, we boarded the bus for a 20 minute ride to Marble Mountain.  A short but steep climb soon got us up amongst the temples where we split into two groups. One group was led off to take part in team-building activities, while the other remained to learn how to abseil. 

The team building involved the children solving problems and playing games which required communication, cooperation and problem solving skills.  The activities included crossing an invisible maze (on a grid) with no markings or talking allowed, and one blindfolded team member recreating a building block object with the others not allowed to use words to help.

The biggest challenge for many though was the abseiling. After a low-level session where the children learnt the basics, we headed up to the top of the mountain to take on either the 15m drop, into the cave, or the 25m cliff face. 

At school, many children are held back by their belief that they can or cannot do something.  Residential trips do challenge children, and the best part for me is when I see fears being conquered and children achieving what they thought they could not.  Experiences, like the abseiling, help to develop a 'can do' attitude. 

Every single member of our group abseiled either the 15m or 25m rope today. Some needed cajoling, others took their time, and sometimes it was the encouragement of friends that got them down.  Well done Year 5! You can really be proud of yourselves and you thoroughly deserved that swim when we got back to the hotel.

PHOTOLINK: Hoi An Day 2