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Dare to Teach Kids to Kayak

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DevonDevon Barker-Hicks’ Dare to Kayak program teaches public school children to paddle while challenging them to stay away from drugs and alcohol.

 

Teach a kid to paddle- change their perspective forever!

I just had the pleasure of taking 30 students to Zims Hot Springs in New Meadows, Idaho to introduce them to paddling. I teach junior high school, and my co-instructor in the kayaking clinic, Brent LaFay, teaches fourth grade. Our fourth, seventh, and eighth grade students participated in Dare to Kayak this year.

I created Dare to Kayak in 2002 as a way bring a positive message to schools. I wanted to encourage kids to take up paddling as a healthy activity that could steer them away from drug and alcohol abuse. Each year, I share an interactive paddling video with the students, and then we visit the pool to to get started.

Paddles All Around

Gary Wilson, World Kayak Ambassador, and his kids, Tyler, Troy, and Paige, all helped instruct at Zim’s. This way the fifth year they have helped to make Dare to Kayak a great success! This year they created the Dare video. It shows our day more than I could ever describe here.

We had about 15 kayaks in the water all at the same time; our students each had a partner. We covered wet exits, plus sweep, draw, forward, and reverse strokes. We played some fun games in and on top of our kayaks. I think my all time favorite game is when we turn the kayaks upside down and run across as many as we can before bailing off into the water. Not only are these games fun, but they help the students to become more and more comfortable in the water.

Wet Exits

It is amazing how much the students can learn in one day. By the end of the day, they could flip over and hold their breath before wet exiting. They were all coming up with smiles on their faces. Each student demonstrated their skills for all the strokes they learned. As an educator, it is so wonderful for me to see those students who do not always excel in academics shine when paddling. If only I could take them paddling everyday, I might get them to turn in their homework.

Our final day focused on river safety, conservation, fish habitat, and proper use of PFDs. This year we visited the Alzar School campus for our water safety day. Alzar is an amazing school for 10th and 11th grade students who are interested in leadership and, of course, kayaking. Their students created six practice stations for our students, such as a dry-land foot entrapment and strainer station. Our students learned how to float in the water, nose and toes up, and how to watch out and be safe when approaching river hazards. Students also learned how to use a throw bag, properly fit PFDs and how to pull each other back into a raft.

We wrapped up the day with lessons on habitat, a tour of the campus, and a picnic lunch. All of the Alzar students did an amazing job leading their stations. Three of the leaders were students that I had taught to paddle in the past. I am so proud of you!

Dare to Kayak was made possible for the last three years through funding from the Wild Rivers License Plate Fund from the Idaho Department of Commerce in conjunction with my awesome school, Meadows Valley School District in New Meadows. I cannot thank everyone enough who has helped me along the way, supporting safety education and paddling. Zims Hot Springs is a perfect partner in our mission to educate students in water safety. Thanks NRS for all the kid paddling gear, Werner for the paddles, and all our friends who graciously loaned their kayaks to our students!

Here is a quote from our week. (The students come up with new ones daily.)

Dare to be who you want to be.

Activities are better than drug and alcohol abuse.

Risk losing so you can reach your goals

Everything can be achieved with hard work, dedication, and a deep, down drive that guides you…

To KAYAK.