One of the most memorable moments during this program was our trip to Barkerville.

At first, I felt very uneasy about staying the night in a place that made me somewhat uncomfortable. However, knowing that I would be surrounded by people that I feel comfortable around made my uncertainty better, and I was able to enjoy the trip with my peers.

Our first stop on the trip was at Blessing’s grave. Here we brainstormed ideas on how we could bring our students here and teach them about the history behind the grave. Specializing in elementary years made it slightly difficult to think about bringing students to a grave site while also ensuring that they stay engaged. My group came up with the idea that the students could get together with partners and create a story of what they thought Blessing’s life was like before he made it to Barkerville. This would practice creative thinking and teach the students about being respectful at a gravesite.

The next stop was gold panning and boy, were my friends and I bad at it. Nothing is more frustrating then trying to pan gold and losing all of it in the river. Although there was a lot of frustration, it was a good team bonding exercise and by the looks on our faces, you could tell we had a blast.

Last but not least, we made it to Barkerville. After setting up our little tent crowd with all tents set up in a circle, we got to participate in a fire circle with our peers. During this, everyone got to share their experiences that occurred during practicum and it was nice to hear that everyone went through some tough times during practicum. I felt like this fire circle brought us together as a cohort and made us a little family.

Overall, the trip to Barkerville was eye-opening, informative, and beyond fun. I would love to have the opportunity to bring my future students to such a knowledge filled place and give them the opportunity to create a connection with their peers like I got to do with mine.