Elementary School Talk

[faulknerwn 36]

Last week I attended a career day at a local elementary school - it was easy - just set up a tent outside and brought an unpacked parachute and a rig. Let the kids who walked by try on the rig and showed some skydiving video.

So it was mentioned in the local paper and I got a call from another elementary school wanting us at their career day. It wasn't so bad so I said I didn't think a problem and send us info.

I got the info today - they want 6 40 minute presentations on the job! Covering how I got started, training required, and other stuff. But yowsa - a 40!!!! minute talk? That's a LONG time! And having to re-do it 6 times? Their career day theme is "careers in flight".

Besides convincing someone else to do this (my first goal :-) any suggestions on what to do for 40 minutes with a bunch of pre-k to 5th graders?

[calledisrael 0]

i imagine you can take up half of it with questions. i got called the other day (no kidding) by a third grade class wanting to know if skydivers really said geronimo when they jump. (they were studying native american history or whatever.) i was like, um, well, usually i am having to say "up, down, airplane..."

life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
(helen keller)

[faulknerwn 36]

Could be. They mention leaving 5 minutes for questions after the talk but still! I suspect older kids would ask more questions than 4 year olds

[shortyj 0]

You could bring lotsa pictures of the jumpship and rw just general skydiving pics. Don't forget the props kids love those your rig, alti, jumpsuit. Tell them how it works the older ones. And you could always share some skydiver lingo. Have fun.

Playtime is essential.

[BillyVance 34]

40 minutes? Pussy.... I just signed up for a couple of presentations on deaf skydiving coming up in 6 weeks, at 90 minutes each session.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[ryan_d_sucks 0]

Make sure you leave about 20 minutes open at the end of your presentation for beer/bondfire in the gymnasium (or wherever your presentation will be). I imagine it might take a while for those 3rd graders to choke down some of that nectar.

[beowulf 1]

You gotta have freeflying in it. You could have some video on a projector. I have lots of raw freefly video and an edited short video.

[78RATS 0]

you can show the Gravity Rat video. oh wait... naked chicks...Nevermind.

hahaha

Rat for Life - Fly till I die
When them stupid ass bitches ask why

[steve1 5]

I've done this a bunch of times with elementary kids. Show them some gear, draw some pictures describing things like tracking, arching, etc. Then show a good movie showing skydivers doing their thing. I usually show the movie "Airspeed". Leave plenty of time for questions, and 40 minutes will be gone before you know it. Even the biggest behavior problem kids will tune into your discussion....Steve1

[Eule 0]

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I got the info today - they want 6 40 minute presentations on the job!

That's less than one first jump course... how hard can it be? :)

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Their career day theme is "careers in flight".

Who else will be speaking? Some of the "usual suspects" would be a commercial airline pilot and maybe somebody from the Experimental Aircraft Association. These people may have done presentations for little kids before and may be able to give you some tips. The teachers at the school can also probably help.

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Besides convincing someone else to do this (my first goal :-) any suggestions on what to do for 40 minutes with a bunch of pre-k to 5th graders?

Do you get the entire age range at each talk, or will one talk be first-graders, the next one second-graders, and so on? If you get all ages every time, you pretty much need one talk that has something for everyone, but if you get age ranges, you might need two talks - a simpler one for the younger kids and a more technical one for the older kids. Or at least, an intro and a conclusion that stays the same, but a middle part that you can adjust to the age range you're talking to.

Passing stuff around is always popular, but not too much stuff - if they're looking at the stuff they're not listening to you. Small and not super expensive things like a ripcord, closing pin, pilot chute, etc. If the older kids are not too rowdy you might pass around an altimeter, but not your brand-new AltiTrack.

You can probably use a little time doing the FJC demo of unpacking a chute and pointing out its features. Get a couple of the kids to hold on to your pilot chute and walk away and explain what's happening as it "deploys". (This does assume you have a reasonable place to repack it.) On the other hand, they might want more about the "job" and not the hardware, but I still think it would be an interesting demo.

Video might be good but not too much. If you have to turn out the lights to show it, some of the kids will start going to sleep. The kids will all be half-asleep in the talk immediately after lunch anyway.

If you can swing it, a good intro might be to be ready to jump - jumpsuit, rig, helmet, goggles, altimeter, everything - and then hide around the corner as the kids come in. Walk out in front of them like that and you'll grab their attention right away. Then you
can take the stuff off and hold it up as you talk about each piece.

Don't forget to explain about Ramen noodles and how to get a good deal on a used RV. :)

Eule

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

[skymama 35]

I did this for middle school once. I brought all my gear and different suits, including a wing suit and picked some kids out of the class to try them on. I described why they had different suits on and what kind of flying they would do with them. I cut out pics from Parachutist and pasted them on poster board for extra visuals. I showed tapes (of me, of course ). Other than that, I pretty much described the whole process of going on a skydive from gearing up to exit. For the 5th graders, you could explain the landing pattern on the chalkboard and ask them if they can figure out how you would change it with more and less wind. I also let one of the kids put the rig on and demonstrated how the rig pops open. It was fun, they treat you like a rock-star!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[klingeme 0]

I did this several times for kids at a Department of Jouvenile Justice Youth Facility I worked at. I could talk for 2 hours and have the supervisers giving me the classic cartoon hook to get me "off stage". Time will fly by.
If all else fails, pull out some CReW wrap videos and awe them that way.

Mark Klingelhoefer


Mark Klingelhoefer

[faulknerwn 36]

CRW Wrap Videos I have lots of! I could show them my head-on collision video - that's always a good one!

[Spdu4ia 0]

If you run out of time for some STRANGE reason. you could always put a couple kids on a table and work on their arch!

[stitch 0]

Haul along some creepers and show them some different RW formations. Interaction is always good with childern that age.

"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

[Newbie 0]

I work in educatiojn with that year group too. Engagement is key, so lots of pics/vids can be good, but often the power of your voice and how you say what you say, rather than what you are actually saying (especially at pre 5th grade) can make a huge difference.

It will be very tiring for you - you need to be very enthusiastic (without coming across like a dememnted madman) so bring lots of juice drinks/water/high energy snacks etc.

Remember - lots of participation is key - get them trying stuff on, pass things around and constantly throw questions out to them if you can. Try not to spend too long an amount of time talking to them, rather, try and get as much interactivity as possible built in as you can.

I spent an hour today speaking to 34 ten year olds - you can tell when you have lost them - they glaze over, they start to yawn, their attention isn;t on you.

If this happens, have a few little back up plans - for instance, you can tell them you want to wake them up a little with a fun game called the "Brain Gym" where you pretend to unzip your head (with them following suit) and then massaging your brain, starting at the front, going along the sides and working towards theback). It helps if you make all the sound effects (unzipping your head for instance and making squishy noises as you massage your brain to get all the energy a flowin'!)

Find out form the teachers if you can bring a party bag of mini chocoloates and throw have a competition to see who has been paying attention - they love the rewards and it perks them right up if they think they are going to win chocoloates. Take more so that even the shy kids get sweets at the end.

Just a few ideas off the top of my head. Importantly, have fun with it - if you don't, the kids won't. The more relaxed you can be, the easier it is and the more you - and they - will get out of it.

Well done too on volunteering to go into schools - we rely alot on people and businesses to do just that, it gives the kids a great sense of real world know-how and experience

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[2fat2fly 0]

Phreezone did a presentation like this a while back and Bolas has a "Flat Stanley Goes Skydiving" powerpoint that's pretty good

I am not the man. But the man knows my name...and he's worried

[faulknerwn 36]

Who's Flat Stanley?

[NewGuy2005 51]

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Who's Flat Stanley?

It's a prop used to teach geography. A flat doll, kind of like a gingerbread man, that you take with you on vacation or wherever. You take pictures of it in various places and you show the pictures to stimulate discussion.

[Lindercles 0]

I'd recommend getting someone else to do it. We wouldn't want you getting mistaken for one of the students and sent to the principal's office.

[kkeenan 13]

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...yowsa - a 40!!!! minute talk?

Luckily Wendy can do a 40 min. talk in about 18 min.

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?