A Video Game About Playing Outside?

Kids control the family--at least in many families.

That is one of the driving forces behind the summer school class I created 9 years ago. I came up the idea for my outdoor summer school class, set in a public school, when my niece was about three years old. Upon getting in the car, if anyone failed to put on their seatbelt, she would begin the shrill repetition of  "Put on your seatbelt or you are going to die." Everyone obeyed her.

My thinking behind creating an outdoor class was that if a kid can get such immediate action from adults through such minimal means, then I could harness that ability for the health and enjoyment of their family.  I decided that kids should be the leaders in their families in getting outside to hike, bike and camp.

The other event which swirled around in my head occurred in the winter of 2008, way before Pokemon Go.  In Wisconsin it was a beautiful winter day, sunny and in the upper 20's Fahrenheit. I was teaching at a middle school that had an attached elementary school and was going outside to do lunch duty on the playground when I encountered a dawdling elementary schooler.  I said, "Wow, what a beautiful day!" To which he responded, "I would rather have a video game about playing outside."

I was shocked that any little kid wouldn't love making a snowman, making and throwing illicit snowballs or any other activity that kids do during recess.

Knowing that no such class existed in my district, I was unsure if the district would accept a course of that nature for summer school.  But, as Seth Godin always encourages, I did not wait to be picked. I did not hope that someone would magically find out about my idea.  I proposed and sold my idea of the Survivor class to an audience that didn't know they needed what I was offering.

I am not sure how many other ideas I have made excuses which cause them not to be put into action, but this one stands out for me because, but pursuing it I have taught hundreds of kids outdoor and leadership skills which have caused families to go to state parks, ride bikes, camp and go outdoors.