Wet Planet just finished up Day 1 of their kayaking kids course. We had so much fun today . . . this group consisted of 2 10-year olds and 3 8-year olds, plus our 4th year returning 14 year old.

The day started out with introductions and giving nicknames to students and instructors. Our nicknames include:
Cotton Candy (Instructor - because of the pink kayak)
FG (Forgetful Gopher Instructor - as we kept sending him back and forth to fetch gear - resulting in him forgetting
Twinkle Toes (assistant & 4th year returning student - because she is a ballerina)
Cobos - Student who came with that nickname
Turtle - because his pfd was too big for him at first, that it covered everything but his eyes!
Sebo-matic - mixture of student's name and his robot that he built
Green Bean - just because he was wearing a green t-shirt
Kowasaki - because he makes motorcycle noises

It's funny how nicknames originate . . . good times!

After intro's, we headed over to the kayaks to outfit the boats and gear the kids up. We introduced each essential piece of gear, the importance and how to appropriately put the gear on. After this, we played our first game: The Gear Race. Sebo-matic took the lead, with Turtle close behind . . .

The rest of the morning, we spent time in the pool, getting used to our kayaks. We spent a lot of time flipping over and perfecting the infamous "wet exit", which is required before paddling on moving water. There were a few kids nervous about the 'wet exit', but they all HAD to perform one.

There were tons of smiles and screams of excitement in the pool . . . lots of laughter.

After lunch, the group headed to Northwestern Lake to learn how to paddle. We spent a few minutes on instructional information, but more on just playing and having fun. We played games and just played around in the cold water of Northwestern Lake.

To wrap-up each day, the kids are asked a couple of questions . . . pondering the day and what they learned. Here are the questions, and what the kids had to say about their first day:
Question #1: What was your most favorite part of the day?
Question #2: What is one 'cool' thing you can pick out about someone you met today on the first day of class?

#1: Flipping the Kayak
#2: Sebo-matic is nice.
#1: Dropping in from the Dock into the water (Seal Launching)
#2: Turtle: He is so determined.
#1: Piano keys was fun.
#2: Sebo-matic was funny and nice.
#1: My instructor pushed the front of my kayak down into the water in the pool.
#2: The instructors are funny.
#1: Getting back into my kayak in the lake after a whole year. It was also cool seeing people who were new to kayaking and begin really excited about it.
#2: I met Turtle and I like his attitude toward trying new things.
#1: Kayaking on the Lake
#2: Cobos is a sick kid!

Can't wait until tomorrow . . . these kids rock. You can check out more photos from the Kids' Kayaking Course on the Wet Planet Facebook Page.  We've got some great photos from the course!
Team Wet Planet