kayaking Archives - Waypoint Adventure MA

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Private Lessons Summer 2020

September 25, 2020/in Hiking, Kayaking, Open Enrollment, Past Programs, Uncategorized

It’s been a wild summer! Covid-times are hard times for sure, but the silver lining for us at Waypoint has been these private lessons! Check out pictures and some cool things we’ve noticed!

Participants are progressing in skills! We’ve been able to focus more on teaching directly to a participant’s skill set and learning style. On one kayaking lesson, we spent over 40 minutes with a participant near the shore breaking down the steps of kayaking very carefully and methodically – adding color cues to her paddle, arrows on white boards, writing out steps, and wading into the water next to her boat to practice the feeling of paddling. We just wouldn’t be able to devote that level of instruction in a group setting!
We’re developing closer relationships with our participants and their families. There’s a lot to chat about on a 90-minute lesson! We’ve seen fresh sides to personalities in a new one-to-one atmosphere and have learned so much about each person who has come out!
More people than ever are signing up that have never been on a Waypoint program! We’re getting calls and emails from all over the Boston area from people who’s school or program is closed and they are looking for something outdoors to do. People who have been on our mailing list for years and just never got around to signing up are doing so. And we think, partly, it’s desperate times, but for some people, they just thrive in a private-lesson setting as opposed to a group one.
We’ve been forced into trying new sites when parks were closed and they’ve turned out to be awesome for us! Some of our new favorites are paddling on the Concord River from Lowell Street in Concord, MA, the Ice House Landing parking lot in Maynard, MA which has access to the Assabet River and a great rail trail for biking, and we’ve used more than usual our favorite Cambridge kayaking spot, Magazine Beach!

New Partnership with Riverview School!

October 8, 2019/in Kayaking, Latest News

New partnership alert! We’re working with Riverview School now! Riverview is a private boarding/day school founded in 1957 on Cape Cod for students with complex learning, language, and cognitive disabilities. We’re working with the GROW Adventure Club – students in post-high school transition who are interested in adventure, challenges, and the outdoors. We’re thrilled by this new partnership and a new place to run programs on the Cape!

Four big adventures are planned for this school year with the goals of challenging students with new and exciting adventures, and also opening up places and opportunities they can come back to in their local community to experience again! Our kick-off to the series was this evening kayaking program, but we’re also planning a winter hiking-weekend, an outdoor rock-climbing program, and a summer camping/kayaking weekend! Check out our sunset paddle on Wequaquet Lake in Barnstable!

We were impressed by the teamwork and care for each other this community demonstrated. One pair in particular made huge strides. When they were having a lot of trouble steering their boat, they became so frustrated that they just stopped paddling all-together. The rest of the group stopped too and offered tips and advice! This pair listened well and got to calm down, and then slowly but surely, they began to keep their boat straight and work as a team without getting frustrated with each other!

On the way back to shore, one of the students said, “This was harder than I thought it was going to be and my shoulders are pretty tired, but I feel great about what I did and that we were finally able to keep the boat straight!” We love the grit this team displayed and we can’t wait to see this team grow through more “first-time” challenges and exciting adventures! Stay tuned for our Winter Hiking Weekend!

Thank you again to Riverview for allowing us to work with your students and the Town of Barnstable for letting use Wequaquet Lake.

Summer of “I Can”

September 9, 2019/in Kayaking, Uncategorized

The summer of “I Can” is all about discovering more. Discovering what you CAN do, what your community can do, what’s possible, and what’s fun. We’re proud to be back for another year of MA DCR Universal Access sponsored programs and are grateful to be using beautiful Walden Pond for most of them. Thank you Walden Pond State Reservation for accommodating us so wonderfully. Participants, Volunteers, and Families, you inspire us every day with your love for kayaking and appreciation for our diverse community. Check out pictures of our adventures!

July 13th Open Enrollment at Lake Cochituate in Wayland: See our Post “Summer of I CAN Kicks Off”

July 16th at Walden Pond with The Carroll Center for the Blind

July 16th Open Enrollment at Walden Pond (Watch Tim and Max do a Wet Exit!)

July 18th Open Enrollment at Magazine Beach – See our Post “One Program with Many Firsts”

July 23rd at Walden Pond with Cambridge Street Upper School

“This will be the most memorable trip of the summer!” The staff at Cambridge Public School’s summer program are calling it now. “They did so much better than I ever thought possible!”… To be honest, we were surprised too! In the pouring rain, the bus arrived and every kid got off and was ready to go! Sometimes we forget that the bigger challenges are the most rewarding. Rain probably isn’t your top pick if you could pick the weather for your kayak program, but life’s surprises and a community that’s up for an adventure together create moments to never forget. We could NOT have done it too without the stellar support of volunteers from LogMeIn. Thank you all for your love of adventure and for not being afraid of a little rain 🌧. We all discovered I CAN KAYAK IN THE RAIN!

July 23rd Open Enrollment for kids at Walden Pond

July 30th at Walden Pond with Newton North High School’s Community Connections Program

July 30th Open Enrollment at Walden Pond

August 3rd Open Enrollment for Adults at Malibu Beach in Dorchester: See our post, The Biggest and the Farthest

Aug 6th at Walden Pond with Young Life Capernaum

Aug 6th Open Enrollment at Walden Pond (Watch the Video of the Launch)

Aug 13th with Newton South STRIDE at Walden Pond

Aug 13th Open Enrollment at Walden Pond

Aug 20th with Burlington Recreation Department at Walden Pond

Aug 20th Open Enrollment at Walden Pond

Aug 22nd Open Enrollment at the Woerd Ave Boat Launch in Waltham

One Program With Many Firsts

July 25, 2019/in Uncategorized

July 18th was a very special day. Our kayaking program at newly renovated Magazine Beach in Cambridge had some big firsts! Several new experiences and accomplishments added up to one magical night on the water. Here’s the list.

1. Lydia paddled the back of a tandem boat with a participant in the front. This was her first time! Watch her talk about her “I Can” Moment: Lydia Paddles the Back of a Tandem Boat

2. A care-taker that came with a participant had a fear of the water. But he, too, embraced the theme of discovering what you can do and chose to paddle with us. Guess who he paddled with…. Lydia! Watch him talk about overcoming his phobia: Yinka Overcame His Phobia of the Water

3. We had a dog in a boat! This service dog was admirably obedient and brave for scooching all the way down in the cockpit of the boat seat his human was in. It was Sally’s first time kayaking as well! She learned that she doesn’t need ANY specialized equipment or kayak to go again on her own!

4. The Cambridge Police Department volunteered! Thank you Officer LeVecque for volunteering your time and bringing patches!

5. And last but not least, there’s NEVER been a bigger smile and happier-looking combo on a Waypoint program than Zach McLeod and his paddle-partner, Dave Su. Zach has the most infectious love for people and connecting with others than you’ll ever experience. (Zach’s been on Waypoint programs before, so this technically isn’t a first… but you get the idea). The McLeod’s just released a book “Hit Hard” about Zach’s football injury at age 16 and his family’s journey of letting go of what was and learning to live well with what is. You’ll read it in one sitting! Highly recommend. Buy it here.

There were so many more “Waypoint moments” on this trip. There’s just too many to mention. Check out more pictures of the program. And a shoutout to Friends of Magazine Beach, the City of Cambridge, and the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation for constructing an accessible boat launch! Waypoint was honored to have consulted on the project so that more people with disabilities can access the beauty and serenity of the water and the fun of paddling with a community. Come down to the park for an official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to open the launch on Thursday, August 1st at 9:30am… right before our last Magazine Beach kayaking program of the year!

Summer of “I CAN” Kicks Off

July 19, 2019/in Kayaking

A few years ago, a woman named Kamisha came kayaking with Waypoint on the Charles River. It was a full day and the afternoon’s wind picked up making it a big challenge for everyone to get back to the dock. As she was rounding the last corner, she told a Waypoint staff, “This is great for me because this reminds me that ‘I Can!'” It was the perfect summation of what Waypoint is all about: Moments of accomplishment to remember when facing other challenges in life.

Since that time, Waypoint has been implementing research plans and handing out participant surveys and a few key outcomes keep coming to the surface… one of them? Self-Efficacy – one’s belief in their own abilities to complete a task or reach a goal. You CAN!

And this year, we’re all about that. “I Can” moments are happening on programs and it’s continuing to shape people self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy! Check out pictures of our “Summer of ‘I Can'” kick-off on Lake Cochituate in Wayland.

It’s A Wrap! Somerville 2019

June 12, 2019/in Hiking, Kayaking, Past Programs, Rock Climbing, Ropes Course, Schools, Series

24 Programs! Our biggest partnership ever! What an awesome year it has been with the thriving Special Education Department of Somerville Public Schools. Thanks to a Cummings Foundation grant the Somerville SPED Department received and the tireless efforts of Wellness Coordinator and friend, Caitlin Kelly, Waypoint was BACK in Somerville for the 2018-2019 school year designing and facilitating quality adventure-education programs for 19 different classes across the district. Social-Emotional Learning was happening on these programs: students immersed in problem solving scenarios, supported by the process of learning and community, and given the right to take on challenging experiences and we saw it in action – the perfect recipe for character building come to life.

These programs were not just work for us. The buy-in from teachers and administrators made this series a joy to facilitate. We even had volunteers come out on one program and come back again and again and again because of how much fun they had just being a part of these days! Shoutout to Jim Bradley, Sylvana Weinstein, and some awesome repeat groups from Definitive Cares and The Shady Hill School. This community is vibrant and excelling because of your support!

You HAVE to peruse some of the pictures below. It felt like a family photo album putting these together and laughing about ridiculous things that happened on programs and awesome students, teachers, and volunteers we met along the way. Here are some snapshots from all of the programs we ran with Somerville during 2018-2019:

10/25/18 Ropes Course at Hale Reservation

11/14/18 Hike in the Middlesex Fells

12/19/18 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/9/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/11/19 Hike at Prospect Hill in Waltham

1/15/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/23/19 Hike at Ward Reservation in Andover

1/30/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

2/5/19 Hike at Ward Reservation in Andover

2/13/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

2/27/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

3/19/19 Hike at Harold Parker State Forest in Andover

3/27/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

3/28/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

4/2/19 Outdoor Rock Climbing at Hammond Pond in Newton

4/10/19 Hike at Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield

4/24/19 Hike at Lynn Woods in Lynn

5/1/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

5/15/19 Hike at Lynn Woods in Lynn

5/16/19 Hike at Prospect Hill in Waltham

5/23/19 Outdoor Rock Climbing at Hammond Pond in Newton

5/24/19 Hike at Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield

5/29/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

6/5/19 Kayaking on the Charles River in Allston

We can’t thank our site partners from Central Rock Gym, Paddle Boston – Charles River Canoe and Kayak, Kennedy School Pool, and Massachusetts DCR enough for supporting this programming. THANK YOU!

And THANK YOU to all the students for participating, and the teachers and administrators that helped coordinate transportation, get forms filled out, opened the pool, and made sure adventure programming fit seamlessly into your curriculum. We believe it’s so important and it’s encouraging to see others agree. Looking forward to next year!

Prader Willi Syndrome Association goes Kayaking!

September 26, 2018/in Kayaking, Uncategorized

We had our FINAL kayaking program of the season on September 9th and although clouds rolled in and everyone wore fleece jackets, it was still an awesome day to be on the water and make connections with a new-to-Waypoint group! What a perfect way to end!

The Prader Willi Syndrome Association of New England (PWSANE) supports families and individuals with PWS living in the New England area and although you might think the bulk of their resources are centered around educating families and making connections, they value the role of Adventure Education and want their participants to experience adventure programming! Six young adults came kayaking at Lake Cochituate in Wayland and felt the importance of experiencing adventure, had fun connecting with peers who have PWS, and even got to compete in an on-the-water-kayaking-tug-of-war game!

And it was a benefit for parents too! One mom commented that the thing she learned from the experience was “that it was ok to just let them go!” While the 6 teens paddled away, moms and dads stayed on shore on beautiful Wayland Town Beach and got to connect and have the half-day to themselves.

But what is Prader-Willi Syndrome? Although you may have never heard the term, it’s one of the most common non-inherited genetic conditions linked to obesity to date. From Prader-Willi Syndrome Association.org, PWS is a complex genetic disorder affecting appetite, growth, metabolism, cognitive function, and behavior. It can cause low muscle-tone and chronic feelings of insatiable hunger. The hypothalamus is compromised so the individual never feels full after eating. The cause is yet to be known, but it’s estimated that about one in 15,000 people have PWS.

Check out pictures from our awesome day!

The “Wet Exit”

September 17, 2018/in Kayaking, Training, Uncategorized

Usually, when you go kayaking, you want to be on top of your boat sitting in the seat ;). But occasionally, whether by accident or on purpose, you might find yourself in the water instead. You’ve done a wet exit! This can be fun and exciting and it’s also a good skill/scenario to practice.

On Waypoint programs, our goal for participants is always simply this: That each individual would challenge him/herself in some way – whatever that means for them. When it comes to kayaking specifically, this may mean paddling from point A to point B, experiencing the social dynamic of a group, putting on a life jacket, or trying the wet exit. Wet exits and re-entries DO happen on Waypoint programs and they’re a lot of fun! (Especially on a hot day when it’s nice to get in the water and cool off!)

Waypoint staff spend a lot of time practicing getting people back in their boats or the “re-entry” for all different scenarios and body-types.

We spend a lot of time demonstrating this process to others.

And our participants spend a lot of time practicing their wet exits and re-entries! Check out some wet exits!

*Note, in the world of kayaking, technically a “wet exit” is when your boat goes over while you’re wearing a spray skirt. For our purposes, even though program participants do not wear spray skirts, we use the term “wet exit” most often instead of “capsize” because it helps frame the experience as fun and intentional.

Encouragement in action

September 13, 2018/in Group Homes, Kayaking, Series, Uncategorized, Volunteer

Sometimes, when sharing living space, it’s easy to lose your patience, forget to be kind, have grace, or altogether maintain cordial relationships. And when push comes to shove, you may lose your cool! Well, nothing is better for a group of young adults who all live together then to use challenging experiences to work through problems and build the team! Check out our day of kayaking on the Charles River with this group home from Specialized Housing, Inc! Thanks Paddle Boston-Charles River Canoe and Kayak for having us!

This group has been adventuring with Waypoint for the past 3 years now and we’ve seen them through some fun, exciting, but challenging days! Saturday was a cold day to be kayaking and the group pushed through some windy conditions – all with one word in mind… Encouragement. We told them at the beginning of the day, “if you do nothing else today, but encourage each other, that will be a success.” We told them, “you WILL feel those moments bubble up where you get a little frustrated or you may want to say something negative, but instead, we want you to say something encouraging.”

At the end of the day, we recounted times that were frustrating or challenging (like crossing the river into the wind, maintaining direction, working with a new partner, etc) and how that positive mentality of “encouragement” was helpful to push through. You see, it’s not until we encounter something difficult do we need to give or receive encouragement. Waypoint is all about providing opportunities for that to happen and we’re just thrilled to partner with a group home that values that experience!

Check out pictures from our adventure! And a special thanks to all the volunteers that came out to help paddle and build up this awesome community.

Waypoint Summer of Courage

September 4, 2018/in Kayaking, Open Enrollment, Past Programs, Series, Uncategorized

Each summer, Waypoint partners with the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation to offer accessible kayaking adventures in local state parks through the Universal Access Program. It’s been a busy, inspiring, funny, emotional, energetic summer filled with meeting hundreds of unique and amazing people and building new relationships. Over 200 people came kayaking in some of MA’s most beautiful lakes, ponds, sections of the Charles River, and Boston Harbor.

Participants were pushed this summer to step out of their comfort zone and try something courageous! Courage is often thought of as some heroic act, but we defined it as “strength of the heart.” And many times this summer it took strength of the heart to meet someone new and paddle a tandem kayak with them, learn a new skill, or just build self-efficacy through competence! We had a blast while learning ways to grow and overcome challenges! People captured these courageous moments by writing them on our Banner of Courage. Check out of few of our favorites below.

I capsized my kayak!

I learned how to paddle without a staff!

I made new friends

I went kayaking for the first time!

I practiced setting realistic expectations

I trusted people to lift me

I asked for help from others!

I learned a new skill!!

Picture of a participant writing his moment of courage on the Waypoint banner.

One big group shot in front of the pond with the banner of courage

One big group shot with the Banner of Courage

We’re so grateful we got to rub shoulders with individuals and groups that truly value those moments of real “life-learning.” We left each program filled with the hope and knowledge that there are such courageous people in this Greater Boston community. It was an awesome Summer of Courage!

Thank you to our groups! Thanks for coming kayaking with us! We were excited to partner with you! We hope the courage exhibited by your clients/students/participants/residents reverberates back into your program/classroom/community/home. Thanks Newton South Connections ABA, Boston University, Federation for Children with Special Needs’ Parent Support Group “Circle of Vietnamese Parents,” Assabet Valley Collaborative, Toward Independent Living and Learning (TILL) The Autism Initiative, TILL Group Homes, Burlington Recreation Department, and Specialized Housing, Inc.

Thank you to our sites! A special thanks to our new friends at Walden Pond! We couldn’t have asked for a more accommodating, thoughtful group of Mass DCR staff to support our programming. Our participants couldn’t have experienced the beauty of Walden without your guidance and help! Thanks also to Charles River Canoe and Kayak for access to your boats, gear, staff, and awesome sites. And Wayland Recreation Department for letting us use Wayland Town Beach, keeping your bathrooms open, and letting us use your beautiful boat launch!

Thank you to our volunteers! We had a record number of volunteers come out this summer! We felt the love! Thank you for your energy, flexibility, and eagerness to get involved. We are beyond thankful to have you be a part of our team this summer. A special shoutout to our corporate groups that went above and beyond to make “community” a tangible. Adobe and Silicon Valley Bank, thank you!

Thank you DCR Universal Access Program for lending all your financial support and expertise. Your staff are extensions of the Waypoint family! You’re making Massachusetts a better place!

7/14 with Waypoint’s Inclusive Adventure Club at Lake Cochituate in Wayland