Kampo Trexo Immersion Trip Overview

via: vimeo.com/91800866

That line is one of the things we learned from the movie “Up!”. That’s the reason my family prefers going out, trying out new places and food, exposing Ren to people and other activities rather than spending money on things and gadgets.

This year is the first time that Ren’s school announced that the Grade school students will have an immersion trip. IMMERSION is explained as an experience aimed at getting students outside of their comfort zone and into real challenges.

Ren has a scouting class at school. They were taught how to do first aid, what to do when there is an accident and somebody got a broken arm or leg, build a tent, cook an egg using paper, cook a chicken under the soil, do obstacle course and a lot more.

That’s the reason why I was surprised when they announced that we will go out because they are already doing scouting at school. I mean, ano pa gagawing bago at iba sa labas?

KAMPO TREXO

The chosen venue of the school was Kampo Trexo. From their website – Kampo Trexo Incorporated (Treks and Expeditions Outfitters) is one of the few outdoor adventure recreation outfitters in the Philippines providing a variety of services – OUTDOOR RECREATION,CORPORATE OUTDOOR TEAMBUILDING, MOUNTAIN GUIDING, OUTDOOR EVENTS MANAGEMENT, ECO TOURISM CONSULTANCY and ADVENTURE TOURS.

The place is located at Alfonso Cavite and it’s just 1 and a half hour trip from the school. Upon arrival, greenery surroundings, cold air, birds chirping and small insects crawling will welcome you.

ACTIVITIES WE DID

It was a relief in the parents part when we arrived at the place designated for our group. We laid our mats on the ground and put down all our heavy baggage.

TENT PITCHING – this activity is new to Grade 1 students but the Grade 2 and Grade 3 students already know this because of their scouting class. What’s good with it is that the bigger kids was able to teach the younger ones how to do it. We’re talking about team effort and socialization here.

SCIENCE LECTURE – Ren’s science teacher taught them the difference of woody stems and herbaceous stems. He assigned the Grade 1 students to pick up a variety of leaves while the Grade 2 and 3 were asked to pick up a variety of stones and marbles. Then the kids were asked to practice measuring using the ruler. There is a contest of the fastest to give the exact measurement of the table (Length, Width and Thickness) and fortunately our team won.

CAMP STOVE OPERATION – Sir Chad, our lecturer, show and taught the kids how to operate a stove used for camping. There are 4 patrols and each patrol got the chance to try 4 different kinds of stoves.

PINOY HENYO and CHEERING – I was one of the parents that was chosen to do Pinoy Henyo and I got the #1 slot. It was thrilling and exciting. I was able to guess the name in 1:50 seconds hahaha. Then the parents and kids participated in a cheering competition. I’m happy to see that everyone cooperated.

MARSHMALLOW AND SABA ROASTING – we were asked to bring big marshmallows and saba. Ren ate the marshmallows without roasting it because he felt that the area was too hot. I haven’t tried roasted marshmallow yet and it’s unfortunate that I can’t stay in the roasting area too long to wait for my marshmallow to melt.

TREKKING and HANGING BRIDGE CROSSING – Kampo Trexo is a big place. Trekking is a challenge because there are slippery areas that you need to watch out for. While walking I keep on asking Ren to observe the area and tell me what he sees to practice his adjectives because they need to report for their English class about some places in the area. We also passed thru a long hanging bridge. As expected, my son is not afraid of heights. I learned about it when we did the tree top adventure at Subic a few years ago. He can even pass that bridge on his own without holding the rope. Ang tapang!

TREE PLANTING – the school promised to do this yearly for the environment. They brought 4 trees to plant at the area.

OBSTACLE COURSE – they tried log climbing, using the monkey bar or balancing, mud crawling, maze walking, rope climbing, bridge passing, wall passing from right to left and balancing on a wood.

Go Ren! #mud #obstaclecourse

A video posted by Levy Martinez (@iamlevym) on Nov 27, 2015 at 4:51am PST

MUSHROOM LECTURE- we had a stop over at mushroom burger to order our dinner and Ren’s Science teacher showed them the cultured mushroom displayed in the area.

My Thoughts:

Going out for an adventure and doing an immersion trip is a nice idea because it is something we don’t do everyday. I understand that kids should have time to let go of their gadgets and electronics and experience nature. Doing this will help them to be aware of their surroundings and experience things out of their comfort zones.

I can honestly say that somehow we enjoyed the trip although we missed some activities like tie knotting, show and tell for their English class and trying some of the attractions at the area like wall climbing for adults, Rappelling and Zipline experience because of the lack of time.

Still, I think Kampo Trexo activities is for older kids. If the school had a survey first and asked which area the parents like to go, I will highly recommend the Balik Bukid at Sta. Elena Farm. Yes compared to Kampo Trexo, Sta.Elena don’t have a hanging bridge or a wall climbing area, but they have farm animals roaming around that kids can play with or feed, they have zipline for kids, they can do fishing, there are a lot of trees and plants there too and they can do an obstacle course also. I think Sta.Elena will allow us to do tent pitching or bonfire activity also. For me the place is more appropriate for their age.

We were charged P1,600 per head at the Kampo Trexo trip, and to be honest, I found it quite expensive. I asked around and I learned that a school in Laguna asked for the same rate for a trip in Ocean Adventure in Subic plus 2 more destinations. Or a school at Bulacan that went to Kidzania for the same rate (thinking that Kidzania charges around P1,000 per kid already). But, since Ren’s school has a small class number and that we need to meet the minimum number per head in Kampo Trexo, then I think that’s the reason why we were charged that amount.

Yes, I was hesitated to go to this trip. I keep on thinking that for that amount my family can go somewhere else we think better.

But, it is part of the school’s project. I want Ren to socialize and be with his schoolmates. At the first part of the activities, I can see that Ren is not listening or interested (he can’t understand the lecturer), but during the physical activity he was already smiling and having fun.

I just hope that next time, the school will ask for suggestions from parents (like the date, venue etc) before finalizing an immersion trip so that they can get 100% attendance from their students.

Here is my selfie at the area hehe