Kids Understanding/using Gpsr

[+popop]

Wondering what ideas people have to let the kids use the GPSr to locate the "treasure". At what age do you think they comprehend what the screen is telling them about their movements in relation to the target. I have a 6 year old grandson that I would love to show how HE can find the treasure.

 

I use a Garmin 60C and I was planning to set it to GOTO mode, go to the map view then hand it to him and let him follow the straight line pathway on the screen.

 

Anybody have experience trying this or other ideas?

[+DaveA]

Kids can do all sorts of things far younger than most imagine, it is simply about having the opportunity/exposure and being supportive rather than demanding/critical.

 

I have a 5 year old (almost 6) that likes to hold the GPSr when we are out. I didn't give him any more instructions other than "the arrow is us, the way it is pointing is the direction we are going and this square is where the cache is".

 

As we walk along he will hit a button, something happens and he asks how to fix it or what it means. I show him and we continue on.

 

He just picks up the stuff over time. His natural curiousity causes him to try things and ask questions and as a result he learns.

 

I don't think there is any age too young to put a GPSr in the hands of a kid, just let them figure things out at whatever pace they figure things out at.

 

Also if they are really young (lets arbitrarily say 8 or younger) don't be surprised when they are super excited initially and later show more interest in sticks and bugs. As long as they are allowed to hold the unit when they wish they will learn at their own pace and become mini cachers fairly quickly.

[+Team J&J]

I have a 9 year old who follows the gpsr arrow religiously. It's taking him a little time to figure out that there's an underlying algorithm and that the little pointer doesn't respond instantaneously. Also, he's learning how foliage can block and weaken signal strength. But he's catching on. The best thing was to give him the gpsr and let him find the cache all by himself, while explaining why he's walking in circles. He found his first cache without my help yesterday...and he left beaming with pride.

[+reveritt]

My 8-year-old granddaughter can follow a programmed GPSr to find a cache, although she has not entered waypoints herself yet.

[+Lil Elephants]

We took a little different approach with our 7 yr old. We started by teaching him about maps and compasses. We also gave him a compass when we were out caching in some area parks and told him the distance and bearing to the cache and let him guide us. Then we introduced the GPSr.

[+kent1915]

My 5 year old has gone enough and held GPSr enough to know the basics. I have hidden film cans in the yard with change in them, set waypoints and turned him (and other neighbor kids) loose. Great practice and fun to watch in safety of yard. I found a Geko 101 for 25 bucks so he is getting a GPSr of his own soon. My 2 year old is in training. Says Cache nicely.

[+Team Wampus]

My 8 year old is really getting to be a GPS hog...guess I'm gonna hafta get him his own if I want to use mine anymore. I've also put him in charge of the PDA when we're in the car. It's a cheap one. The PDA, I mean. Actually, it's a cheap car, too. Anyway, I usually have a pretty good idea of the general location where the cache is going to be. He uses the PDA and reads the cache description out loud when we start getting close, especially if it includes driving/where-to-park directions. That way, I get to keep my eyes on the road...always a good thing.

[+geoduck.5]

We have a 10 year old daughter that is using the techniques of geocaching (compass, GPSr, maps, etc) for her 4H project in orienteering. More kids are becoming aware of this and want to join this project.

[+M&DofKJE]

They also become more interested if they get their own profile. It is great writing practice for them when they type their own logs. It also gives them practical experience on the computer. Just be ready for your child to want to start hiding his/her own caches. 44 of them to date..... They have a tendency to become well established cachers in their own right given time.

[+caughtatwork]

My 5 year old has been caching with me since she was 4. Hey, that's 20% of her life.

 

At first she was happy to follow the arrow.

 

Now she uses the WP code I tell her, goes through the closest menu, finds the waypoint, sets the goto and we're off.

 

On occassion when the WP is not on the closest list, she will go back to the full list and scroll down to fin dthe WP. Then it's to the goto and we're off.

 

We haven't gotten to the point where she enters WP's manually (on a multi) but I expect that time is not far away.

 

We also use this as a reinforcement of her alphabet learnings at school.

eg. GCK000 and GCN000. Which one would come first in the list, should she scroll up or down.

 

It's fun for her and as she gets more dextrous with the fingers, we'll be onto manual WP's sooner rather than later.

[+Ladycacher]

My son was six when we started and he knew how to use his GPS just fine. He now has an upgrade that he works by himself. I will note that he is a "computer and electronic genis", but my friends daughter is also 6 and can work hers.

[+tls11823]

Also if they are really young (lets arbitrarily say 8 or younger) don't be surprised when they are super excited initially and later show more interest in sticks and bugs. As long as they are allowed to hold the unit when they wish they will learn at their own pace and become mini cachers fairly quickly.

You took the words out of my mouth. Every once in a while my son (who just turned 7 this weekend) will want to navigate. But for the most part, he's happy to explore the woods. Sometimes I have to suppress my zeal to get to the cache because we have to stop to look at a caterpillar or toadstool. I think that's great, and the longer he is awed by nature, the happier I'll be. I haven't gotten over it yet and I'm a bit over 7 years old.

[+The Chaotic Order]

My boys are 8 and 13, and we've only been caching a few months. My daughter will be 20 next week, and she's been caching with us once. All three show tremendous interest and enthusiasm for it, and I've let all three navigate to and from waypoints/caches before. Interestingly enough, the two boys picked up on what they were doing much quicker than my daughter did, especially the younger boy! Both boys play a lot of video games, and I think the familiarity with electronics gave them the edge.

[PyroDave]

At a recent event my daughter decided she was gona find a cache with a freind she maid it was a kids only cache and within eye sight of the picknic area. So I had no prob with it. Plugged in the cords and started showing here how to figure out how to read the screen. the back arow points this way ect well I didnt even get that statment out before little miss know it all ( She must get it from her mom) decides she can figure it out her self. Boy it was funny watching here run in circles in for a few min going the wrong way after that though shes becomeing alot better with a gps and realy enjoys doing some caches.

[bogleman]

I have taken my children 5, 7, 9 (girl, girl, boy). I have 3 GPSr, one for me then the boy and #1 girl. I explained to them what geocaching was all about and how a GPS works. My son understood somewhat so I gave him a GPS and showed him how to enter the numbers and then find the nearest waypoint. It took a couple of tries for him to get it but when we go out I give him the numbers and away we go. I enter the numbers for my daughter and set up the GPS for her and she keeps the arrow pointed straight ahead. The hardest problem is keeping their attention when we get near the cache site everything goes down hill from there, it's a race between them and who can find it first, but thats half the fun. As long as it is easy for them to work and follow they will get it as long as they want to do it, just don't force them - that is the fastest way to turn them off. Help daddy find the treasure and I'll give you $1.