Off the Trail, Everest Won’t Fail!

PAW Patrol’s Everest shares her name with Mt. Everest, a huge mountain between Nepal and China. Do you know the first woman who climbed Mt. Everest? An amazing Japanese mountaineer named Junko Tabei. Can your little mountaineer climb around, through, over, and up as well as Junko?

Materials:

Cardboard boxes or other materials from around the home.

Play the song above while going through the obstacle course!

Steps:

1. Let’s create an obstacle course at home using cardboard boxes or other materials we have around.

2. Now, let’s pretend to be a mountaineer like Junko Tabei and Everest — climbing over, squirming through, and jumping over the objects in our course.

3. How fast can we get to the mountain’s peak by completing the obstacle course?

4. Next, it’s my turn! Who can go faster? Let’s try again!

Words to Use:

Climb – to go up a slope or incline or stairs

Mountain – a really big, steep hill

Mountaineer – someone who climbs mountains

Peak – the pointed top of a mountain

Summit – the highest point of a hill or mountain

Obstacle – something in the way

Simplify:

Create a simpler obstacle course, with only two objects.

Stretch:

Create a more complex course with more challenging instructions like “First, jump over, then climb through, then step up!”

Why:

Obstacle courses are fun bonding experiences to create and do together — and doing the course can build strong muscles.

Extend The Learning:

In “Pups Save Old Trusty”, Everest uses her mountaineering know-how to escape a rocky situation and rescue her friends. Watch this episode with your preschooler and call out when Everest uses her grappling hook. Ask your child, “what is that, and what does it do?”

Highlights of Women’s History

Junko Tabei was a mountaineer. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first woman to climb the highest mountain on every continent on Earth. She tried climbing for the first time when she was 10 years old. She joined the mountain climbing club in college, and later started a special club for women climbers, who were often left out by male climbers.

“Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is the most important. This willpower you cannot buy with money or be given by others… it rises from your heart.” — Junko Tabei