Most of the sixth graders went to Snake River Adventure Center, which is located on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, for three days and two nights. From May 2nd to May 4th. We learned a lot about teamwork, nature, how to use compass efficiently, how to use a bow and arrow, basic survival, insects, and some new games that were really fun to play.
May 2, 2011 Monday
On Monday morning, I woke up at about 6:50 AM, which is ten minutes behind what I usually wake up at. I was really hyped up about going to Outdoor Education. I arrived at school at like 7:30 AM and I saw tons of kids there already chattering wildly about how fun Outdoor Ed is. The front of the school had labels, Boys on one side and girls on the other. We were supposed to put our luggage near the walls according to the gender labels. After that, I decided to do reading counts before Outdoor Ed so I could remember the book clearly. I then went to my first period class and waited patiently to go to the camp. Then Mrs. Bialk told us that people with meds have to go to the office. I went to the office and waited patiently in line to check in my meds. When it was my turn to turn them in, I wasn’t allowed to bring them with me. Apparently, my dad hadn’t signed a form that lets me bring the medication with me. So I was told to call my dad so he can come and sign out forms that let me bring my allergy medicine. After my dad came and signed the forms, I was able to go back to class and get on with my day.
When I got to the sixth grade hallway, I realized that nobody was there. Then Mr. Odgen told me that everyone was in the Community Room, so I sprinted towards the community room, to find out that everyone was watching “Finding Nemo”. After watching like 50 minutes of the movie, Mr. Odgen yell, “Everyone, to the washrooms before you get on the bus.” After we went to the bathroom, we went in to the bus and drove for about an hour and a half ‘till we reached our destination.
At Snake River, the weather was great and we were introduced to camp rules and how lunch would work out. After the little meeting, we went up a hill where our “cabin” was located; up there was also our luggage. We took our luggage to our rooms and claim our mattresses. My mattress was in the center of the room and was right next to the bathroom door. I then changed to training pants and went back outside to hang around. Outside, there was a playground with a balance beam that moved frequently and there was also some swingsets and 4 carpet ball tables.
Carpet ball
Carpet ball is when you have a table with pool balls and you set up a certain amount of pool balls on the table, trying to make the balls “invincible”, so the opponents can’t hit the balls with one of their throws. Once you finish setting up the balls, you pick up an extra ball and try to knock the opponents balls to a gutter that is on either side of the table at the end. This game is really fun if you win all the time. When I first played carpet ball, I didn’t hit all the balls of the opponent’s and I lost pretty fast. But after a couple matches, I grew better and was one of the three original “masters” of carpet ball. The other two masters were Joe and Youngjin. On the table, the sides were different; there was one champion side, and a guest side. If you win a game, then you go to the champion side.
Games
Before lunch we gathered round our activity leaders and went up to the big field that was behind our cabins. When we arrived on the big field, we dropped our backpacks on the outskirts of the field, and we were then introduced to the group leaders. The first leader to give us an activity was Jon, and the game he introduced to us was Brawl ball. Brawl ball is when there are two lines and there is a huge gap in between the two lines. Then Jon calls out a certain amount of people onto the field and to score, the ball has to pass through the other teams legs and cross an arbitrary line. After brawl ball we played some other games. After we finished all the games, we went back down the hill and played on the playground a bit.
Lunch
After playing outside for about 15 minutes, a bell rang, signaling that it was lunchtime. So we ran to the cafeteria’s front steps and lined up according to our activity groups. A guy was already at the top of the steps and gave us instructions about the meals and what to do. After he finished talking, we rushed into the meal room and sat ourselves down onto the table. I sat with Michael Rifkin, A.J, Allen, Matthew Trunsky, Mr. Thirston, and Mr. Kolcz. The first meal was some grilled cheese sandwiches, chili beans that were delicious, tomato soup, chicken soup, salad bar, and for desert, we got some maple syrup cookies. I chose to eat a grilled cheese sandwich, chili beans, chicken soup, and one cookie. The grilled cheese was ok, but I bet it would’ve taste better if the sandwich was warm and the cheese was all melted. The beans on the other hand, were absolutely amazing with that luxurious flavor from the sauce that it was cooked in.
After I demolished my first serving of lunch, I quickly went up for seconds with out being sent up, and I demolished that too. After lunch I was stuffed. After a little while, the guy came back and told us about clean up. Then when everything was cleaned up, we went back outside.
Team Activities
After Lunch, we went back up to the big field and were separated by groups and assigned to a camp leader. In my group was Vincent, Ryan, Elena, Christie, Alex, A.J, Mayaan, Aiman, Kyle, Matthew, Angela, and Gregory. Our camp leaders were Jon and a girl person… I kind of forgot her name. The first thing we did in the groups was go to a corner of the big field that is behind the cabins and we talked about 5 safety rules. We talked about the rules by naming off the fingers, and pinky finger symbolized safety or protection because the finger is delicate and it needs be protected. Then the ring finger, that showed commitment, because when you get married, you make a commitment to the spouse. The middle finger is respect, and the index is blaming people because when you point your finger at someone, you’re blaming them. And the thumb is leadership. I think we did this so we would know how to behave in camp.
After we discussed rules, we played 3 Things Game, when you walk and talk about 3 things and we had to find two things in common with the person your walking with and also find one thing different. After walking a certain distance, we arrived in a woody area that had an open space with some colored tires.
There we played the Name Game. In the Name Game we get objects and throw it at someone. After throwing the object around, we had to do it a second time in the same order and not drop the object. We did this so we would know each other and create teamwork and also respect each other. With one object, it’s pretty simple, but with 5 objects, it’s very hard, because if someone isn’t paying attention, or can’t catch the object well like me, who kept dropping the object. After a while of constant failure, Alex got the bright idea of having everyone stand next to the person they throw and receive from so you just hand off the object. It was an instant success.
After the Name Game, we got a giant rope and got in a circle. In the circle, we talked about what we want as our profession when we wake up. I said that I wanted to be a professional soccer player because it pays well, and the sport is very fun. I think we did this so we can work like a team well because we know each other better. After we each other’s professions, we then pretended we were at New York and our job interview was at the 87th floor of a building. And to get up to the floor, we had to crank the elevator up. The only way to crank was to jump rope up the floors. At first it was easy because it was like a jump at a time, but eventually we had to many jumps within a certain time and to that, we had to become a pyramid and run through the jump rope. We failed a lot, but eventually, we barely made it through the exercise. This activity really needed lots of teamwork and cooperation, because we had to communicate when to jump and not too. In this activity particularly, there was lots of arguments because we were blaming who’s fault is was that we had to do the activity over and over again. In most of the activity, Alex stood out as the leader of the group, although, it got annoying really fast.
After the 87-floor activity, we walked over to a roady area and sat down. Our group leader Jon then sat down with a bandana and placed some sticks on it. He explained the game. The game was called Native American Numbers. In the game, the number maker puts sticks out in a certain formation and people around have to guess the number. My group didn’t see any patterns, so we just guessed like crazy what the number might be. After a while, the group leaders switch who the number person was and the other person was pretty easy because she showed the number with her hands, but we didn’t get the pattern ‘till a lot later.
Once the game ended, we continued our little journey to a giant spider web. We were supposed to go through an opening and go through an exit point. It was really difficult if you “lost” a body part early on because if you touched the rope, then the part that touched it couldn’t be used. It took lots of teamwork because it was hard to deliver people who were “disabled” from touching the web through holes. Although it was difficult, it was very fun to do. One really funny moment was when Alex and I were carrying Aiman through some holes, because he lost his leg. While we were carrying him, I accidentally dropped Aiman, and he landed with a large thud! Everyone instantly began to laugh, and Aiman was desperately trying to get up. Eventually we finished the task and we sat down and ate some fruit snacks.
Another activity we did was that we got a partner and we were blindfolded, and we weren’t allowed to touch our partner and we could only direct them with verbal directions. My partner was Elena and the activity was pretty terrifying because you can’t see anything and you might not understand your partner’s directions. Even though it was scary, it was very fun, and it increased your trust in your team.
One activity I absolutely hated was the lock challenge. The challenge was that we had to go around in a circle on these pads like a lock. A lock goes right first, then a full circle and the number, and then you go left to the number you want. This challenge was really annoying because it took so long, and everyone was sick of doing challenges. After this challenge we went back to the big field and did a relay race. After the race, we went back to our dorms and slept.
Survival Activities
In our survival class, we sat down around a fire and talked about how long you could survive without stuff. Like you can survive approximately 3 weeks without food. Also you should build a shelter within three hours. Next thing we did was build a shelter. We were split into 3 groups and were told to build a shelter with only nature in 15 minutes. Our shelter was a lean in shelter that was leaning on a tree and a stump. My group was Kyle, Elena, Gregory, and Angela. We first got a long skinny stick, and we shoved the stick in between a fork in the tree. Then we found wide long wood and laid them against the long skinny wood. We kept doing that and it created a pretty successful shelter. Building the shelter was like the only activity we did. The most valuable thing I learned was about how long I should do something or how long I could survive without something.
Orienteering
A compass works by a magnetic metal stick being magnetized and held so that it can spin freely and the stick always points north. There was also a dial on them. The dial represented 360º and if something said turn dial 230º and you put red jack in the shed, then you have turned to the direction you want to. To put red jack in the shack, you have to put the red end of the pointer, and there is a red outline on the dial and that’s the shed. After learning how to use a compass, Mr. Odgen gave us each one-penny, and if we lost it, then we would have to buy him Coke-Cola. Of course, everyone found his or her pennies. With the pennies, we laid them on the ground and took out our compasses and listened to Mr. Odgen’s directions and we were supposed to land on top of our coin. I was really close every time. Another activity was one we followed directions on a card and were supposed to land on numbers on trees. My team was very close every time. To me, everything about orienteering was pretty easy. I say this because all you have to do is put the right amount of degrees on the dial.
Archery
At archery, I learned that your not supposed to point your bow and arrow at anyone, only down range. Also your not supposed to go down range when other people are still shooting. During Archery class, there were some pictures of forest animals, like deer, and some turkey. My first shot hit the very top of the building, and that type of shot was named “The Jason”. The other three shots were very close to the picture. Another activity was when he hung up balloons against the wall and we were supposed to hit them. The only person who hit one was Ryan, when everybody else was done, he shot and hit the balloon straight on. I had fun in archery, but I bet I would have more fun if I could shoot more than I did.
Entomology
In Entomology class, we learned that an insect has three body parts, head, thorax, and abdomen. Another thing is that they have six legs. I learned that Monarchs are poisonous because they eat milkweed plants. The first activity we did was play 20 questions. 20 questions is where you have a bug on your back and you have to guess the bug by asking questions about what the bug might be. Another activity was when we built a bug out of candy. My bug was made out of gumdrops, twizzlers, cloves, and toothpicks.
New Games
The first new game we played was ultimate Nerf. In ultimate Nerf, you get a Nerf ball and you throw it around a football field. When you have the ball, you can’t run, but without the ball, you can run all you want. This game was really fun, because there was lots of teamwork involved and it was like a big break from all the learning that was happening. Another game we did was capture the flag. Capture the flag is when two teams have individual flags and you have to try to steal the opponent’s flag. Our game was basically a major standoff and the other team only won because we had horrible jail guards. During this game I was going on the offensive a whole lot. I was feeling giddy and happy during the games. The last game we played was kickball. Kickball is sort of like baseball, except you kick the ball, not hit it with a bat. I really enjoyed this game because I’m good at kicking and I got lots of points for my team.
Nature
One thing I really enjoyed in nature was getting “candy rain” and trying to eat them without my opposable thumbs. Ms. Wright, Mr. Kolcz, and Mr. Thurston were given tape and Ms. Wright instructed them to use as much tape they could on the thumbs so we can’t use them. Another thing was, that the teachers could throw candy at you. Mr. Kolcz really enjoyed this for some reason. Unfortunately, nobody really threw candy at me or near me, so I didn’t get much candy. This activity was supposed to get rid of one of the five senses, and I think it was touch. Another activity we did was trying to identify a tree. In this activity, we got partners and one of the partners was blindfolded. My partner was A.J, and he was first to put the blindfold on. I led him to big fat tree, and the first thing he did, was lick the tree! He even said it tasted like oak tree. I was dumbstruck, because I think it’s revolting to lick a tree. After he got familiar with the tree, I took him downhill and spinned him a couple of times and told him to take off the blindfold. The first thing he did was go up hill, because he must’ve known I was going down hill, because of the steep terrain. He chose a tree and once again he licked the tree. And with taste, he discovered that wasn’t his tree. Then he went up a few more yards till he found large tree. Once again he licked the tree, and that’s how he found his tree. This activity was supposed to get rid of your sense of sight. The most boring activity in my opinion was when we weren’t allowed to open our eyes, and we were given an object, and we had to find it later with our eyes open. I immediately found out my object had a little indent where my fingers fit perfectly. Another thing that helped me identify my object was that it had this 110º angle on one of its side. Later I found my object pretty fast because of the characteristics of my rock. Once again, we lost of sense of sight and taste in this one. When we had nature it was raining, so we didn’t do a hike in the woods like everyone else.
Climbing Tower/High Ropes
Before coming to the high ropes area, I was terrified and thought to myself that I wasn’t going to anything there, but I was wrong. When I got to the ropes course area, I saw that I would be perfectly safe with all the precautions, like harnesses and helmets. So I decided to do the easiest ropes course, walking across a wooden beam. I’d say one of the hardest parts of this was climbing to the platform, because there weren’t a lot of staples up there to help you climb to the platform. After climbing the platform, I slowly inched my way across the balance beam and inched my way back. Then to get off, I had to lean back and just fall. The beginning of the falling was pretty scary, but after a while, it felt calming. The next activity I did was across the swings. The swings were very uneven so it was pretty scary because it felt like you were always going to fall. After a while, my group was called up to have a go with the climbing tower. I decided that I might as well try the tower. So I decided to go with the side with the ropes and wooden blocks, instead of climbing wall rocks. I quickly found a technique to climb the blocks, and was up to the tower in a jiffy. Climbing wasn’t the real challenge; the real challenge came from the zip line, because I’m deathly scared of heights. I concluded that if I took a long time at the zip line, one people would get annoyed, and two I would just get scared and not do it. So I used one of the group leaders that were in the tower. I used him by making his leg into a slide, forcing me to zip line. When you fell off the tower, it felt like you were going to fall and die. But amazingly you keep on going really fast and when you think your done, the zip line takes you back and forth till there’s no energy moving you along the zip line. After climbing, I felt so proud, because I’m scared of heights, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to do the activities at all.
All in all I really enjoyed the trip. Although I wished I could stay a little longer at the camp so I could have another go at the zip line, but I’m pretty satisfied after all the fun I had. Also it’s way more fun then sitting in school. I didn’t learn a lot at the camp, but I made bonds with other people after sometime in the camp. The meals were delicious, and the dorms were amazing for a camp. I was really expecting bug-infested mattresses. One thing I wish I could change, would be how loud people were after curfew, because upstairs was playing basketball, and torturing Vincent. Even with some setbacks, the outdoor education was amazing and really fun.
