Day 1
May 2, 2011
Monday

The Camp Welcome Sign & Map

The bus ride to the camp was about 2 hours. I sat with Annie, and we talked and played on her itouch. It was long and boring, but at least I had someone fun to sit with. But, it was worth it!

The camp was named Snake River Adventure Center, and it was really big. When we  first got to camp, I dropped of my stuff in my cabin and then went to the Big Field. The first game we played was called Brawl Ball. The name kind of explained the whole game. After several boys got in a dogpile, the counselors changed the game. Next we played Hunter, Bear, and Princess, which was just like Rock-Paper-Scissors. It was kind of boring, and I don’t even remember who won. Then we played Everybody’s It, which was like tag except that you can tag or be tagged by anybody. Allen Lee kept tagging me. It was fun playing these games because we got to run around after being on the bus for a long time.
After that, we went to lunch. Lunch was grilled cheese and tomato soup, which was pretty good. My lunch group was Margaret, Anna, Danielle, Jackie, Marina, Xochitl, and Annie. We pretty much avoided most fights, although we did have some. We tried to stop them quickly. I didn’t want everybody to be fighting and arguing the whole time, so I was trying really hard to stop any conflicts.
After lunch, we began the Teams Course. My activity group was Margaret, Annie, Marina, Jackie, Chelsea, Kameron, Tony, Joey, Kory, Raheel, and Allen. The first game was the Animal Toss, and we had to pass a ball and a stuffed animal to each other around the circle. We had to say the name of the person we were going to toss it to before, and that’s why it was called the “name game”. It was really boring, because we already knew each other’s names, because we were all in the same grade.
Then we played the Boat Game. We had to get from one “boat” (which was just a wooden platform) to the other, and we couldn’t touch the ground. There was a rope hanging between the two platforms, but we couldn’t reach it. That was part of the course. Finally, thanks to Kory’s freakishly long shoelaces, we snagged the rope and all got across. That one was more fun because it involved more thinking and not just mindless activity.
Next we did the Help Maze. It was a maze where we were blindfolded and there were ropes that you held onto to get through the maze. I didn’t understand what the name “Help Maze” meant at first, but it eventually became clear. You see, the maze was actually a circle, and the only way you could finish it was asking the counselor for help. I thought that part was fun, until you had to ask for help. It made me feel like the counselor thought we were little kids, and she had to teach us how to share and ask for help.
The final activity was the Maze Pad. There was a big rope structure raised about a foot off the ground, and it looked kind of like a spiderweb, or a computer keypad. Our group had to go in all of the spaces while touching each other, without touching the rope. It was really hard, so we just pretended that we hadn’t touched the rope when we had. It was really difficult and frustrating. But we did it! After that, we played some more simple games with our group in the field, and then we journaled and ate dinner.

Journaling

After dinner and some dorm time, we did some relay races in the big gym. My favorite was “Waiter, Waiter”; a relay race where you had to balance a ping-pong ball on a paper plate while walking across the gym. My team didn’t win, but it was fun anyway!

My Team and Activity Group

So that was my first day at Outdoor Ed. I can’t wait to see the new adventures that tomorrow brings!

Day 2
March 3, 2011
Tuesday

At 6:00 this morning, I awoke to Margaret yelling. At six in the morning. (Did I mention that she was in my cabin?) I was really tired all day. (Thanks a whole lot, Margaret!)
My first activity was archery. It was really fun, and I was pretty good at it, too. I almost hit the bulls-eye once! We used a compound bow. Did you know that the little feathers at the end of the arrows are called fletchings? I didn’t either! I also learned some safety procedures, such as never pointing the bow or arrow at someone else, or keeping the arrow tips covered when walking them back to your station, after taking them out of the targets.
Our next activity was the Nature station, with Ms.Wright. First, we had to close out eyes while she placed something in our hands, then we had to guess what it was, Mine was a rock. Then Ms. Wright taped our thumbs together, and we had to grab candy without using our thumbs-like squirrels. Finally, we had to use our sense of smell to find “clues” that smelled like peppermint.
The entomology lab was where we learned about bugs. First we did an activity where we had a picture of a bug taped on our backs, and we had to guess what king of bug it was by asking yes-or-no questions to everyone else. Then we learned about bugs-and made bugs out of candy!
After that, we went to eat. Lunch was pizza, and it was pretty good.

Me Getting My Lunch

Next we went to orienteering. It was fun because we got to use a compass. At one point, we had to use the compass to use different points in the forest. Annie and I were partners, and we got lost one or twice.
After that, we went to survival. We learned rules to follow if you ever get stranded in the wilderness. We also learned how to build a good shelter. I even got to build one! We were in groups, and our group’s shelter was kind of lame because we ran out of time. But, nevertheless, it was really fun.
In New Games, we played three games-Frisbee Keepaway, Ultimate Nerf, and Monarch. My favorite game was Monarch. Two people were “IT”, and they had to use a ball to tag people. Once you were tagged, you were “IT” with the original two. Eventually, when there are only two people left who aren’t “IT”, then they win and they become the new “IT”s. I liked it because I kept winning.
After New Games, we played some group games in the gym. We played a game where we were in a big circle, and then we had to tell the person across from you about what you did that day. It was VERY boring. But afterward, after a little bit of dorm time, we got open gym time, and you could go in the game room or hand out in the gym. My friend Alyssa taught me how to play “Can-can”, which is a card game. That was a lot more fun then the first game!

Playing Can-Can

After about an hour of that, we went down to the amphitheater and campfire. We roasted marshmallows, sang camp songs, and told ghost stories. Mr. Thurston, one of the teachers in our school, told the best story. He said that a Native American host had once visited him because his house was built over its grave. He insisted that it was true, but I don’t believe him!

Roasting Marshmallows

Later we went back to our cabins, and we go ready to leave the next day. I was disappointed that we had to go so soon- because it was so much fun!

Day 3
March 3, 2011
Wednesday

Well, it’s over. We all got up at the same time, and surprisingly, Maya, not Margaret was the first to wake up, at 7:00. So we all slept relatively late- by Margaret’s standards! We then packed up our stuff and headed down to breakfast, which was just cereal. I ate two bowls- I was really hungry!
After we had breakfast, it was time for the highropes. (I won’t even mention the climbing wall because I could barely get a foot off the ground!) They were deep in the forest, and they were super tall. I was very intimidated and afraid. But I didn’t let my fear rule me. The hardest part in the highropes was climbing up, in my opinion. The first time I tried it, I only got halfway up the ladder on the ropes course. But still, I didn’t give up. I got in line again and, when it was my turn, I got all the way to the top! The course I did was the beam, which was a long (yep, you guessed it) beam stretching from tree trunk to tree trunk. Once you climbed up, you had to walk across the beam. I was scared, but I really did it! And the most surprising parts of it was- I had fun! I’m really proud of myself for facing my fears and doing things I didn’t think I could do.

The Highropes

We had lunch after the highropes, and then got back onto the bus with our stuff. At that point, I was so tired that I didn’t even bother asking around to see if anyone wanted to sit with me. I took my own seat and was asleep by the time we hit the highway.
So that was my Outdoor Education experience. It was tiring but fun, and I’m sure to remember it for the rest of my life. I hope that someday, you will get to Snake River too, and have just as much fun as I did. Thanks for reading!

We Love Outdoor Ed!

As a concluding activity for our study of the Scientific Method, students worked through a variety of bacteria investigations. Students were provided a lab template which provided them with a six-step outline of the scientific method for problem solving. Using those steps and sterile nutrient agar plates, students collected bacteria in an attempt to answer their original question. Bacterial growth was documented through qualitative and quantitative observations as well as digital photographs. The following lab report is this student’s attempt at a bacterial investigation.   (Mr. Peter Ogden: Sixth Grade Science Teacher)

Please click the link below to view this student’s bacteria lab investigation.

Bacterial Growth Lab