~ DaY HiKe ~

Today we went on our hike which I was somewhat looking forward to. Once we started I was surprised to realize how much harder it was than I originally thought. We climbed a lot of uphill and it took us a good hour to make it to the top. Once arriving at the top we were able to sign the book...which I had never done before. The way back was quite a downhill slope that we ended up jogging a bit down, which was pretty hard on our knees. Once it was all said and done...I did not necessarily enjoy climbing the mountain but am glad I did it. It is a good experience and it will be nice to say...I did it!

Bike Ride Completion!!!!!

Yesterday we were finally able to take on the mountain biking challenge. The anticipation had been building up because the previous time we were supposed to go it got canceled due to flood warnings. So when we heard that everything was clear to go I started to get a little nervous once again. When we first arrived and started peddling up the hill I was very nervous because we had to get off of our bikes because it was quite a hill. Right then I thought we were going to be in a lot of trouble. Once we concurred the first hill it was pretty flat for a bit then we hit a lot of up hill battles. I feel that we all did a pretty good job considering none of us really bike. Once we finished the first stretch I felt pretty good and was just looking forward to going down a lot of the up hill we did in the beginning. After stopping for lunch, the rest of the ride went very well. the views were gorgeous and it was actually pretty fun. On the last stretch we did face a little bit of congestion due to a herd of sheep. They were everywhere but it was a pretty cool experience. Overall, the ride was fun and it wasn't as hard or as miserable as I thought it was going to be....it was a lot of fun!

8th Grade HONORS camp!!!

This weekend we were off to the 8th grade honors camp. Once we arrived Friday afternoon we got settled into our cabins and took a tour of the camp. For some reason I thought there was going to be open fields of grass at this camp for the students to have fun and run around in. On the contrary, this camp just had a lot of dirt and trees....not to mention a million mosquito's. Saturday morning we had our first day of lessons. Our group did camo face painting with the students and then went into how to build survival shelters. This actually turned out to be a lot of fun for both the campers and us as the instructors. The students both male and female were really into it and gave a lot of effort. The students were also very well behaved and followed directions very well. As instructors we had a lot of fun with all of our groups and the time really seemed to fly by. Overall, I think the camp and our lessons were a major success because not only did the students express enjoyment in our lesson but they enjoyed all of the lessons that we presented!

~ Off 2 Camp ~

Tomorrow we will all be heading off to camp for the 8th grade honors students. We will be heading Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. I am actually pretty excited about this experience...both teaching and having the camper experience as well. My group is the survival task group therefore we will be teaching our students how to build an outdoor survival hut. This will be a lot of fun and I myself will learn a lot because this will be all new to me as well. I am also looking forward to the 80's/neon dance that will be going on the second night at camp. That day will also be my birthday so although not the usual birthday celebration, I think it will still be pretty funny and a lot of fun! I'm thinking it will be a great time with the cohort as usual and am very excited to see what it is all about! Ill let you know how it went when we all get back!!! :)

* Completion of CIRCUS ARTS *

Today we got another opportunity to test for circus arts which I was very excited about because I had only one test left, which was the diablo. Learning the different diablo tricks was a bit harder for me to complete because there were a lot more tricks that we needed to do and for me the diablo was the hardest to learn out of all of the circus arts. In practicing with the diablo, I found a lot of tricks just on my own. New things that I would come up with that would actually be counted as tricks. Therefore, when I walked into class today and heard that we would be testing I was very excited. I practiced for a bit and ended up writing down a routine with all of the tricks I would complete to get advanced in the testting. Once I felt that I had my routine down, I decided that it was time for me to get tested. I believe it took my three, possible four tries before I was able to pass. I would get through my entire routine and then the last trick I kept messing up own which was the 360 degree turn. Finally after two to three times of performing...I finally did it! I was so excited to finally be done testing in all of the circus arts. Even though I may not ever really pick up flower sticks or a uni-cycle again I found these to be very fun...and might even continue with the diablo since it was so challenging but fun! Overall, I thought that the circus arts were a lot of fun and it are absolutely something that I would teach my students in the future!!!

Getting in gear to Mountain bike :/

Tomorrow I will be going along with some of my fellow classmates on the recreational mountain bike trail. I am starting to get very anxious because I do not know what to exactly expect. The only thing we have really been told is that it will be an hour and a half bike ride with a lot of up hill. Because I have not had much experience on a bike since about the 7th grade I am a bit nervous. I am going to have to go into it with an open mind/attitude and know that however hard it may be I will accomplish it. Besides it will be nice for it to be over and who knows...maybe ill end up liking it a lot more than I thought. Well lets hope. Cross your fingers for me!!!

!!! GEOCACHING !!!

Today we learned all about geocaching, from what it was, to how to find a cache location, as well as how to set up a cache location for others to find. Going into this, I had never heard of geocaching before so I was a bit relunctant. Once we sat down and were told about geocaching which started in 2000, I thought that it was a pretty cool idea. I also would have never realized that there were so many follwers of geocaching and how many caches were right here in ellensburg. Once, we learned how to use the GPS system finding the caches was fairly easy. We also had a great time placing our cache for others to find. We placed it into the spot and got the coordinates for its location. Once we hid it we then thought of a phrase to give the other students a clue as to where the cache could possibly be. It was actually pretty fun finding the caches because they were all over campus. Overall, I think that geocaching was a pretty fun experience and would definately do it in the future.

Learing Directions ----->

Today we all meet in the gym to learn how to read a compass. At first I was really nervous to do this because I think of myself as a bit directionally challenged. When we arrived at the gym we went over the different parts of the compass and I found it to be quite easy. Then we all had different paths that we had to take in order to figure out the code. Once I completed the task I was very surprised because I did it correctly. We then all got maps and separated into groups to find different marks around the school. This was actually a lot of fun and I think everyone had a great time doing it. Now that I have competed this, this is something that I could see myself doing with my students. The explanations were not hard and I believe that it is something that is manageable for a range of students.

~INDO BOARDS~

A little bit ago we had a guest come in and teach us how to use indo boards. I did not know what to expect but when I showed up I was surprised at what they were. I originally thought they were going to be a lot harder than they were but after trying it out I found that they were really fun. The students also seemed to enjoy them very much as well. Holly taught us how to stand on the board and how to do some tricks that we could practice while on the board. I think that this would be a great tool to have in schools because it is something that students enjoy and it helps them with their coordination and balance as well. Although we all had a crash course in indo boards it went fairly good with no injuries, besides the occasional fall. If this had been implemented into a classroom safety precautions would have to be implemented so that students understood the risk and how to properly fall. Overall this was a great experience for both us and the students as well.

1st Day of Testing!!!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to test on circus arts. I was very excited that we were able to test early and get some of the tasks out of the way to concentrate on others. The first test i did was the juggling test. When I started I was a bit nervous but got through it fairly easy. Then I moved on to the flower sticks. The first time I tested I did not pass, therefore I went to the side to practice a bit more. Then the second time around I still did not pass. The last and final time I was able to test with the flower sticks was finally a success! I was very excited because I had a harder time than I had originally expected. The last thing I tested on was uni-cycling. Surprisingly, this was the easiest test for me that day. I thought I was going to have a bit more trouble because I experienced trouble while i was practicing but it went smoothly. I am very excited to get some of the test out of the way and am looking forward to practicing and testing in the other activities as well!!!