We brought 28 students with us to Eastern Washington to enjoy 4 days away from the hustle and bustle of daily living. Here are some highlights from each day:
Day 1
As we gathered in the parking lot, there was lots of excitement. Students brought there stuff to the check-in table with smiles and lots of energy. But there were also nerves in the air. Nerves from parents who were saying goodbye, and nerves from kids who had never spent this much time away from home.
For the first time ever we invited incoming 6th graders to join us for this trip. While they were very excited in this first hour, it was noticeable that they were nervous as well.
When we got to camp, everybody had one goal, to set up camp. The rule was set the moment we arrived, no going to the water until camp was set up. So each group of kids were given a tent and told that they were in charge of setting it up.
Now I can't lie, I was a little worried as to how this would go. I had images of half setup tents and of kids giving up and claiming they will sleep outside. But after handing out all of the tents, I went to the camp office to check-in and make sure they had everything from me that they needed. After getting everything squared away with them, I came back to half the camp setup! I couldn't believe my eyes.
After we were finished setting up, almost everybody went down to the water to swim. Kids who didn't know many people were immediately included in joint swimming activities and it became clear that this was going to be a great trip.
The highlight of this day for most of us was when Paul Cranefield got out his telescope. Students gathered around to see stars and planets close up. Paul would flip pages through his book to find cool things to see. One of the highlights was seeing the rings around Saturn!
Day 2
As I woke up early in the morning, and began to brew coffee for the leaders, I noticed Ben Fankhauser walking back to his cabin, hair dripping with a towel in his hand. I couldn't believe it. I have never known a middle school student who cared enough about his hygiene to wake up before even the leaders were up to make sure he could fit a shower in.
By the middle of the day it was clear that the students who I was a little worried about (the incoming 6th graders) were doing great! They had bonded with not only each other, but with the rest of the group as well. They loved to get involved, and our group loved having them involved. We were less than a day into the trip and they were already no longer the "new people", but just part of the group.
Much of the evening was spent talking about fun times on the boats. Students talked about when they flipped the tube, or their first time knee-boarding.
Day 3
On trips like this, I always schedule a leader meeting for the morning before students wake up. This is a chance for leaders to talk about how the trip is going and if there are any things to keep an eye on. By day 3 it was obvious that our trip was going great. Our meeting was more just time for leaders to have coffee together and talk through meal-prep than to talk about any problems with students. These kids were great!
As I was walking down to the water, I noticed 4 boys riding on a trailer behind the camp host. She was doing her morning rounds of taking the garbage out to the dumpster, when they noticed and volunteered to help take it out. They were even late for their boat run! Thanks Ben, Stephen, Ian, and Spencer!
After lunch, I realized that I had forgotten to get out our rock painting craft. Once students noticed this, they immediately flocked. It doesn't take much to get the creativity out of a middle schooler. We had rocks with faces, rocks with notes, even starry night!
That night was smores, and nothing beats time around a campfire roasting marshmallows.
Day 4
After our final breakfast, it was time to pack up, and I was again surprised at the great work of these kids! I went to go pay our final balance and by the time I was back all of the tents were down and almost in their bags.
It was a great 4 days with too many memories to try to write down, but I encourage you to ask your kids about the memories that they will remember.
My big highlight was the new 6th graders though. This trip was a great way for them to plug in, and I am very excited to see them at Primetime this fall!
Here are some pictures to show off the fun time that we had!
Here are some pictures to show off the fun time that we had!
