Honors Camp

The honors camp was definitely a valuable experience for me as a future teacher. I will admit I was upset about losing my entire weekend, but I did end up having some fun. We got to teach Frisbee Golf skills to the students six times, and I had a lot of fun each time. Every time was a different experience with different challenges and different rewards. I really enjoyed the great interaction with the students and the chances to teach them and help them. They were really good kids who behaved really well. I just wish I would have been a consular because they got to be with the students more and really seemed to get a chance to build better relationships with the students. However, with that said, it was still a really good experience.

"Children are one third of our population and all of our future". - Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981

Wakeboarding

Wake boarding was a really fun experience and I'm definitely glad I went. I really enjoyed getting up on the wake board because I was able to use the boat that had a bar on the outside so it was easier to get up above the water on the wake board. It was also really fun to simply be on the boat and simply get sunshine while relaxing on a beautiful lake. It was really cool that our major put this together for us. This was really a unique experience, especially because we were on a private lake. It was a great relaxing experience that felt really good after rock climbing the day before had really taken its toll on me.

Here is a useful website with information about Wake boarding:

http://wakeboard.lifetips.com/faq/0/0/question-answer/index.html

Practice Rock Climbing

For this class we did rock climbing at Ellensburg High School. This was to be warm up for when we did real rock climbing at Pinnacle Park. The main focus was on belaying so that all of us would be able to belay each other to keep everyone safe when we went to Pinnacle Park. This was a lot of fun and a very valuable experience because it would help us a lot when we truly went climbing. It was a lot of fun because it was a challenging and new experience. This is also a really useful skill because it is vital to be safe and have someone belaying you if you ever want to do any rock climbing.

Rock Climbing- For Real

For this class we went rock climbing at Pinnacle Park.This was by far the most memorable day of this class. I remember thinking how daunting and difficult all of the climbs seemed when I first arrived at the park. I was really nervous to climb. I decided to do the easiest climb first, and this was a huge struggle. I was really nervous and I kept thinking my feet would not hold on the rock. Only when I trusted my feet did I have any chance at all of completing the climb. I finally did succeed on the first climb, but it took forever and I did not think there was any way I was completing four more climbs. I did a much harder climb the second time. I could hardly get off the ground at first, and there were many times when I was about to ask to be let down. However, I was being encouraged by the people who we watching me and belaying me, and this gave me the strength to eventually make it to the top because I really did not want to give up. The next climb was easier, and after all of that experience, the last two were cake. I got way better as the class went on. I also really enjoyed rappelling, although the thought of it at first was scary. Really, it was a great day and it was very rewarding. I really felt like I accomplished something. I also really enjoyed eating at Gustav's after wards and just really getting to celebrate all we have done. It was an awesome experience.

Here is a website with some information about the park where we did the rock climbing:

http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2231/places/58506/

"The difference between try and triumph is a little umph". -Unknown

The Hike

For this class, we hiked up Manastash Ridge just outside of town. This was a cool experience for me because I have done this hike many times throughout my life, and it was a different experience to get to do the hike in my class. My only problem was that we took a much more difficult and longer way than I usually take, so I was caught off guard. I don't usually bring water up this hike because I never needed it, but I should have brought some this time because this was a much more rigorous path than I am used to. It was a great workout, but I was really out of it by the time we got to the top. I do always love the view at the top of the mountain, and its always cool to sign the guest book because it puts your name in history and gives you a sense of accomplishment.

"Recreation" Bike Ride

For this class, we went on the recreation bike ride. I thought I was going to go on the advanced bike ride, but I talked to our professor before the ride was to take place and he told me to do the recreational bike ride. I'm very glad that I did this bike ride instead, because part of it was quite a challenge as is. I think I did a pretty good job and I stayed at the front of the pack for the way up. I really enjoyed the bike ride and it was a great workout. I was sweating bullets part of the way up. I kept hoping there would be down hill steches, but there really were not any at all. It was an interesting experience because I hadn't truly went on a long bike ride in years. I also had an interesting experience because I had bad breaks on the bikes, so I tried to stay away from people on the way down. Also, the huge amount of sheep on the trail was very humorous as we all tried to avoid them.

I'm Lost!

For this day we did Orienteering and learned how to use a compass. Learning how to use a compass was a very useful skill to learn and was a helpful skill to learn. Orienteering was also a lot of fun because it was a good experience to go around the campus trying to find certain things based on hints given. Orienteering basically involves map reading and being able to use a compass. The whole experience was really helpful and helped me to improve my sense of direction and my skills in finding things, and this was very important. I have never had a good sense of direction. I really enjoyed the experience and I learned useful skills.

Here is a official orienteering website of the Uniteed States: http://www.us.orienteering.org/