This school year is pretty great so far. I'm still at the same school, which is really small, so there are only 13 kids. We don't switch classes, either, because a) we don't have to, and b) there is only one classroom anyway. Our classroom is brand-new and very awesome. We are the first class to use it. It is the only classroom upstairs, so that is very nice because everyone leaves us alone. I also like it because there are only 2 grades (7th & 8th [last year there was 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, AND 8th all together!]) and we don't have to share all the stuff with 4th graders. That really made me mad last year because they were always making things messy and I was like the only person who cleaned stuff up (that is still kind of true, but it's not as bad).
Our classroom also has a Promethean Board, which is like a SmartBoard, only better (I don't know if this is really true because I've never used a SmartBoard, but I believe it because the Promethean Board is pretty cool). The teachers decided to get one since you don't really need all the Montessori materials for Jr. High (Montessori materials are super expensive). It is basically a super fancy projector. That's nice because every time they want to show us something, they don't have to get the projector out because the Board is always set up. (Does that make any sense?)
The other new thing is that we have classroom committees--the Garden Committee, the Building & Grounds Committee, the Store Committee, and the Newspaper Committee. We had to write resumes and cover letters to apply for the committees like jobs. I got accepted to the Newspaper Committee, so now I am working with the other two Editors to start a school newspaper (which we have decided to name The Garden Imperial). Each committee has different responsibilities around the school & classroom, and each committee has certain classroom jobs like taking care of the computers & iPads, washing tables, straightening shelves etc.
I'm really sad that I only get to be with this awesome classroom and all these awesome people I know and love for one more year. I hate thinking about high school. But I must. The world is apparently not a wish granting factory. But, it is really awesome right now, so everything is Okay for the moment.
I've been reading a lot of YA fiction lately. I'll probably get back to some of the classics soon, but I really like reading YA fiction because it makes me excited to be a young adult in this time and place. Every year I seem to be more excited about the fact that I am a person, and I am sure that excitedness may decrease a bit next year when I have a buttload of homework and not enough sleep, but right now, I am excited that I get to be a person and marvel at the majesty of creation and whatnot. I quite like being a person in this time and place.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Sherwood Forest Camp
This week instead of going to school Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I went to camp instead of class. I wasn't skipping school--the teachers planned it. It was so awesome. I am probably going to say "awesome" a lot. That is a word I frequently use. I should reserve it for those times I am actually filled with awe. The definition of humanness is the ability to marvel at the majesty of creation. But it can be a powerful word, and I am rambling.
We left the school at 7:45. The drive to camp took about 2 hours. We got to drive through lots of windy country roads. I love driving on windy country roads. Often they are really beautiful. I taught the people in the car I was in how to play cows, and then we kind of played cows, only there weren't that many cows. I thought we would see more since the camp was right behind a cow farm. There were actually some cows laying next to the road on the gravel road in camp. We had to open & close 2 cow gates. I'm rambling again.
We got to camp around 10. We unpacked everything from the cars and put it away in the cabins. Then we played mafia with the counselors until lunchtime.
I really liked the counselors. They were fun/ny and super nice. I think it would be fun to be a camp counselor or something like that as a summer job. They all thought I looked like a girl version of a guy named Travis who was there during the summer, so that was weird and funny.
Meals are very unique at Sherwood. I really liked the way they do it, though. There is a server and a scraper at each table. The campers set the tables and serve the food. Whoever sits at the right side on the end is the server. The server goes up to the window to get the food, brings it to the table and stuff. They also say grace before every meal (and I learned a few new ones, which will be good for Girl Scouts!).
The scraper is the person who gets to scrape everyone's plates and clean stuff up. The server gets to start "the scraper game." They can use utensils, napkins, whatever, holding them in a certain way, or doing a specific action like waving or standing up. Similar to the way the last person with a spoon in the spoons card game loses, that's how you loose the scraper game. The last person to do the action copying the server is the scraper. Also, if you eat before the server starts eating, you're the scraper. If you spill something, you're the scraper. If you knock a bench over, your whole table has to scrape for the entire dining hall (I guess that one applies more during the summer when there are more people are there. That didn't happen anyway, though.). Once your table has a scraper, everyone counts to three and screams EMMA'S SCRAPER! (Or whoever is scraper. I didn't actually have to be scraper, but I did serve twice.)
Anyway, after lunch we played lots of team-building games outside. My favorite was Rise to the Sun, where one person lays down and everyone else lifts them up. I'm really glad I got to be the person that got picked up, because it was pretty cool. I thought it would be weird with everyone touching me, but once they picked me up, it didn't feel like anyone was. All I could see was the sky, and it was so blue. I think I nearly floated away.
That day we also did a really cool team adventure course thing. It had a couple of activities, like a nature trail with stations along the way. At the first, we had to get everyone through a tire that was hanging up. The tricky part was, you couldn't really touch the tire because there was a stick sitting on top of it that you couldn't knock off or you would have to start over, so you kinda had to lift people through it.
At the next station, we had to get everyone standing on top of a tire because it was an island and we didn't want to get melted by the chocolate acid. I got to have acid proof shoes because there were too many people. I think that one was the hardest.
The next one (and my favorite) was a rope swing. The problem was, there was a square we couldn't step inside because it was a boiling marshmallow swamp. The square was just big enough that we couldn't reach the rope, so we had to make a grappling hook type thing, tying bandanas, jackets, and shoes together (we could only use things we were wearing). If anything fell inside the square, we couldn't get it back. If it was a person, we had to start over. I thought it was fun to swing across.
The last station we did was a tight rope. It was also fun, and there was a rope you could hold on to so it wasn't that hard. The rest of the people who weren't going across had to spot, so it was actually kind of impossible to fall. (Spotting is basically standing behind or beside someone with your hands out to make sure they don't fall).
After that we played 9-square. It is like 4-square, but with 9 squares and instead of bouncing the ball, you have to keep it in the air. There is a pvc pipe thing that defines the squares and I will see if I can find a picture on the internet.
After playing 9-square, we had dinner. I don't even remember what it was now. After dinner we went to the art barn and tie-dyed our shirts. I'm told they always tie-dye at Sherwood. My hands got all green and witchy.
Then, we had a(n intentional) fire. We had s'mores and sang songs. I learned 2 new ones. They are stuck in my head and kind of annoying (but, of course, hilarious. I'll have to teach them to you and get them stuck in your head. You're welcome.)
The next day was the tower day. At Sherwood, they have an awesome 60-foot high tango tower.
(You wear a harness & helmet.) It has 7 (I think) sides to climb up in different ways. My favorite was the pirate swing. I just thought it was more interesting, and definitely more fun than the other ones I did. The last time I climbed up, I went down the zip line. It was kinda scary to have to step off the edge, but then it was amazing! The tower was definitely my favorite thing. I felt so Dauntless. (I also just finished reading Divergent and Insurgent. [I can't wait for Alliegant to come out! Eeeeek!])
After that we played dodge ball and 9-square and then had dinner. I will never forget that dinner. I already forgot what I was eating, but I do remember that at one point I laughed so hard that milk came out my nose. Seriously, I laughed for at least five minutes straight. The thing I was laughing at wasn't even that funny, but it struck me funny at that moment. (I'm laughing about it now just remembering it.) But of course, I had just taken a big long drink of milk. It didn't occur to me at first that the fact that I had a mouthful of milk would be a problem, because I wasn't laughing that hard. Then, I realized I had milk in my mouth, so I tried to swallow it, but then I just started laughing harder and I couldn't stop. Then milk started coming out my mouth and so I laughed even harder and it started coming out my nose. Oh my goodness. It was so awesome. One of the counselors declared that as his new favorite Camp Moment. I agreed. The magic word of the night was milkoutyournose. (There is a magic word at every meal.)
After dinner we played a fun improv-y team game. I was on team Bananarama Squad. I laughed so hard during that game. I'm not even going to try and explain it.
The next day was the last day. We played games outside that morning, dodge ball and 9-square, only with the counselors that time, and it was even more fun. I also laughed a lot during that. I laughed so much at camp. I felt like I really got to know the counselors. I also feel like I know my friends better. I even know myself better.
I really hate leaving camp. I'm always so excited about all of the amazing things I just did and learned and laughed about. I can't take those feelings with me. But I can take the memories of them, and I hope I don't soon forget how much I laughed and how awesome it all was.
We left the school at 7:45. The drive to camp took about 2 hours. We got to drive through lots of windy country roads. I love driving on windy country roads. Often they are really beautiful. I taught the people in the car I was in how to play cows, and then we kind of played cows, only there weren't that many cows. I thought we would see more since the camp was right behind a cow farm. There were actually some cows laying next to the road on the gravel road in camp. We had to open & close 2 cow gates. I'm rambling again.
We got to camp around 10. We unpacked everything from the cars and put it away in the cabins. Then we played mafia with the counselors until lunchtime.
I really liked the counselors. They were fun/ny and super nice. I think it would be fun to be a camp counselor or something like that as a summer job. They all thought I looked like a girl version of a guy named Travis who was there during the summer, so that was weird and funny.
Meals are very unique at Sherwood. I really liked the way they do it, though. There is a server and a scraper at each table. The campers set the tables and serve the food. Whoever sits at the right side on the end is the server. The server goes up to the window to get the food, brings it to the table and stuff. They also say grace before every meal (and I learned a few new ones, which will be good for Girl Scouts!).
The scraper is the person who gets to scrape everyone's plates and clean stuff up. The server gets to start "the scraper game." They can use utensils, napkins, whatever, holding them in a certain way, or doing a specific action like waving or standing up. Similar to the way the last person with a spoon in the spoons card game loses, that's how you loose the scraper game. The last person to do the action copying the server is the scraper. Also, if you eat before the server starts eating, you're the scraper. If you spill something, you're the scraper. If you knock a bench over, your whole table has to scrape for the entire dining hall (I guess that one applies more during the summer when there are more people are there. That didn't happen anyway, though.). Once your table has a scraper, everyone counts to three and screams EMMA'S SCRAPER! (Or whoever is scraper. I didn't actually have to be scraper, but I did serve twice.)
Anyway, after lunch we played lots of team-building games outside. My favorite was Rise to the Sun, where one person lays down and everyone else lifts them up. I'm really glad I got to be the person that got picked up, because it was pretty cool. I thought it would be weird with everyone touching me, but once they picked me up, it didn't feel like anyone was. All I could see was the sky, and it was so blue. I think I nearly floated away.
That day we also did a really cool team adventure course thing. It had a couple of activities, like a nature trail with stations along the way. At the first, we had to get everyone through a tire that was hanging up. The tricky part was, you couldn't really touch the tire because there was a stick sitting on top of it that you couldn't knock off or you would have to start over, so you kinda had to lift people through it.
At the next station, we had to get everyone standing on top of a tire because it was an island and we didn't want to get melted by the chocolate acid. I got to have acid proof shoes because there were too many people. I think that one was the hardest.
The next one (and my favorite) was a rope swing. The problem was, there was a square we couldn't step inside because it was a boiling marshmallow swamp. The square was just big enough that we couldn't reach the rope, so we had to make a grappling hook type thing, tying bandanas, jackets, and shoes together (we could only use things we were wearing). If anything fell inside the square, we couldn't get it back. If it was a person, we had to start over. I thought it was fun to swing across.
The last station we did was a tight rope. It was also fun, and there was a rope you could hold on to so it wasn't that hard. The rest of the people who weren't going across had to spot, so it was actually kind of impossible to fall. (Spotting is basically standing behind or beside someone with your hands out to make sure they don't fall).
After that we played 9-square. It is like 4-square, but with 9 squares and instead of bouncing the ball, you have to keep it in the air. There is a pvc pipe thing that defines the squares and I will see if I can find a picture on the internet.
After playing 9-square, we had dinner. I don't even remember what it was now. After dinner we went to the art barn and tie-dyed our shirts. I'm told they always tie-dye at Sherwood. My hands got all green and witchy.
Then, we had a(n intentional) fire. We had s'mores and sang songs. I learned 2 new ones. They are stuck in my head and kind of annoying (but, of course, hilarious. I'll have to teach them to you and get them stuck in your head. You're welcome.)
The next day was the tower day. At Sherwood, they have an awesome 60-foot high tango tower.
(You wear a harness & helmet.) It has 7 (I think) sides to climb up in different ways. My favorite was the pirate swing. I just thought it was more interesting, and definitely more fun than the other ones I did. The last time I climbed up, I went down the zip line. It was kinda scary to have to step off the edge, but then it was amazing! The tower was definitely my favorite thing. I felt so Dauntless. (I also just finished reading Divergent and Insurgent. [I can't wait for Alliegant to come out! Eeeeek!])
After that we played dodge ball and 9-square and then had dinner. I will never forget that dinner. I already forgot what I was eating, but I do remember that at one point I laughed so hard that milk came out my nose. Seriously, I laughed for at least five minutes straight. The thing I was laughing at wasn't even that funny, but it struck me funny at that moment. (I'm laughing about it now just remembering it.) But of course, I had just taken a big long drink of milk. It didn't occur to me at first that the fact that I had a mouthful of milk would be a problem, because I wasn't laughing that hard. Then, I realized I had milk in my mouth, so I tried to swallow it, but then I just started laughing harder and I couldn't stop. Then milk started coming out my mouth and so I laughed even harder and it started coming out my nose. Oh my goodness. It was so awesome. One of the counselors declared that as his new favorite Camp Moment. I agreed. The magic word of the night was milkoutyournose. (There is a magic word at every meal.)
After dinner we played a fun improv-y team game. I was on team Bananarama Squad. I laughed so hard during that game. I'm not even going to try and explain it.
The next day was the last day. We played games outside that morning, dodge ball and 9-square, only with the counselors that time, and it was even more fun. I also laughed a lot during that. I laughed so much at camp. I felt like I really got to know the counselors. I also feel like I know my friends better. I even know myself better.
I really hate leaving camp. I'm always so excited about all of the amazing things I just did and learned and laughed about. I can't take those feelings with me. But I can take the memories of them, and I hope I don't soon forget how much I laughed and how awesome it all was.
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