One Week Later

A week after we arrive back home, we were asked to write about what the trip meant personally. There is so much on my mind that this blog could potentially become a short book.

Ever since I was told about this class, by Cherith, during our Math class (Beth, thank Cherith for 5 or 6 of us signing up for the class). I was excited from that minute and signed up for the class a week later, after figuring out all my classes for future semesters. From that day on I looked forward to the week in the Adirondacks. Once the time became near, I was excited and ready to leave home. I was even glad that my cell phone would not have signal.

All the girls that took this class knew each other from previous classes together, so I bet it was weird for Jason. He seemed quiet the first 2 days. Once he opened up, we got to know a little more about Jason's character and over achiever attitude, lol. I really appreciated Jason during our week. He did a lot with me that others weren't comfortable doing. I am, sort of, a risk taker, but not like you'd think...nothing crazy or anything like that. I tend to try new things and love to get involved and learn. Jason was right there along with me for some of the things I didn't think twice about doing, that other's were not so willing to try. For example, I was thrilled to death about Ferd's Bog, and I wandered out to investigate, while the rest of the group called out to me to be careful and not to fall or sink. All I could think of was that a bog is not quick sand, what could possibly happen?

The activities we did during our week were kayaking, climbing Black Bear Mountain, Ferd's Bog, a trip to The Wild Science Center, and Adirondack Museum. We also hiked around the peninsula (not and island) and participated in some team work activities. I'm guessing the team work games were supposed to take place on the 1st day, because they seemed a little pointless considering we had already been there for 4 days. The activities were to get you to communicate with people you've just met. Since most of us knew each other, and also since we have spent the majority of the week together already, we flew threw each task. We had to shorten times and rules to be challenged.

There were only 2 disappointments. First, we only had a total of 2 hours one day, and 1 hour another day, throughout the week for free time to enjoy personal choice activities at the camp. All three hours I spent out on the water with Courtney and Lindsey. They were new at kayaking, and I was grateful and loving that they wanted to return to the water, even though they were unsure of the unsteady boat rocking feeling. Thank you ladies.

My second disappointment was that I was told about the high ropes course and could not stop thinking about how wonderful it will feel to glide down the zip line. Once we arrived at the camp, we were informed that we would not participate in the high ropes course. I can't even begin to explain how much this still upsets me. I love adventure, heights, and a good challenge, so I am bothered that others were able to do this, but we could not. Even the other group camping there the same week did the course. Boo hoo.

We spent a lot of time in the Carlson Classroom (too much time personally). We learned a lot, but it made for long days going non stop from 8am to 8:30pm every day. I felt like there was never a break, even though the information was informative and useful. I had an impression that we were going to spent time on "teaching" and how to incorporate outdoor activities into the curriculum, but the class was actually not much about "teaching" and more about environmental issues. I did enjoy and take a great deal from what I learned about the environmental aspect and subject, but I just thought we were going to have the focus on teaching/schools/students, ect.

The environmental discussions, slides, and videos have made me more aware since I have left the peninsula (that's twice now I made sure I didn't say island). I do wonder how and why we could not recycle our cardboard boxes at the camp, but we can at home. I understand that other materials are combined in the boxes, but why is it okay to recycle it one place, but not another? Yesterday I wanted to throw out my razor replacement head ...not the whole razor, just the blade, and I thought, this is metal and plastic, both recyclable, but I have to throw it in the garbage because of how it is made. Then today, I went to our annual Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally and someone there lit flying Chinese Lanterns (or Sky Lantern). All I could think was, what a waste. Why are they doing this, why is it necessary, and look at the waste product and garbage we just sent into the air to have land miles away to rot on the ground...and for what? So we can be entertained for a few moments while staring into the sky to say "What is the heck is that flaming object flying int he sky?" Instead of finding it to be beautiful, historical, or intriguing, I found it to be stupid, a waste, and littering.

My stress disappeared while in the Adirondacks and found its way right back into my chest my first night home. I was as happy as I could possibly be while away from home, and I was not ready to return. My week away made me feel so good that I said I refused to go home to the same life. Not that I live some horrible life, but it is compacted with stress and disappointment. The trip made me see I am capable of making changes that I really want fulfilled. I am not there yet, but now that I know how good it feels to not have stress for just 1 week, I am working to make it last longer than those wonderful 6 days we had....and I know I can accomplish it without having to be at an expensive college class. I can do it all on my own with just a few changes.

Thank you Carl, Beth, and Tim for the experience.

Pictures From ADK's Classroom

Kathy's Picasa Photos

Friday Last Day

It was a sad, sad day. I had to admit to myself that the week was over and I had to go home. On our last day we only had 1 hour to do something fun. Of course we kayaked. When we got back we cleaned our cabin and presented our projects.

Julie presented her idea about a field trip to a farm. She wants her students to see where our food comes from and the work that's involved to make that possible. Another idea of hers was to travel back to the farm to see the changes per season. 

Jason did a presentation on a DBQ of the geography of Adirondacks. He had many different ideas for questions to write essays and short answer questions. Some of those ideas/questions were: (1) To write about the photograph of Adirondack furniture on display at the adk museum (2) write about a photograph on Huntington building (3) Song lyrics of a lumberjack- whats the life of the lumberjack based on lyrics (upbeat life), (4) and a quote of a lumberjacks life. (danger of life). Jason's presentation blew the rest of us away. I don't know where he found the time. Ohhh, he didn't go kayaking with us. That must be it. 

Nicole and Courtney worked together: They created a Glogster for the Adirondacks on trees and the background of the Adirondacks. The Glogster was a collection of links and videos about the Adirondacks. After the lesson in class, Nicole and Courtney want to trip to the Adirondack Museum, and take the class on a nature walk to identify on their own from what they learned.

Cherith created a picture book for 1^st grade about bears (coloring book). Her book compared bears and humans in ways of where they find/use food water and shelter. Her book taught about how bears are losing their shelter, how bears find shelter, how its near water, and how they store food, and hibernation. In addition, Cherith would have her students circle site words, sounds, and color the pictures. 

Lindsey's project was to build a garden at school with her kindergartners. She began a letter to the parents and local businesses for support and letting them know what shes doing, standards covered and why to do this. The lessons she hopes her students learn are life skills, problem solving (how to keep animals out, how to grow successfully), and responsibility to keep plants alive to work together. Lindsey created a lists of things that might need to be donated: fence, something to create an elevated area, soil, seeds, and hands on help with creating the garden.

My project began with trees in North America. Then it was broken down to leaf identification. Finally I reduced it to North American Maple Trees Leaf Identification. The beginning of the project/lesson was on interactive Smart Board activity about leaves using vocabulary words with a microscopic picture of a leaf. Terms: cuticle, xylem, stomata, pholoem, epidemis, mesophyll, palisade layer, and guard cell. The lesson/Smart Board activity continued to list the Maple Trees common in Adirondack/North American area and how to identify the differences between each leaf. That was all I was able to complete. The activity was going to fall into photosynthesis and how leaves change color, and the common colors of Maple tree leaves.  

Thursday Day 4

We began with a 2 hour kayak ride over past the church and back. Se sat in the bay and relaxed in the sun. We could hear the loon, coyoted (real coyotes- not loons's) and crows. Boats would pass bye and the waves would rock us either making you uneasy and questioning your stability, or enjoying the swaying motion.

Wednesday Day 3

Adirondacks Day 2

Another amazing day! This morning we got up for breakfast after a long night of sitting in the sauna and swimming in the lake till 11pm. A shower was a wonder relief before bed. We loaded the boat at 8:45am and car pooled to Blue Mountain Nature Preserve. It was a lot like the places I have been in Virginia, but much smaller. There was a  moose (stuffed) fish, frogs, otters, snakes, bugs, weeds, plant life, and mush more. It was very nice and there were a few interactive activities such as an area to step on so it feels like when you walk on the bog in the forest.

Next we went to the Adirondack Museum. I absolutely loved that place and would love to go back. There was so much to see and so much that was interactive. It was a great museum with the old buggies pulled by horses, tools and machinery used to log the trees, train cars used for transportation...too must to mention. We took so many pictures and enjoyed ourselves they entire time we were there.

Adirondacks Day 1

After breakfast we headed out on a 2 hour hike through the trails on Camp Huntington/Pine Knott at Raquette Lake. It was nice that we had cool temperatures so that we weren’t covered in sweat. The cool air did bring out the flies. They covered the Courtney and Nicole because their cloths still had a fresh dryer sheet scent. During our hike it began to rain. Our kayak trip was canceled. In place of floating on the lake, we worked on our blog in the “classroom.” After lunch we had a discussion with John Slade who wrote a Adirondack Green.


John Slade went through an overview of his book we read before our trip to the Adirondacks. The book is about how the children of a small town outside of Utica, NY were assigned a community service project. The projects made the students realize things about life and about themselves. They learned about their community and what it means to be a community member. They also learned what it takes to become more environmentally aware of what best for their community and their future.


We had a class discussion about how we can safely make our towns and cities more more environmentally friendly. We talked about how we can teach the children in our classrooms how and why we need to think about the future...so that their is a future.