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I can't believe it is Friday morning already.  Right now our students are out in their Outdoor Survival class.  I actually think they are bummed it isn't snowing, because part of the class is to build protective shelters.  It has snowed the past two years during this class, and the students have loved making a shelter to keep the snow out.  Today it is cold, windy, and blue sky.  Other than the thunderstorm our first night, the weather has been perfect.

Students packed out of their rooms this morning before breakfast.  I stayed behind to do the final room check - lost and found - and did score a few items.  I'm in the admin building now checking out and finalizing our bill payment.  Sadly there is no way for me to catch up with the students as their classes are out in the wood somewhere.  I'll meet the students for lunch and then meet the bus.  We should be on the road by 12:30.

An update from yesterday - We had an awesome afternoon for the Beaver Ecology class.  You should see the active beaver site on the property.  It is so cool.  When we got  back to the dorm all the students were so psyched to have an hour of "chill" time in their rooms to nap, shower, journal, or read.  Before dinner, we played football, basketball, and frisbee on the admin field.  After dinner, the students intensely competed for the cleanest room award!  It was so difficult to judge this!!!!  Then we got a surprise visit from Mrs. Spreitzer!  She brought a special bead from Mrs. Robinson and herself to add to our bead collection.  Mrs. Spreitzer and her daughter, Holly, joined us for roller skating.  Before bedtime, we had snack and stories. 

Your students have been amazing.  Yes, we had some homesick episodes, a few upset tummies, and lots of sore feet!  But overall, this was the best Eco Week ever.  The YMCA really loves KQA too.  We'll be home soon.

Good morning.  We are ready to start a bright sunshiny new day!  We were up and out by 7:30 this morning and just finished a fabulous breakfast in the Aspen Dining Hall.  Everyone is at the statue right now as we get ready for our morning class:  Orienteering - using compasses and maps!  

Last night was really fun, interesting, challenging, and an adventure.  After dinner, we went on the night hike with our YMCA counselors.  We did lots of walking but as it got dark we discovered we really could see!  Ask your student what they learned about their eyes last night.  After the night hike, we gathered for a fun campfire at 9 p.m.  We got a big surprise with a huge thunderstorm.  Your students were real troopers, they hiked all the way back to our lodge in the pouring rain.  And they mostly stayed dry.  They were well prepared.  But they were also really tired.  Nothing like a rain storm to get them all into their jammies really quickly.

What amazed me was this was the first year when everyone more or less went to bed at lights out at 10:30 p.m.  Bravo!  They were well rested for the coming day.  Our few bouts of homesickness were gone by this morning.  Everyone is healthy and doing well.  More this afternoon.

Wow!  We had an amazing afternoon in our Adventure Class!  We did all sorts of fun exercises, encouraged one another, and had a blast every time the YMCA teachers made the challenge more difficult.  You would be so proud of our students!  I won't reveal the details of the activities, but I'm sure you will hear all about them on Friday afternoon.  ;-)  We are at the YMCA statue right now getting ready for our night hike and campfire.  We had to miss our outdoor games before dinner because it was really pouring and a thunderstorm.   But the skies are cleared and the weather is fabulous again.   By the way,  they really enjoyed dinner!  Happy Birthday to Tryston and William today.  We even found a birthday candle.   More tomorrow.  You students are having a great time!  PS>  We are the best prepared group up here!  Thanks for helping with the packing.

Mrs. Odbert is here ahead of the bus to check in.  Weather is AWESOME!  Blue sky and 50 degrees.  I've already seen Big Horn Sheep on the way up the canyon, 2 mule deer and a coyote!  Bus should be here soon.  I'm going to meet it and direct them to our lodge.  It is Ramshorn.  Brand new.  Very nice!  Look for us at the statue just after noon.

While we were studying fungi in 6th grade science, we got to talk about all sorts of nasty "science experiments" that are the moldy things that occassionally grow in the fridge.  But on the yummy side of fungi, we talked about yeast.  So, of course, we had to have a lab that had us making some bread.  It was fun making it, smelling the yeast, and during the day watching our dough rise.  It was amazing to see how much the dough changed in just an hour!   As promised, here is the recipe.  Click on the paperclip.