Whatever tickles your fancy
Hmmm... what tickles my fancy today...? Let's talk about Outdoor School, since that's where DJ is right now.
First of all, for those who don't know, Outdoor School is basically five days of camp for sixth graders. They stay at a camp site for a school week, learn about science and the outdoors first hand, get to sleep in cabins, have camp fires and it's just a good time.
When I was in 6th grade I went to Camp Collins with my class. Back in the day we used to share a cabin with one of our classmates and six (maybe 8) girls from other schools. I have to admit, I was less than thrilled about my cabin mate because we didn't really know each other. I didn't have a lot of friends by the time I went to Outdoor School as it was only my second year at Lincoln Park Elementary and I always had one really good friend and didn't hang out too much with anyone else. My classmate ended up being cool but I met another girl in my cabin (Jenny) that I hung out with for the week. Funny how when you're a kid you can meet someone and five minutes later they're your bff. Anyway, Jenny and I got to know each other throughout the week and even wrote letters for a while after we returned back to normal life. I probably still have her letters in a box at home-I'll have to check that out.
Some memorable moments from Outdoor School are sitting in a circle on the ground outside and one of the instructors put a cage in the middle of the circle. He told us no matter what we should keep our hands to ourselves and not freak out, then he opened the cage and a little squirrel ran around the circle like mad and then took off like a mad man into the forest. I remember walking single file behind my most recent crush (a super cute counselor) and not paying attention and walking directly into him-my face meets his chest-and wanting to crawl in a hole and die. I remember camp fires, singing songs and cooking a burger on my hobo stove. (*Side note: I tried to find a hobo stove like the ones we made and no luck. I'll search more later but if you're curious you should Google it).
These days, kids go to Outdoor School with their own classmates, have the camps to themselves and they don't build hobo stoves. What the heck is that all about??? I've talked to several people that went to Outdoor School about the time I did and we all agree, one of the best things about Outdoor School was getting to know other kids. Still, it's a great experience and being able to spend a little time out in nature with your classmates is sure to create some bonding moments.
I hope the kids are having fun. I have to admit, I'm kinda glad it's raining this week. This is typical Outdoor School weather and the misery only adds to the experience.
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