A portrait of Brandon: Outstanding in his field....

"Whatcha doin' Brandon" asks the teacher with the camera.

"Just lookin' around," he replies.

Campfire's Most Excellent Adventure~

If you've been to camp, you probably remember the evening campfires. Sitting around the bonfire while roasting marshmellows for s'mores, exchanging good jokes, and enjoying the silliness of campy performances made the evening memorable.

To the disappointment of our SCVi Campers, there were no s'mores - and those riddles were NOTHING like a good joke, but the cabin skits were hilarious and the kids had a fabulous time.

Each cabin was responsible for a performance to entertain the other campers. All of our budding actors were stand-outs, but a special shout-out has to go to "Captain Jack" Kirby barking orders at his boys. "WHICH ONE OF YOU BOYS KNOCKED OVER THE OUTHOUSE?" is a question that won't soon be forgotten.

All of our students left the campfire craziness with lighter hearts. Most importantly, they know what you call a cow with no legs, a cow with 2 legs, and a cow with 3 legs.

:-)KDL

Incommunicado! Internet goes down in Teacher Cabin!

We apologize profusely, parents, for the lack of blogging last night from Camp High Trails. The internet is "dial-up" and slow as weight loss in general... but yesterday the whole system was down and no amount of plugging, unplugging, or tinfoil rabbit ears would help.

Miss Marni went through withdrawals of the worst sort and Mr. Faulkner and I had to walk her around the camp to keep her mind off her dead cell phone and the laptop that was impersonating a paperweight.

:-)KDL

A little nitrogen cycle, anyone?

Camp High Trails employs a very professional and knowledgeable staff. All of the instructors are college graduates with a respect for life and a love of teaching. How else to explain a circle of suburban children, sitting in the middle of the woods, listening intently to a teacher diagram, discuss, and explain the nitrogen cycle? This discussion came on the heels of an informational session on scavengers, fungi, bacteria, invertebrates, and other earthly decomposers.

There was also a reference to a dead snake in the road - having been hit by a car. Hypothetically, of course.... all a part of the nitrogen cycle and the education of our campers.

Happy Hair and French Toast .... or ....French Hair and Happy Toast?

This morning found the SCVi campers just frantic over French Toast! They could hardly wait to serve themselves and then heap on the maple syrup. But wait! Extra syrup is considered food waste and our kids are committed now to ZERO food waste. So... Elijah was elected to lick everybody's platter clean. All efforts to photo-document this occasion were thwated by big fat kid heads.... heads with the wildest set of bed-head you've ever seen.

Two of our young bed-heads were taken to task by their cabin mistress for refusing to shower. Their excuse?

"We heard that the shower hurts your feet so we decided we weren't comfortable with taking a shower."

In true problem-solving and make-lemonade-from-lemons fashion, several of our campers are now sporting some rather unique hairstyles that celebrate the Camp Bed Head look.

:-)KDL

caveat: The students pictured here are not necessarily the recalcitrant shower-takers. In fact, they probably showered. At some point. In fact... the students pictured here are not responsbile for the quote in red. Really.

Wednesday Night Fever - Camp High Trails

Child abuse was the charge last evening at Camp High Trails near Big Bear, California. Over 50 SCVi student campers were forced to wear "village people" hats, masks, and other accessories while dancing to loud and questionable "fun" music. One of the instructors appalled the sensibilities of these poor children by wearing clothing too ridiculous to even discuss in public.

Making children DANCE while wearing what amounts to FISHING WADERS? Puh-leeeze. Children's Services will be notified.

:-)KDL

Footprints in the Snow

The snow up here in the mountains not only surrounds Camp High Trails, it is everywhere!

Any walking that has to be done is on the snow, in the snow, around the snow, or... in the mud. The mud appears as the snow melts and, with the beautiful weather, the snow is melting.

The kids have been instructed to bring extra socks to all camp activities. Their socks are covered with plastic bags in order to keep young feet dry and somewhat toasty. Just imagine the aroma in the boys' cabin as they change into their pajamas tonight.... the teachers are very happy to be UPwind from this assault on the senses.

There have been many opportunities for the students to hike in the snow. They must trudge through the drifts in order to get to any of the activities they are going to do. Yes, they had to walk uphill in the snow, but don't believe them when they tell you it was "both ways."

Today, they had archery, orientering, and outdoor adventures. The latter included sliding down hills on blue foam pads. You can imagine how much fun they had! We would post pictures but many of them are suddenly camera shy.

There was a full archery course. The kids learned about the sport, its history, and careful use of the bow and arrow. Safety was the most important concern. We are happy to report that none of our students experienced archery-related injuries. As a teacher, this is always a relief. Explaining arrow injuries in young posteriors is never an easy task. Parents lack a sense of humor when it comes to these things.

Tonight is LINE DANCING. Yee haw and watch those bows and arrows!

:-)KDL