Renaissance Magnet School – Laura’s 4th grade

I’m sure it would come as no big surprise that 4th graders have the ability to speak and communicate in their own unique language. While we haven’t been able to fully translate that language as of yet, during Laura’s class trip up the mountains we’ve been able to at least nail down the pattern. It goes something like this:
[Insert name] + [laughing] + [pointing] + [giggle] + [unintelligible words that make sense to the other kids] + [ more giggle] + [visible excitement] ?
All in all, it means they are having some fun up there.
The class broke up into two groups, the Eels and the Porcupines and the report coming back about the kids learning to belay is that they are the best yet. The really picked it up well and are taking the responsibility and process really seriously today as they went climbing. The weather has been pretty good up there and they are setting up some “bomber tarps and tents”.
Tomorrow is the big Slade Challenge where the two groups come together as a class and have a chance to work together and show off the skills they’ve been learning the last few days! This is the last outdoor ed trip we have from Renaissance and we’ve loved it, what a great school and great staff!
We’ll get some pictures up on the flickr site link to the right in the next couple of days…

 

Renaissance Magnet School – Mary’s 4th grade

This is definitely a high energy, action focused group of curious and inquisitive kids and they are making the most of their time to get out and explore the camp and all the hidden treasures it has to offer.  They are learning how to belay, getting entranced by fungus and plants and beatles and taking the initiative to not just see ‘em, but look them up in our reference books to learn even more about them.

They’ve managed to stay dry and it’s been warm up there, and the smoke from the California fires has been drifting in overhead and is making the sky a bit hazy, but overall the weather couldn’t be better!

The class divided up in two patrols and once again the tradition of a group calling themselves the Wolves patrol is alive and they are howling everywhere we go.  The satellite phone cut out a little bit, but I’m pretty sure the other patrol calls themselves the BeatleBots so you’ll have to ask them about the story behind that one when they get back in on Wednesday!

 

Renaissance Magnet School – Lauren’s Class -Photo Update

Let me first apologize for the delay on getting photos up for Lauren’s class.  We now have some of the pictures are up  but ran into some technical difficulties on the main camera.  Hopefully we will get those recovered soon and will keep you updated.

 

Renaissance Magnet School – Lauren’s Class

In addition to the incredible learning opportunities of challenges like camping out, cooking their own food and learning to live in the wild, Lauren’s class has braved a steady rain and have stayed remarkably dry thanks to some impressive skills with the tarps and tents! It also hasn’t stopped them from a great day of climbing and hiking and exploring today!
One patrol has oddly adopted the name and chant of “OxiClean” while the other one has continued the tradition started last week by Bill’s class and are heard howling as the roam the camp. Make sure and ask the kids about how to belay, what trees they saw and some of the knots and shelter setups.
Tomorrow, (after a celebratory Birthday breakfast) those skills will be put to the test with the great Slade Gang Challenge! The kids are excited to show off their skills and see how quickly they can work together to overcome even ore obstacles before heading home. Learn more about the Slade Gang Challenge here!
It’s been another great group from Renaissance Magnet School!

Also, pictures from Bill’s class are up and available for download for parents at our Flickr page.  Lauren’s class pictures will be up next week!

 

Renaissance Magnet School! Bill’s Class

The camp is bustling right now with the kids from Bill’s 5th grade class from Rennaissance Magnet School! It was an overcast day but the sky never fully opened up, only sprinkling occasionally throughout the day.
The class is broken up into the Wolf Crew and the Bear Crew and the kids are energetic, having fun and learning new skills. They have become experts on setting up tarps, tying knots like the truckers hitch and exploring the property.
The Wolf Crew is howling everywhere thy go as they explore, finding nooks, crannies and great rocks to sit on. The Bears have been busy painting faces with natural paints and markings found in the great outdoors.
Both crews are laughing around the fire and cooking up some S’mores right now preparing for the big day of climbing, rappelling and hiking down to Elkhorn Creek.

 

Big Sky Pictures

Yes, the long awaited photos from our Big Sky Backpacking trip are uploading now over on the flickr site! The backcountry nature of this trip prevented us from posting pictures mid-trip, but there are some great one in the set, so we hope it makes up for the wait! We wanted to get them up as soon as possible for you, so some of them are sideways but we will rotate those later…Enjoy, and thanks for sharing your family with the Educo family!

 

Educo in the News

Colorado’s 9News did a story on Educo! Click here to be taken to their video page!

 

They’re headin’ home!

They are out of the mountains and back in civilization after a highly efficient morning of packing up camp and hiking to the trail head.  In the last update, I mentioned that they were talking about combining two days of hiking into one so that they could spend more time at Silver Lake.  Well, they gave it a good go, but heavy thunderstorms forced them to stop for the evening.  Be sure to ask them about that.  Thunderstorms in the mountains can be really amazing to witness.  Today will be spent driving all the way back down to BMMR for tonight’s campfire, BBQ, and smores.  It sounds like they’ve had an amazing trip and I’m psyched to hear all about it.

We’ll see everyone tomorrow bright and early at Blue Moon…

Rob

 

Well oiled machines…

The Big Sky Backpackers are in the heart of Montana’s Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness area.  Chris, one of the instructors has been “surprised” by how well the group is getting along, taking responsibility for their chores, helping one another out, and the sheer volume of laughing.

The other night, Riki and Robin, cooked up gourmet backcountry pizzas with the help of Ellory.  Pizza never tasted so good as it does when you make it yourself!  During some of the long driving sections and down time, the group has been playing a card game called Spoons.  Evidently, this is quite the game and has been a good time.

There was talk within the group yesterday of combining two days of hiking into one so that they can have a layover day at the breath-taking Silver Lake.  If they decided to do this, it will be a long, arduous day, but the reward will be that they can hike to the summit of a nearby peak tomorrow and enjoy the rugged beauty above the trees.  I am excited to hear what the group decided to do.

While I haven’t been able to get any pictures from them yet, here is one that might give you a sense of where they are.  Silver Lake is well above tree line with jagged mountains surrounding the lake.  An amazing place to be.  More soon!

Rob

Somewhere in the Absaroka-Beartooths

 

Wanderings in the the North Country

The last Youth Adventure program of the summer is underway!  On the first evening, the crew explored Blue Moon, organized personal gear, started getting to know each other, and hiked to The Point, where everyone got to enjoy the first of many beautiful views on the trip.  The wildlife abounds on Big Sky before they even left Blue Moon.  They saw deer, a coyote, and had the pleasure of even seeing a rattlesnake!  One of the common threads that everyone seems to share on this trip is the desire to see wildlife and it looks like nature is cooperating…

The group departed BMMR really early on Monday and after a long and uneventful drive, our group of adventurers landed safely in Yellowstone National Park!

On Tuesday, they spent the day exploring some of the classic sights of Yellowstone like Old Faithful and Midway Geysers and the out-of-this-world Paint Pots (check out this link to see pics of the Paint Pots:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urcI37kRLLo).  Today, they will be hiking Mt. Washburn, a 6 mile round-trip hike that offers expansive views of the eastern side of the park.  Bighorn sheep are frequently seen in the alpine tundra along the trail.  This evening, with the help of the Leaders of the Day, they will organize and pack for their journey deep into the Absaroka-Beartooths!

Stay tuned for another update in the next couple days…
Rob