What Frogs?!!

If you've followed my blog the for last month or so, you might remember that I went to a place in Ohio called Camp Joy, where I spent three fun-filled days with a huge gaggle (that is the proper word, right?) of 8th-graders.

 There was a lovely little pond, complete with cattails and waterlilies, which was used for some of the nature classes.  I was taking photos, as usual, when one of the camp leaders brought a group of students out to look for reptiles and amphibians.

"Look, there's one!" yelled a student, not three feet away from where I stood. 
"I see two over here," another called back. I looked into the pond, but saw nothing unusual.
"What is it?" I asked the boy next to me.
"A frog," he replied.  I leaned over and peered into the water.  I could hear kids all around the pond proclaiming that they'd "found one".
"Where?" I still saw nothing except water lilies and algae.

 "Right there."  He pointed at an indeterminate spot in the water, as if I could see exactly where he was looking.
"I still don't see it," I told him.
"There's another one over there, by that leaf- see?"  He ran off to join his friend, leaving me to wonder, which leaf?  Try as I might, I could not see a single frog, and so, frustrated, I went back to taking pictures.

I had a good time, and took some nice shots.  I really didn't give another thought to frogs- that is, until I got home and loaded the pictures onto my computer.  As I began clicking through them, I couldn't believe it- right there in front of my face- frogs!  They were everywhere!

There are three in this photo...  Can you spot them?  Click the pic to enlarge if you need to.

This one, I'm pretty sure, was having a good laugh at my expense.  (Oops!- I mean, these two- I just spotted another one!)

 There are at least three in this photo...

How did I miss this one?  I can just hear it laughing its little froggy laugh...

This one's got quite a nerve, hasn't he?

Seriously? 

 Well, I'm saying it's the bifocal thing.  I really don't know what part of my glasses to look through unless I know exactly where I'm looking.  Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Camp Joy

I have been gone the last few days, off on a strange and frightening adventure.

Yes-  I was -(Que spooky ominous music)- camping with 8th-graders!

Every year at the school where I teach, the 8th grade goes on a three-day field trip to Camp Joy, an outdoor education center near Clarksville, Ohio.
The kids got to participate in lots of interesting and unique activities...

... like learning to work cooperatively and trust one another...

 Here, students have to work together to untie the "human knot"...

The ropes course was probably the favorite. The kids really had fun with this, while being terrified at the same time.

A camp staff member comes to the rescue...

 Up she goes...

It was exciting watching their confidence grow...

...as they challenged themselves to do things they thought they could never do...

and succeeded.

 I, too, had my challenges...

...like living in this cabin for three days with 23 8th-grade girls and one brave mom.  Exhausting, but do-able.


The really unique thing about Camp Joy is the Survival on the Underground Railroad Re-enactment.  For about 3 hours, we got to experience a small taste of what it was like to be a slave, attempting to reach freedom in the north.  The realistic and historically accurate  re-enactment takes place on a part of the grounds that looks much like it would have in 1851.  I wasn't able to photograph the re-enactment (slaves didn't have cameras!), but here is the cabin where I was sold into slavery.

A gorgeous example of a re-constructed log house; right up my alley, if you know what I mean.

Camp Joy was an eye-opening experience in many ways.  This was a rare opportunity  for all of us to learn about slavery from the inside- sort of.  Our country still faces challenges that stem from slavery, and the next generations must still work to overcome them.  I don't think any of us will ever look at this period in our nation's history, or ourselves, the same way again.

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.  –Eleanor Roosevelt