Written by This week one of my challenges for this year took place in form of chaperoning my 6 grade son’s week long field trip to Sly Park Education camp. To be honest, I was a little concerned of how it will be spending a full week in a cabin with 13 smelly 12 year olds. However, it turned out to be really great. As it is with most things in life, when you commit to them and overcome the fear of jumping in the cold water they are actually fun.
Some of the Sensei Apprenticeship lessons were super useful in this environment as well. I quickly learned their names and together with my co-chaperone, Andy, we got a hold of it fast. Of course the first day and evening were the wildest. Boys trying to push boundaries, most of them away from home for the first time without a relative – but clear structure and some examples calmed the situation.
The next few days were full with hiking and nature studies. I clocked 48 hiked miles towards my 1000 mile goal and learned a lot about California’s Sierra Nevada.