Which way are we going?

On May 7th, the 2009 PE cohort got to participate in an orienteering challenge. We started off in the field house learning how to orient maps and learning about the different parts of a compass and what they are used for. To culminate this activity we were given a little slip of paper with coordinates on it and we had to navigate through the course and write down the code that it spelled out. Once we all completed this we acheived advanced status for our skills assessment. After lunch we were given a scavenger hunt of sorts. We were given a sheet with clues on it that would lead us to different locations around campus. On the back of the sheet was the numbers corresponding to the different clues on the front. We each had different sheets and our goal was to find the location as part of the clue and answer the question. This was by far one of the most enjoyable activities that I have participated in yet so far this quarter.

3 Down, 8 to go!

On Tuesday May 5th, we canceled our recreational bike ride and stayed in Nicholson Pavilion to work on our circus arts. Doc Mathias said that we could even begin testing out on some of the skills if we felt that we were ready for them. I knew that juggling wasn't my thing but I got an intermediate routine down with the scarves and went and tested and passed. That was my first thing down. I then practiced my flowersticks for a good 40 minutes before taking my skills test with them. I got five skills done in 30 seconds which was good enough for the advanced level! For the last part of class I figured I would practice my unicycling skills since I wasn't very good at it. I could not have guessed what would happen next......with my spotters Drew and Shane, I successfully made it the whole length of the gym without falling off to get an intermediate mark in unicycling! I was so happy I couldn't stand it and now had 3 of the skills test completed and have 8 more left to do.

How does this go again?

The class following our Honor's Camp presentations, we were in the field house to work on our inline skating. The first time I practiced was out on the tennis court where it is a little tougher with the speed and the uneven ground. This time it was a little easier because the field house has a smooth surface and it is easier to pace yourself and not get out of control when going too fast. It was also easier to skate backwards which was my problem out on the tennis courts. I heard that the skills testing for inline skating will be done in the fieldhouse so there is a good chance that I will get advanced. This is what I am hoping for anyways.

Pressed and Dressed

On Tuesday April 28th, the 2009 PE cohort traveled to Black hall to present their Honors Camp Presentations. Everyone looked amazing all dressed up in their finest attire. We are so used to coming to class wearing our kit that we forgot how it is possible to look good wearing different clothes. Everyone presented on the activities that they were going to teach at honor's camp for about 5 minutes. My group presented our activity titled Pirates of Lake Wenatchee: Quest for the Chest. Me, Shane, and Mary are going to dress like pirates and take our students through a variety of activities with the end result being that they find the treasure chest with goodies inside.

Something New!!

On Friday April 24th the day before PEAK, we got to take part in a special demonstration of how to use Indoboards. These boards are kind of like a mixture between a skateboard and a surfboard. They are placed on a round beam type thing and you balance on it. They are fairly new on the school scene and help students with creating balance. We got to try them out for ourselves and all I can say is wow! They are pretty difficult initially but once you get the hang of it they can be a lot of fun! The trick is to keep a low center of gravity and not to hunch over. Keep your back straight and look forward and you will be able to stay balanced. Once I got that down I was able to roll back and forth and get it moving. Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself for doing that!

It's All in the Wrists!

On Thursday April 23rd my group stayed on campus for class to practice our frisbee skills. We worked on our backhand and our forehand throws. I'm good at throwing it backhand but my forehand looks like a knuckleball thrown by a baseball pitcher! It was evident that this was my weakness and is something that I am going to have to practice in the upcoming weeks. Other techniques that we practiced included throwing for distance, throwing for accuracy, (which included a bowling game where you had to knock down all the pins with the frisbee), and throwing to a moving target. Then for the second part of class we went outside and played frisbee golf using targets that we came up with as the holes. We had to use different throwing technques for each whole and try to get the lowest score possible. This was probably the most fun part of the class even though it was a little windy outside which made the frisbees fly around a little bit! http://www.upa.org/