- \n
- Cross-country skiing. <\/strong> My first time, and I really enjoyed it. \u00c2\u00a0I joined the kids Tuesday morning for a beginner lesson. \u00c2\u00a0On Wednesday I went on a longer ski with the adults. \u00c2\u00a0I generally did alright on the flat trails and climbing hills (awkward, but successful), but going down hills was tough. \u00c2\u00a0I still don’t quite understand how to control speed and direction on a narrow trail.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- Snow-shoeing. <\/strong> We went out for a fairly long snow-shoeing hike and my legs are still sore. \u00c2\u00a0Next year I think I’ll bring my own snowshoes which are lighter than the ones at the camp (I plan on taking them out for a long walk tonight to see how they compare). \u00c2\u00a0This hike included a spectacular stop for lunch at the top of a bluff overlooking a frozen lake. \u00c2\u00a0We met up with a group of students up there and had lunch around a fire in the snow, with a truly stunning view.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- Bonding with the kids<\/strong>. \u00c2\u00a0From a teacher’s perspective, this was such a rare opportunity to really get to know kids outside of the classroom. This was especially valuable for me because I teach eighth grade, so not only were most of the kids new to me, but many of them will be my students next year. \u00c2\u00a0It’s heartening to see students surprise themselves when they are pushed out of their comfort zones. \u00c2\u00a0Moreover, I love seeing kids who struggle in the classroom excel in a different setting. \u00c2\u00a0This always makes me think about how I can push myself to make my classroom even more inclusive of different learning styles and aptitudes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- Storytelling.<\/strong> The boys in my cabin were super excited about hearing bedtime stories (scary ones, in particular). \u00c2\u00a0On Monday night we all shared whatever quick ghost stories we knew from memory. \u00c2\u00a0On Tuesday they asked me to come up with something for them. \u00c2\u00a0This was a real treat for me, because I love stories and I especially enjoy the art of storytelling. \u00c2\u00a0I began with a retelling of the 1902 classic, “The Monkey’s Paw<\/a>” by W. W. Jacobs. \u00c2\u00a0I changed the setting to reflect our surroundings (a cabin in the northern Minnesota wilderness), but otherwise kept it largely the same. \u00c2\u00a0On Wednesday we moved on to one of my favorite horror authors, H. P. Lovecraft. \u00c2\u00a0I retold “Pickman’s Model<\/a>,” but again moved it to Minnesota and narrated it as if the artist had been real, and I had known him personally. \u00c2\u00a0(When it ended, and I pulled the door shut, a student called out nervously, “Wait, Mr. Roy, did that really<\/em> happen?” \u00c2\u00a0Yay!) \u00c2\u00a0For Thursday I sketched out a story based on the Native American Wendigo legend, but after the sauna experience (see below), I was too tired to do real improv. \u00c2\u00a0I offered, instead, to read one of the all-time classics, Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu<\/a>“. \u00c2\u00a0The story, alas, was too long (and the vocabulary too obscure) for a single night’s reading, so I stopped about half way through, with most of the kids asleep on the floor around the wood stove. \u00c2\u00a0As we drove back to Saint Paul on Friday, one of the kids came up to the front of the bus and asked diffidently if I would finish the story for them \u00e2\u20ac\u201d they had saved me a seat at the back of the bus! \u00c2\u00a0So, driving through a snowstorm, with faces peering over and between the seats, we all finished the masterpiece together. \u00c2\u00a0(There was a moment in the reading \u00e2\u20ac\u201d one of the kid’s foreheads scrunched up, trying to parse Lovecraft’s baroque vocabulary \u00e2\u20ac\u201d when I felt a sense of rightness, like this was exactly what I was supposed to be doing with my life.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- The Sauna \/ Dip in the Freezing Lake. <\/strong>This is the legendary culmination of the Widji experience: a hot sauna and a plunge through a hole in the thick ice of Burntside Lake. \u00c2\u00a0I was nervous about it all week, truthfully, and in the moments before the icy plunge I considered it a very real possibility that I would be the first person at Widji to drop dead upon hitting the water. \u00c2\u00a0(I have never managed to outgrow this sort of mental melodrama.) \u00c2\u00a0As it turned out, my first shocked words upon rising above the surface were, “Oh, this isn’t so bad!” \u00c2\u00a0And, really, it wasn’t. \u00c2\u00a0(Some people make the whole experience significantly more painful by jumping in the water before<\/em> going into the sauna, but that seems excessively masochistic to me.) \u00c2\u00a0Heating up in the sauna first was, naturally, wonderful. \u00c2\u00a0My muscles relaxed and sweat was literally pouring off of me. \u00c2\u00a0After ten minutes or so, I was ready to rinse off, and the icy water was a perfect way to do it. \u00c2\u00a0I wouldn’t want to lounge around in the water, obviously, but it was truly invigorating. \u00c2\u00a0Afterwards I felt almost euphoric, and my body temperature was still high enough that the freezing wind over the lake felt like a warm breeze. \u00c2\u00a0Sitting by the fire afterwards, my body felt as relaxed as if I had just had a luxurious massage. \u00c2\u00a0I wouldn’t hesitate to repeat the experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In summary, it was an incredible week! \u00c2\u00a0I’ve told my principal that she can count on me to volunteer for this every year. \u00c2\u00a0(They actually have a hard time getting teachers to go.)<\/p>\n
One sad thing: I didn’t bring a camera! \u00c2\u00a0I don’t know what I was thinking, because it was utterly gorgeous up there. \u00c2\u00a0I took a few photos on my iPhone on Friday morning before getting on the bus (and found another one on Google images) just to give you a sense of the place.<\/p>\n
![\"Wash](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stoccoroy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/20110204_083731_002b.jpg?w=474&ssl=1\" "\\"Wash")
<\/a>The Wash House \u00e2\u20ac\u201d just up the hill from the four cabins. Note the unbelievable blanket of snow on the roof!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"Snowshoe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stoccoroy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/20110204_083803_003b.jpg?w=474&ssl=1\" "\\"Snowshoe")
<\/a>Snowshoe rack between the two boys’ cabins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"Field](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stoccoroy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/20110204_083833_004b.jpg?w=474&ssl=1\" "\\"Field")
<\/a>This is from the rear of my cabin. In the foreground is a field where we practiced skiing before hitting the trails. Beyond the trees is the northern arm of Burntside Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"Cabin\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stoccoroy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/20110204_083842_005b.jpg?w=474&ssl=1\" "\\"Cabin\\"")
<\/a>From my porch to the back porch of the other boys’ cabin. (The girls’ cabins are in the trees, just out of sight.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"Widji](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stoccoroy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Widji_Road.jpg?w=474&ssl=1\" "\\"Widji_Road\\"")
<\/a>The main road through camp. \u00c2\u00a0This photo is obviously not from my iPhone, but I’m including it because it captures the beauty better than any of my muted pics. (From Widji’s Flickr page: http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/widjiwagan\/4341071094\/)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I returned yesterday from an awesome week at Camp Widjiwagan on the shore of Burntside Lake, way up north on the edge of the Boundary Waters. \u00c2\u00a0I was one of the teacher\/chaperons for 35 seventh graders. \u00c2\u00a0Highlights included: Cold! \u00c2\u00a0Snow! \u00c2\u00a0Daytime highs were just above zero for the first few days. \u00c2\u00a0(At 7 am Wednesday, … Continue reading Widjiwagan<\/span>
- The Sauna \/ Dip in the Freezing Lake. <\/strong>This is the legendary culmination of the Widji experience: a hot sauna and a plunge through a hole in the thick ice of Burntside Lake. \u00c2\u00a0I was nervous about it all week, truthfully, and in the moments before the icy plunge I considered it a very real possibility that I would be the first person at Widji to drop dead upon hitting the water. \u00c2\u00a0(I have never managed to outgrow this sort of mental melodrama.) \u00c2\u00a0As it turned out, my first shocked words upon rising above the surface were, “Oh, this isn’t so bad!” \u00c2\u00a0And, really, it wasn’t. \u00c2\u00a0(Some people make the whole experience significantly more painful by jumping in the water before<\/em> going into the sauna, but that seems excessively masochistic to me.) \u00c2\u00a0Heating up in the sauna first was, naturally, wonderful. \u00c2\u00a0My muscles relaxed and sweat was literally pouring off of me. \u00c2\u00a0After ten minutes or so, I was ready to rinse off, and the icy water was a perfect way to do it. \u00c2\u00a0I wouldn’t want to lounge around in the water, obviously, but it was truly invigorating. \u00c2\u00a0Afterwards I felt almost euphoric, and my body temperature was still high enough that the freezing wind over the lake felt like a warm breeze. \u00c2\u00a0Sitting by the fire afterwards, my body felt as relaxed as if I had just had a luxurious massage. \u00c2\u00a0I wouldn’t hesitate to repeat the experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Storytelling.<\/strong> The boys in my cabin were super excited about hearing bedtime stories (scary ones, in particular). \u00c2\u00a0On Monday night we all shared whatever quick ghost stories we knew from memory. \u00c2\u00a0On Tuesday they asked me to come up with something for them. \u00c2\u00a0This was a real treat for me, because I love stories and I especially enjoy the art of storytelling. \u00c2\u00a0I began with a retelling of the 1902 classic, “The Monkey’s Paw<\/a>” by W. W. Jacobs. \u00c2\u00a0I changed the setting to reflect our surroundings (a cabin in the northern Minnesota wilderness), but otherwise kept it largely the same. \u00c2\u00a0On Wednesday we moved on to one of my favorite horror authors, H. P. Lovecraft. \u00c2\u00a0I retold “Pickman’s Model<\/a>,” but again moved it to Minnesota and narrated it as if the artist had been real, and I had known him personally. \u00c2\u00a0(When it ended, and I pulled the door shut, a student called out nervously, “Wait, Mr. Roy, did that really<\/em> happen?” \u00c2\u00a0Yay!) \u00c2\u00a0For Thursday I sketched out a story based on the Native American Wendigo legend, but after the sauna experience (see below), I was too tired to do real improv. \u00c2\u00a0I offered, instead, to read one of the all-time classics, Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu<\/a>“. \u00c2\u00a0The story, alas, was too long (and the vocabulary too obscure) for a single night’s reading, so I stopped about half way through, with most of the kids asleep on the floor around the wood stove. \u00c2\u00a0As we drove back to Saint Paul on Friday, one of the kids came up to the front of the bus and asked diffidently if I would finish the story for them \u00e2\u20ac\u201d they had saved me a seat at the back of the bus! \u00c2\u00a0So, driving through a snowstorm, with faces peering over and between the seats, we all finished the masterpiece together. \u00c2\u00a0(There was a moment in the reading \u00e2\u20ac\u201d one of the kid’s foreheads scrunched up, trying to parse Lovecraft’s baroque vocabulary \u00e2\u20ac\u201d when I felt a sense of rightness, like this was exactly what I was supposed to be doing with my life.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Bonding with the kids<\/strong>. \u00c2\u00a0From a teacher’s perspective, this was such a rare opportunity to really get to know kids outside of the classroom. This was especially valuable for me because I teach eighth grade, so not only were most of the kids new to me, but many of them will be my students next year. \u00c2\u00a0It’s heartening to see students surprise themselves when they are pushed out of their comfort zones. \u00c2\u00a0Moreover, I love seeing kids who struggle in the classroom excel in a different setting. \u00c2\u00a0This always makes me think about how I can push myself to make my classroom even more inclusive of different learning styles and aptitudes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Snow-shoeing. <\/strong> We went out for a fairly long snow-shoeing hike and my legs are still sore. \u00c2\u00a0Next year I think I’ll bring my own snowshoes which are lighter than the ones at the camp (I plan on taking them out for a long walk tonight to see how they compare). \u00c2\u00a0This hike included a spectacular stop for lunch at the top of a bluff overlooking a frozen lake. \u00c2\u00a0We met up with a group of students up there and had lunch around a fire in the snow, with a truly stunning view.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n