Our fall overnight camping trip is a time to unify the group and learn about each other. The year-end camping trip is a time for farewells and closure to the many months we have spent together.
After a somewhat rainy Memorial Day weekend, we were delighted to have several dry, sunny days in the forecast. On Wednesday morning, we set out for my house in Upper Bucks County.
A heartfelt thank-you goes out to parents Ed Ehrlacher, Douglas Gauck, Chris Kaiser, Sarah Carner, Mike Batchelor, and Catherine Wuenschel for all of their help. Mark and I would have a lot of difficulty managing it all on our own, even with Tony presiding over the lunchtime pasta pot.
We’ll let the kids tell it from here. It’s interesting to see the topics that recur in their writing as well as the observations that are unique. Some photos are inserted to help complete the narrative. (Sofia supplied her own.)
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Alex —
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016: A big group of people went to Lynn’s house. To get there we had to drive for an hour. When we got there, we had to walk up a very small hill to get to where we slept. I put my bag down.
I walked up to the firepit and ate lunch. After that, I went rock hopping with my friends. We hopped all the way down to the lake! When we came back, a friend and I played a fantasy card game called Cardfight Vanguard! After he beat me, I went in the pool. It was cold. In the pool, we made a whirlpool and played whirlpool tag.
When I got out, I had to go up to the fire pit and we lit the fire and cooked hot dogs and hamburgers. Then we roasted marshmallows and sang songs around the campfire!
Lynn told a story about a kid who was spoiled and he ran away from home and later an army man came to the kid’s parents’ house and helped the parents and said he had money and the parent killed the army man and took the money and found out it was their son who ran away. Then I fell asleep in my sleeping bag (not in a tent).
Thursday, June 2nd, 2016: When I woke up, we had a tasty breakfast of pancakes and sausages! Then I went rock hopping with my dad and my friends. After that, we went to a bridge and walked across it to New Jersey. When we came back, I went to the pool and it was crazy! After the pool we had lunch. It was pasta, salad, and garlic bread. Then we left.
Ben F. —
At Lynn’s house, my favorite thing to do is rock jump. Next to Lynn’s house is a creek,and there are a lot of rocks! It’s fun even though it is slippery and easy to fall in (I fell in twice). But the funnest part is to see the lake, which you can see if you go far enough.
I had a lot of fun rock jumping and just sitting and whittling with my friends.The water was nice and warm, and it was also fun to make shapes with the rocks and (just a warning) there is a lot of poison ivy.
Ben G. —
My experience at the overnight was awesome! I went rock hopping a lot.
I loved taking BIG jumps. Once I did a jump so BIG that one of my feet slipped and fell in the water. I went back to my stuff and put my other shoes on. I put the pair that I took off on the car to dry.
When we were driving back, we found out that we had accidently left the shoes on the top of the car.
When we got to Miquon, Mark said that he had picked up my shoes and he gave them to us.
Dexter —
For my last overnight trip to Lynn’s house, I decided to rock hop with my friends. My teacher Lynn has a magical property of forested woods with large boulders covering the terrain. The experience at Lynn’s house is one of a kind, and — always — when we arrive at her property I am amazed by the fact that I am actually there. Lynn also owns a wide creek with rocks to hop on. My friends and I always think that rock hopping is one of the best things to do at Lynn’s house. My friends and I jumped from rock to rock all over the creek and sometimes got a little wet. One time, my friend attempted an almost-impossible jump that I had barely made and was quite tricky. My friend jumped and almost fell in the water, but luckily I was watching and caught him before he fell in. I had just saved my friend from getting soaked from the bottom to the top. We kept on jumping until we reached the last rock you could jump on and there was open water with trees around it. The birds were chirping and fish were swimming. It was almost like a painting with trees, water, and a bright blue sky. That unforgettable moment was beautiful. We could only stay for a minute because we were already late for lunch. We raced back to the house, and later that day we left, but I will never forget all the amazing and wonderful experiences at Lynn’s house.
Django —
For the overnight to Lynn’s house, my friends and I went rock hopping. Our teacher owns a lot of land. Part of the land is a giant creek with enormous boulders. What every kid does when they go to Lynn’s house is hop rocks.My friends and I started out in the woods, exploring and jumping over boulders. We knew that we would eventually hit the creek. I was looking for some type of wildlife in the woods. I didn’t find any but it was still very fun. Finally, we got to the creek. My friends and I started out hopping rocks. When you jump from one rock to another you can feel the fresh breeze going onto your face. We were trying to get all the way to the lake. We had to take some risky jumps, but it paid off. There was poison ivy everywhere. Luckily, I was wearing long pants. There was one time when I couldn’t make the jump so I asked my friend to catch me if I fall. I leaped into the air, and I fell onto the rock. My friend caught me just as I was about to fall. We looked at our watches. We had five minutes before it was time for lunch. We were so close to the lake. We decided to keep going to the lake. Finally, we got to it. I dipped my hands into the water. It felt really cold and refreshing. I checked my watch. We were one minute late. We raced back to the campsite. We took tons of risky jumps. It took about five minutes to get back. It was probably a world record for shortest time hopping rocks. When we got back, we were five minutes late, but lunch wasn’t ready. I took a sigh of relief. We made it.
Henry —
On Wednesday, our class went to Lynn’s house. We left Miquon at 10:45 in the morning. I rode in Lynn’s car, and we got to her house at 12:00 pm. When we got there, we had lunch and then we all got firewood for the bonfire we were going to have. When we were done, I went swimming for two hours. We played whirlpool tag and fought with noodles. For dinner, we had hamburgers and hotdogs. Then we roasted marshmallows, bananas and apples. I liked the bananas the best. After dinner and dessert, we had a campfire sing along. We sang all different types of song with Tony (Lynn’s husband), Lynn, Mark, and Mike (Jonah’s dad). After that, we went to bed. When we were ready to sleep, Lynn told us a story about a family. When she finished, we went to bed. Around four in the morning, I woke up and went to the campfire.
I watched as everybody else woke up. We had breakfast at 8:00. Breakfast was pancakes and sausages. After that, we went to a bridge and took pictures and walked over it. After that, we went back in the pool and went rock jumping. Around 12:30, we had lunch. Lunch was spaghetti and a salad bar. After that, we headed back to Miquon.
Jabril —
When our class got to Lynn’s house, I was very excited. I could not wait to go to the creek and hop rocks. I sat my bags next to Keir and Thiago. After that, I looked for wood for whittling and for the camp fire. When the group had enough wood, I went straight to the creek.
I fell in a couple of times, but it was fun. After the creek, I went to the pool. The pool was really cold when I got in it but when I got out I was even colder.
The next day I did the same thing, but I had pancakes and sausage for breakfast and for lunch I had spaghetti. After that, it was time to go, so I got into Keir’s car and we were off.
Jonah —
Last Wednesday and Thursday, the class went to Lynn’s house. Her house is in the middle of the woods. We did many things like swimming and exploring but the most fun was rock hopping. If we wanted to go rock hopping we had to go in a group of 3 people. I went with a few friends. We had names for certain rocks that we created in 5th grade. Such as Mt. Chicken Wing and Utopia. We went up and downstream. We skillfully avoided poison ivy on the banks of the river. Every time we got back to camp, we washed up just in case. Camp was where we had set everything up. It was a small grassy area. Our sleeping bags and things were set up there. I played chess, checkers, and cards with my friends. My friend had a travel chess set. We made a new card game too. It still needs some work but it’s fun. We ate at camp as well. We had a small fire that Lynn kept burning all night. It was kind of hard to sleep and we got up at 4:00 but we still had fun. When we got up we played more checkers. It was… fun. We got up and had breakfast, then went in Lynn’s pool. It was cold but nice. We had a good time.
Juliette —
My overnight experience was FUN! I loved swimming with all my friends. It was awesome!!!!. We all made a whirlpool in the pool. I jumped in the pool, and it felt great. I was soaring through the air. I had the view of a creek that is really close to the pool. I scream because the pool is really cold, and I haven’t felt it yet. I land in the water. There is a big splash. I’m underwater for a few seconds, and then I come up. I start laughing. Then others join in. It is only me and two of my closest friends, Willa and Sophie. We start to make a whirlpool. It got faster and faster until Willa shouted, “Against the current!” We all turned around and clung to the side. We struggled to get it going again, but we did, and it was AWESOME!
Keir —
I think the most fun thing was going rock jumping with my dad and friends. It was kind of hard to look for the best route to go, but then it was really fun when you went and got to the lake. I got really good at it. It was really cool to see the trees reflecting off the water. There were little whirlpools in the water. I took pictures of them. If you looked really close, you could see fish in the water. I saw a big fish. I went with my dad and a lot more people. It was also really fun to sit down on a rock and whittle and talk. Jabril found a ball in the creek. It was fun to play with, but it popped. I went twice and each time I went a different way and found more paths. Some of the rocks looked like animals and one looked like a slipper. I fell in about 3 times and stepped in 1 time. I had a great time rock jumping with friends and also just hanging out.
Oliver —
On Wednesday, we went to Lynn’s house. Lynn has a huge house surrounded by thirteen acres of woods. There is a small clearing that we sleep outside in. Next to the clearing there is a fire ring that we sing around at night. We also cook food on it. There Lynn has a small creek that has rocks you can hop on. If you go upstream you get to a shed, and if you go downstream you get to a lake. Lynn also has a pool the we went in. It was fun! When we first got there we put our stuff in the campsite. Then we ate our lunch. After that we went into the creek and hopped rocks. There was a rock with plants on it and we called it Utopia. Another rock we called chicken wing. Then we went into the pool. It felt good. We had a good time.
Ruby —
Me, Willa, and Jonah drove in the car to Lynn’s house with Oliver and his dad. The drive seemed to take forever, but it was worth it. Once we got there, we went over some rules and set up our stuff. The campsite was really big. There were a lot of bugs. Some of them were cool, but the spiders freaked me out. After doing all that stuff, we all went our own ways. I went to the pool along with some others. It was pretty fun. We played ‘Whirlpool tag’ for a long time. I spent most of my time in the pool.
Then we went to dinner. After dinner, we sang songs and then listened to a story until we fell asleep. I had trouble falling asleep, so I kind of just sat there for a bunch of hours. I eventually fell asleep at around one or two in the morning. I had to do breakfast setup when I woke up.
After we ate, we went to a bridge that went across to New Jersey. We walked across it. It was fun.
Then I got into the pool again. I got pretty sunburned, but I still had a lot of fun.
Lunch was really good. We had pasta and garlic bread. We packed up and left after lunch. I was in a car with Sofia, Zivia, Thiago, and Alex. Alex’s dad was driving. Everybody fell asleep. I woke up at one point and looked out the window. I saw an airplane. The sky was really pretty, and the clouds looked like they were really close to the ground.
This was my last field trip at Miquon. I am sad that it was my last, but at least it was a memorable one.
Sofia —
The trip was really fun because I really liked watching people having fun in the pool and I really liked rock hopping. The part I really liked was teaching my friends how to do streamline. Streamline* is something you do underwater in swimming. It was fun giving my friend’s a “lesson.” I also really liked rock hopping because I like jumping from rock to rock really fast. At night time, we sang some songs and then went to bed. I got to see the stars but I barely got some sleep because I forgot my pillow and I was sleeping on my swim bag, and I was also sleeping on the hard ground which was really painful, but I survived. The next morning, I woke up at 5:45. I was really surprised because I never wake up that early. I went over to the fire and warmed up, and then we ate breakfast.
We had choice time after breakfast. We also went to a suspension bridge that took us from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. The bridge was small, but it was bigger than I expected. We walked across the bridge and back and then took a group picture. We went back to Lynn’s house, and then people went in the pool and rock hopping. After that, we had lunch and ate spaghetti with garlic bread and salad. Around 1-ish we left and headed back to school. I was with Thiago, Zivia, Alex, and Ruby. We slept on the way to school, and I woke up to Zivia leaning against me. We got to Miquon around 2-ish and we had “choice” time. Then I went home!!!!! That was what my perspective of the trip was like.
*This is what streamline looks like:
Sophie —
I really liked the trip because I loved going in the pool. Our class made a whirlpool that was really strong! My friends and I also jumped in the pool a lot.
The food at the camping trip was really good. My favorite thing we ate was pasta.There were a lot of bugs which creeped me out. Sleeping on the ground was slightly uncomfortable, and I woke up at about five forty-five am.
Thiago —
On Wednesday, we went to Lynn’s back yard, which is the woods. We stayed there for two days.
On the first day, we went rock jumping and swimming in the pool. But when Jabril, BenG, and I went rock jumping, I gave my pocket knife to BenG. When he jumped from a rock to another rock, he dropped the pocket knife in the water. Since I had already fallen in the creek, I jumped after it, but it was already about two minutes since it fell in and I didn’t know where it was. Then Jabril came in to help me look for it, and then about an hour later BenG went to get help. He brought his dad and Sofia to help. Soon Sofia saw a red thing in the water. I went to get it, and it was my pocket knife. We went back and swam a little bit and then ate dinner at 6 and finished it at 7 and had marshmallows which were fun to burn. Then we sang for an hour and then went to our sleeping bags for a sleepless night.
In the morning, I heard the rooster crow and I got up from the sleeping bag and went to the fire and sat near it. It took about an hour to finally get breakfast. Then we got breakfast and after that we went rock hopping, then swam for a while, and then we ate a lunch of spaghetti, sauce, and chunks of meat and bread. After lunch, we left.
Willa —
Once we got to Lynn’s house, my friend Ruby and I wanted to go swimming right away, but then Lynn said that we had to gather wood for the fire to last long enough for tomorrow’s breakfast. After we had enough wood, I raced down to the pool and got changed. Then I jumped into the pool one minute later.
Everyone was yelling, “Whirlpool!” We all tried to make a whirlpool, but then someone had a good idea to play whirlpool tag, which is when someone is it and they run in a circle to try to tag people in front of them.
After that, my friends Sophie and Juliette decided they wanted to go rock jumping. So we got dressed and went to the creek. While we were on a rock crossing to dry land, I slipped and my flip flop fell off and was floating downstream while I was standing on a slippery rock jumping onto another rock. I made it (eventually.) After that, my friend Juliette was running downstream trying to get it, but I ran to it faster than Juliette and got it.
After that, me and my friends went up to the campsite and chillaxed in our sleeping bags until dinner. Then we went back to the pool. Then we went back up to the campsite and ate dinner.
After dinner, we sang songs, and when the watch said nine thirty, we all went into our sleeping bag while Lynn told us a story.
Zivia —
First, we were put in cars. I went in Ben G’s car. When we got there, we had to take our stuff up the hill to the camping site and eat lunch, after which we were free to go. I changed into my bathing suit because Lynn has a small swimming pool. I had fun but, because I didn’t have goggles, my eyes were sore. My friends and I talked. Then it was dinner time. I had two burgers with cheese. We sang. I liked the song we did first. Next came bedtime. Lynn told us a story. I was awake till the end of it, and then I fell asleep.
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Editorial notes from Lynn:
- The students’ writing has been lightly cleaned up for punctuation and wording in the interests of greater readability but not publishing-quality accuracy. If you want to see your child’s original work, you can find it on his/her Google drive.
- About all those sleepless children — I got up to tend the fire several times through the night and checked on the group. Everyone was sound asleep each time, although I’m sure there were moments of wakefulness. We always say that waking up partway through the night is not a problem but is a chance to enjoy the changing sky overhead (if the night is clear) before falling asleep again.
- The “lake” that students found if they went downstream far enough is actually a dammed area of the stream which had powered a mill in the 18th and 19th centuries. Lake Nockamixon is about another mile further on.
- The whirlpool activity is one invented by students many years ago and continues by word-of-mouth into the present time. We have a small above-ground pool which is round. If kids run long enough and fast enough around the perimeter, they can create a very powerful circular current. It’s great fun to make it, float and be pulled by it, and then try to run against it.
- The bridge we visited is the little suspension bridge over the Delaware River in Riegelsville that was built in 1904 by John Roebling and Son. His father designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge. This was a wonderful opportunity to revisit the first social studies topic of this year and see all of the elements of a much larger bridge of this type on a scale that was easier to understand. It was also a lot of fun to walk to another state and back, which took just a few minutes each way.