Good Morning and apologies for the delayed post.
It has been a little tricky to get in a rhythm of posting to the blog this year. However, a lot has happened the last 36 hours or so.
The boys have 2 full days of work under their belt and they are getting a grasp on the situation here on the reservation. They are spending much of their time reading with the students. Reading is a skill that is very underdeveloped in this community. In many cases the students start 2-3 grade levels below where they should be. Heavy emphasis on reading skills and word decoding takes place daily so that the graduates are equipped to handle the high school curriculum and then some.
One of the activities taking place is within the 4th grade. They are doing a Super Hero unit and it will culminate on Friday at the Mission where they will battle the Super Villain. Our boys have the opportunity to participate. This will be a tough decision for them. They will have to choose between the Glacier Park hike or the Super Hero activity. I think this is a good learning experience for them since life is full of tough choices. Either way they will have fun.
The positive note is that we took a trip to GNP yesterday afternoon and most of the boys went on a walk with Mr. Gerdes up the road, the goal was to hike into Running Eagle Falls (about 2.5 miles). Well they had a pretty leisurely pace and did not quite make it. They did get to see 4 bears though. The furry guys and girls were off the side of the road getting snacks and hanging out. No worries though the group stayed together and steered clear. Each year we experience something new and seeing bears while on foot is a new one. I for one missed it as I stayed at the van with one of our boys who had been having some stomach bug issues.
We wrapped up the night with Spaghetti and Meatballs and then we took a small group about 20 minutes down the road for some excellent star gazing. The stars were so plentiful that it took some effort to actually identify the Big Dipper among them all.
So now we are on the downhill slope of our journey and the boys are showing some wear and tear. They are much more subdued and worn out, but still working hard. This experience is exhausting for all involved.
The boys have taken a liking to carving walking sticks and are concocting a plan to bring them home. We will see if it all works out. We will have our second guest speaker this afternoon and then will have a relaxing time at the bunkhouse.
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