A Year in the Life - Week One- Day 3 & 4

Hi everyone,

After getting the four girls off to school I headed down to the boy's school where the 7th and 9th graders had to do P.E. testing. I volunteered to help weigh and measure the kids, but instead I ended up checking every one in and out. The kids had to run so many laps, do flexibility and strength exercises, and get weighed and measured.

 I knew a few of the kids but not many since my boys are both in 8th grade. At their school not all the students go to school on the same day. When the 9th and 10th graders go to school they are the only students on campus. When my boys go to school you would find four grades attending at the same time, 7th, 8th, 11th & 12th.

We had three different shifts of kids so I was there from 8:45 until 3:30. I did manage to get a Costco trip in there. During a break two of my sons met me at the school and we drove over to the bank and Costco. We shopped, they dropped me back off at the school, they took all the groceries home and put them away, and then brought the van back to me. These are teenaged boys. Yes, teenagers can be responsible.

This week at the boy's school was a week that is called Projects Week. During the week different groups of students work on different projects already selected by the teachers. Some students visited 5th grade students from a local school, learned about them, and each made a scrapbook to give to their student. The one that broke my heart was the boy who said his happy day is, "The day I don't get bullied and my family isn't sad." His sad days are, "When I get bullied and my family is sad." What?! Heavy stuff. This is too much for a 5th grade boy to carry. (May we reach out to the children around us and treat them as we would want others to treat our children. You never know what a child's family life is like.)

Another project students and parents made homemade blankets, crocheted blankets or infant hats. They get sent to an organization that sends the items to hospitals around the country so babies can go home with a homemade item. There were many other projects that the kids selected from.

The project that my boys signed up to do was a Walk About San Diego. For three days they were to go to different areas of San Diego, learn about them, and journal about their experience.

The first day we hiked Cowles Mtn. I made it about 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile up. The kids all went to the top and some ran down. Me? I needed my walking stick to help me down the rocky path.


 
From Wikipidia: Cowles Mountain is a prominent mountain within the city limits of San Diego, California and also within Mission Trails Regional Park, in a neighborhood known as San Carlos, San Diego. The mountain is named after George A. Cowles, an early ranching pioneer in San Diego County. Its 1,593-foot (486 m) summit is the highest point in the city of San Diego. The main trail to the summit is a popular hiking destination taking hundreds of people per day to a 360-degree panorama of San Diego County. The hike to the top is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and an elevation change of about 950 feet (290 m).

 

 

Mission Trails Park

After our hike we went to the Mission Trails Visitor Center and had lunch out in the amphitheater. We then walked to the Grinding Rocks where we took a few pictures and the teacher explained what the Grinding Rocks were. After a rest there we continued on our path on another loop.

I was glad when the hike was over. I was tired, but glad I went so I could spend time with my teen boys and get to know some of their friends.