Indoor Rock Climbing

One of my favorite activities is indoor rock climbing. I love to rock climb! It is a sport that takes a lot of strength, focus, and problem solving. Do you like solving complex puzzles? Do you like figuring out how to get through a level of a video game, or how to solve a Rubik's Cube? If you do, you will love rock climbing, because it is also a form of complex problem solving.

There are three ways to indoor rock climb: bouldering, top-rope, and lead climb. Each way is very different and complicated to explain in depth. My favorite way to climb is top-rope, so I will be focusing on that within this blog post.

To top-rope you will need to have specific gear. You will need climbing shoes, a harness, rope, a grigri, clip, belay partner, and you may also like to use a chalk bag. At the top of each rock climb wall is a beam. The rope is swung around the beam leaving two ends at the bottom of the wall. One end is for the climber, and the other end has a grigri attached to it for your belay partner to use. Your belay partner and you each wear a harness. When you want to climb you tie a figure eight knot into the rope. You then loop the remaining rope through your harness and tie a double figure eight. With the remaining rope, you tie a fisherman's backup knot. Now you are all ready to climb! Just make sure you have on climbing shoes, and you may want a chalk bag. The chalk in the bag keeps your hands from getting too sweaty and slipping on the holds.

                   

Next, you need to know what your belay partner does. The belay partner's job is to make sure you do not have too much rope hanging. Hanging rope is called slack, and if you leave too much slack then you could fall. Keeping the slack tight keeps you from falling down the wall. Your belay partner attaches the grigri to his/her harness using the clip. He/She then holds the rope to the side, pulling it tight as you climb up. When it is time to repel down, there is a switch on the grigri your partner pulls back to loosen the rope. He/She will loosen her grip on the rope also, without removing it, so you can descend down without falling too fast.

When you are climbing there are holds of different colors. These holds are made to be like rocks, in all types of shapes and sizes. They are placed on the wall creating routes. These routes are like complex puzzles. You need to follow the same route or color all the way up. It is up to you to figure out the best way to go without giving up or falling! The routes have difficulty levels. The easiest at my gym is a 5.4 and the hardest is a 5.13. The holds are more spread out, smaller, and harder to grasp as the difficulty level goes up.

Vocabulary-
Rock Climbing- when people climb up rocks.
Rubik's Cube- a complex puzzle which is in the shape of a box, formed by miniature boxes of various colors. One must twist the boxes to get each side of the cube filled with a matching color.
Bouldering- a form of rock climbing which is performed on a low wall using no rope.
Top-rope- a form of rock climbing using a rope and a belay partner.
Lead climb- a form of rock climbing where the climber attaches the rope to clips as he/she climbs up the wall instead of using a beam at the top.
Climbing Shoes- shoes that are made specifically for rock climbing. They run tight, and have rubber soles.
Harness- something a person wears around his/her waist and legs then attaches to a rope so he/she can go to higher elevations without falling.
Grigri- a tool used in rock climbing which rope is fed into so that the rope can be secured tightly.
Balay Partner- someone who keeps the rope tight and a rock climber from falling.
Repel- to make something go down or back the way it came.
Descend- to go down.
Holds- rock-like structures created for indoor rock climbing. They can be held or stepped on.
Routes- a way to a destination.

Vocabulary Practice

Indoor Rock Climbing

S L I O N J R H G Q U L P E R P I R I G L A Z K R V P P C Y 
G R U D S E O H S G N I B M I L C E C R J E P K G D S W V V 
P O Z Z K R J U I C S U E M B R A N Y A G D A W W Z L T D V 
D C B F T H L G C C C W Y N N A P T O W S I I D X E U I O R 
I V A R G P G P B S T G I V Q J X R M Y T B R J C J T R X A 
C T S U U G U B K Q U C P X T H Y A B Q T P D G N L W B X E 
K H Q T O P H I A K R G D T R D B P T P T I G F A U I H C Q 
E L R T L A B E J M F F J L T S T Y S W I P K A G W Y M W T 
M X W M R U K Z E Z G V G C N R O A B O U L D E R I N G B L 
N G J N R U D M Y A G N D B I J P L W W C T S X M L K K E E 
A C E N D Q D Y K C B Q I H Y F R E H C Q J E P H W I R D I 
J S W G K E Q P M R A T G B W B O B F L S M T H P R V L V F 
S C T R H H I Y U H B S Q L M U P D U X X N U R K Z E T W K 
L C W L P D I O Z X K I U K M I E U R G X W O R S P G X S V 
S K U X Q I B F O F Q Y F X Y K L A E E M R R D E E H Z E J 
G E V X C C N M P B P W A M R Y E C F F B O X R H O L D S M 
M B P J E F Q X V P U W C T R K D T K J J K X I K P Q O T X 
U V W S A P S D K R V D S K D T E E S C T G W U E H Z C O J 
N P B M P A Y G Y H Q I W N H L I V L T O K D J A W B T P E 
L Y D L X Y B Z P F T X G E I Z Q J U U C R S X C G Z Y P H 
Q E R B S Z N X E Y T F M I T U G W V X I P C B B B D U R Y 
K Q J M H Q X S D R G M S O W Y U A M I D X H T N Y A Q F K 
D N E C S E D M X M I M X T T P H M K S D P I I N H D J C T 
J G F J V C Z D R K T F K M W Y D U P W G C H G C Y W N H K 
P K W E W X X X N R J L K U D X U O L N O P I Y J K O S A U 
P D F X C F P K I X S Q A S N P I A J H V B Y W T T W J R U 
I H C K A T H I D G Q X U K E R S Z G Z G J S Z D Z B V K F 
X C M L W N O K N Y K V R N X C W C Q L F D W I G H O V K C 
U R J X N G X A G U W K M G M Z U U W Z O D S V C U L W K O 
I W V M D B R W T H Y N K P R P Q R E D E E U F I M R M I Q 

BELAY PARTNER
BOULDERING
CLIMBING SHOES
DESCEND
GRIGRI
HARNESS
HOLDS
LEAD CLIMB
REPEL
ROCK CLIMBING
ROUTES
RUBIKS CUBE
TOP ROPE

Grammar Point: Action Verbs

An action verb is a kind of word that does something. For example: skip, run, jump, sing, lick, write, wish, sleep, dance, drive, think, race, ext.

Grammar Practice
Directions- Find all of the action verbs in the paragraph.

Yesterday my sister Sophia and I were walking through the woods. As we walked, Sophia started to jump for joy, screaming "a rabbit, a rabbit". All of Sophia's screaming startled the rabbit, and it ran away. We started to chase it. The rabbit stopped by a tree. It started digging a burrow under the tree, then crawled out of sight. Sophia started crying. To cheer her up I started to sing her a song. This made her smile again, and soon we were on our way back home.

Ice Hiking

One of my favorite things to do in the winter is ice hiking, but it can be very dangerous. When one goes ice hiking it is very cold outside, the mountains are covered in snow and ice. The ice is very slippery. One could fall off a cliff or into a stream. Another thing that could happen is that one's foot could break through the ice. Because of these dangers there are certain things one should wear to stay safe. 

If you want to ice hike, you need to dress in layers. Make sure you also wear winter essentials like hats, scarfs, and gloves. For shoes, you should wear either snow boots or waterproof hiking boots. You are going to also want ice-clamps to attach to the bottom of your shoes, so that the spikes can keep you grounded. I also like to bring a walking stick, because it helps you keep your balance on the slippery ice. 

Ice hiking can be really fun. You get to see nature in a new way. When everything is all frozen I feel like I am walking in a winter wonderland. You boys and girls should try it sometime! Just make sure if you do, that you have a parent with you, and you wear the proper clothes. Also, NEVER ice hike at night. 

Vocabulary 
Ice Hiking- hiking up iced over hills, mountains, or trails.
Slippery- when the floor is wet, makes you slide, and you can fall.
Cliff- the side of a hill or mountain with a straight drop down.
Stream- like a small river of flowing water.
Layers- wearing clothes on top of clothes to stay warm.
Snow boots- boots that are made for the snow.
Waterproof- does not let water get inside.
Ice-clamps- spikes that you clip onto your shoes that dig into the ice so you don't fall.
Grounded- secure on the ground and safe from falling.
Walking stick- a stick with a grip for your hands, and a point at the bottom to dig into dirt or ice. It helps one walk while hiking.
Proper- the right kind.

Vocabulary Practice
Directions- Label each picture with the right word from above.

Grammar Point: Adjectives

Adjectives are words that help to describe a noun. 

For example: Brown, sweet, cinnamon, hot, flavorful, tasty. 

Grammar Practice

Directions- Write as many adjectives you can to describe the snowman. 

Desires of the Heart

I don't know about you guys, but when the new year roles around I start reflecting on the desires of my heart. You may be asking what this means. Well, what does your heart want the most? Sometimes these things are tangible but other times these things help develop our character instead. Most of the time we want a little of both. One of the things that is the most important to me is teaching all of you. Therefore, one of the desires of my heart is to be a more focused teacher. Sometimes things that happen out of school can overwhelm me, just like they do to all of you. This sometimes keeps me from being my best as a teacher, so I want to be more focused so that I can pay all of my attention on creating fun, challenging, and rewarding lessons for all of you. I also want to be focused so I can be aware of how my students are doing: their strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, interests, and the desires of their hearts. However, a tangible thing that I would like is more money to go on more adventures. See, Miss. Galante loves to do thrilling things, see new places, and experience new things. One of the things I have been wanting to try most recently is riding in a hot air balloon. These are two examples of my desires, what are some of yours? I'd love to hear about them. 

Vocabulary

reflecting- Thinking deeply and applying it to yourself. 

desires- Something that you want for yourself very badly. 

tangible- Something that can be seen and touched. 

character- Who you are as a person, how people think of you. 

focused- Being able to pay close attention. 

overwhelm- Feeling great emotion. 

adventures- Things you do that are exciting, thrilling, and out of the norm. 

thrilling- A sudden excitement that makes you feel both scared and happy.  

hot air balloon- A giant balloon that floats using hot air, and carries people in a basket. 

Vocabulary Practice

Directions- Fill in the sentence with the correct vocabulary word. 

1. When I looked into the sky, I saw a __________________ flying over me! 

2. Some of my many _______________ has been surfing at the beach, swimming at the base of a waterfall, and horse back riding through the woods. 

3. My brother thought I lied about baking cookies, but when he saw them sitting on the table he knew they were _____________. 

4. Going down the drop of the roller-coaster was a _____________ experience. 

5. Before telling my mother about breaking her favorite vase I was _____________ on how much trouble I would be in. 

6. I have wanted a puppy my whole life, it is one of my greatest ______________. 

7. Something about Miss. Galante's _____________ is that she is very patient. 

8. I must stay ____________ when taking a test. 

9. Please do not _______________ me with too much homework over winter break.

Grammar Point: Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are nouns that have names. Some examples of these would be:

• Names of people or pets: Sophia, Michael, Fluffy, or Sir. Meow.
• Names of specific places: Mohonk Mountain, Six Flags Great Adventure, The Unites States of America, H & M, Regal Cinemas, or Shop Rite. 
• Brand Names: Nike, Marc Jacobs, Apple Iphone, Papermate, or Big Red Apples. 
• Names of dates: January, Saturday, or Easter. 

Grammar Practice

Directions- Circle the proper nouns in the sentences. 

1. My brother Nick's favorite sneaker is Nike SB, but they don't sell them in stores like Payless. 

2. On Saturday Nicole and I are going to Minnewaska State Park, it's going to be cold so I will wear my North Face jacket. 

3. My favorite holiday is Easter. Every year my mom buys me a Godiva chocolate rabbit and we go to the Harbor church.