Several of the Summer Inspiration Program summer camps were specifically geared toward sparking an interest in reading. Among them, the Neverland Book Club camp at Putnam County Elementary School (PCES) was based on the story of Peter Pan.
“It’s one of my favorite stories,” said camp instructor Brandi Huskins, who teaches reading at PCES during the school year. “I love to read. I love to share at school. You don't always have time to share all the extra things about reading you love because you have to do standards. I hope next year kids will go to school wanting to read because it’s fun and not just because they have to.”
The day at Neverland camp started by Huskins reading aloud three or four chapters of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Some kids preferred to hold books in their hands and follow along as the teacher read the story, whereas younger children could choose to work on the color sheets so they could listen and absorb the story.
“I wanted it to be fun, not like in school, where everybody follows along, and the teacher is strict about it,” Huskins said. Although the books had to be returned, as in a library, campers were welcome to take them along if they went out of town during the six weeks the camp was in session.
“I liked it. My favorite thing was reading the book,” said Kierstyn Gearhart, who also said she liked mystery books and writing.
Once reading for the day was over, campers did activities based on the chapters they read.
“I tried to go with all the things Peter Pan— shadows and different characters, lost boys, pirates—it was a bunch of fun,” Huskins said, adding that among other things, kids made Tic-Tock crocs and fairy houses, and did shadow painting.
Building fairy houses was probably the favorite project, Huskins said. “We went outside and collected flowers, sticks and leaves. We used fake flowers, too. Tinkerbell has a house where the characters of the book go. It has a lot of detail because she is pretty fancy. This activity was a lot of fun.”
For shadow painting campers had to pair up so one could trace the shadow of his or her partner. Huskins said she crushed chalk and mixed it with water, and then campers used the mixture to fill in the shadows with brushes. “One of the kids was a gymnast and she did a really pretty pose,” Huskins said.
“It’s really fun. You can do crafts,” said camper Charlie Cummings. “You can choose what crafts to do.”
Similarly, the If You Give a Mouse … camp at Putnam County Primary School was intended to help instill a love of reading at a young age. The basis for this camp, led jointly by Mary Alice Smith and Lakeisha Andrews, were the stories by Laura Numeroff.
“This time we've been showing the story on the board,” Smith said. “In the past, we read the books, but I think the children like watching the text on the screen because we are more screen savvy now. It helps with their memorization, too.”
Andrews added that she and Smith also talked about the setting and characters.
“Those are some of their reading standards. They do the art projects, which help develop their fine motor skills,” she said. “I think they enjoy the stories and things we cook, and then they come home and have their artwork.”
The instructors read the story, then the children had to retell it. The instructors helped them by asking questions. Afterward, they did art activities based on the story until finally, they created the treats mentioned in the stories.
“We made cookies, muffins, brownies, donuts, pancakes, and cupcakes,” Smith said.
“We thought a camp like that would be good because it combines reading, science, math, and arts, all the fundamentals. This is our second or third year doing it and kids loved it. They thought it was the best thing they had ever had.”