Reading Camp Articles from the “Lo and Behold” Parish Newsletter
Reading Is a Mountain of Fun!
Toward the end of Reading Camp, I heard more than one person say this was one of the best projects Grace Church has undertaken in a long time. So how did that happen?
Take 24 campers (from 7 elementary schools) whose reading skills are in need of improvement. Stir in 23 learning center teachers and assistants from Grace and 1st Presbyterian. Mix in 9 teen/young adult afternoon program leaders from Grace and Church of Our Merciful Saviour (Louisville). Sprinkle liberally with celebrity readers, a guest author, bus drivers and assistants, roving photographers, food preparers and servers, decorators, life guard, and field trip leaders. Pour this mixture into the playground, children’s library, and parish hall at Grace, along with the pool at Broadway, the River Discovery Center, Noble Park, and Venture River Water Park. After five wonderfully full days, taste the results.
Just before lunch on the first day one of the boys said, “I think all the teachers here really like me!” You could tell by the way he said it that this hadn’t always been his experience. We did all like him and the other campers, and they responded beautifully to Reading Camp. All experienced success and enjoyment in an area that is often difficult and tedious for them.
Our phonics teacher’s individual assessments identified concrete improvement in most children. By their own accounts, 22 out of 24 campers said they like reading “a lot better,” while a majority think they read better now than when camp began. Every child was able to identify specific things he or she learned. As a result, 23 said they would read more now. In the campers’ own words: “You learn more about reading and it’s very fun.” “It is the most perfect camp.” “Thank you very much!” “I want to come next year.”
Not just campers, but teachers, afternoon program leaders, and support staff all were a bit transformed by the experience of working together with these children. At least 125 people stepped out in faith with this new community outreach project either by volunteering time, donating food, or giving money. We raised over $10,000, enough for 2009 and 2010 camps, thanks to over 50 individual donors and a major gift from the Quintus Quiqley Scholarship Fund of the Community Foundation of West Kentucky, Inc. 1st Presbyterian and Broadway Methodist Churches graciously provided volunteers, vans, pool and lifeguard. It was truly a collaborative effort.
I am incredibly grateful to Bungee Bynum and the Diocese of Lexington for sharing their vision with us and mentoring us through this first year, to Susan Clifton for guiding our curriculum development, and to the Superintendents and Principals for trusting us and blessing our recruitment efforts. Ann Fendley took on the task of Reading Camp Coordinator with great zest and enthusiasm, as well as a contagious passion for children and reading. She also made sure that every camper went home at the end of camp with a brand new book bag filled with school supplies and eight books, including two signed by the authors. Ann gave her heart to this project and is already thinking about next year!
Thanks to our photography team of Dan Songer, Sara Lewis Meyer, Jim Wade, and Stefan Jagoe, delightful photos are on the counter near the church office. On the “Reading Is Your Bridge to a Wonderful Future” mural in the hall opposite the kitchen, you will find photos of each camper, along with names of all the staff. We’ll keep up with the campers periodically through this year and hope to welcome the youngest ones back to next summer’s Reading Camp!
At the beginning of General Convention, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said that mission is the heartbeat of the church. Could she have had Reading Camp in mind?
- Blessings! Rev. Libby Wade
From the Writing Team
In my experience creative writing is one of the most difficult activities a grown up person can try. The process itself seems quite easy—you put the pen to paper and let your imagination fly, not to mention the fact that each of us has words, sentences, and stories which ache to get out. Yet when it comes to actually flushing out those words, tweaking those sentences, and putting those stories into a readable format, something inexplicably difficult washes over you. Your brain freezes and your hand locks up. Your words seem inadequate, your sentences seem trivial, and your stories read as illiterate gobbledygook. It’s the peril of the adult mind!
How refreshing then to spend a week teaching creative writing to children! Their eyes brighten when they land on an idea, and you can virtually see their minds churning with the excitement of a storyline, a metaphor. Writing with children reminds you of the simple power of words, and the joy, humor, and wisdom that can be garnered in the process.
On behalf of the Reading Camp Writing Team – myself, Sherry Threlkeld, Megan Durham, and Sabel Overlin – I’d like to say how proud and amazed we are of our students and all they accomplished during the week of Reading Camp. They “wowed” us with their words. It’s an experience we’ll not soon forget, and we’re already looking forward to next year.
-Matt Jaeger
To the Chefs
Many thanks to the ladies who helped prepare and serve breakfast, lunch, and snacks to our campers and volunteers during Reading Camp! Ashley Shadoan, Christy Meisenheimer, Genie Drossos, Trish Hines, and Amy Brian rolled up their sleeves, mixed gallons and gallons of lemonade, roasted hot dogs, warmed up nacho cheese sauce, and scooped ice cream (among other things!) throughout the week. Never has a kitchen run more smoothly! Thank you, too, to the numerous church members who donated everything from bottled water to Dippin Dots to peanut butter. Our camp pantry was well-stocked and the treats were much appreciated!
-Sid Hancock
Posts
