Young Writer’s Camp 2017Day One (07/10)

As the first day of camp begins, the campers eagerly head into the lecture room. This is where the campers meet each morning to see a guest author discuss their field of work. Today’s special guests were two spokespeople from The Melon Project, an educational system run by volunteers in Kenya, Africa. The campers will create works that will be shared with The Melon Project for the children in Africa to enjoy. These guests brought a slideshow of pictures from Kenya, to show the campers the lifestyle these African children live.

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              Several campers looking intently at the photos from The Melon Project.

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Picture of children eating bananas and bread, which is described by The Melon Project presenters as a luxury.

After the students listened to the presenters from the Melon Project, they were divided by their rising grade level into various classes. The first day’s agenda entailed several get-to-know-you activities including a “I Know Someone Who…” Tic-Tac-Toe game and a Hot Potato Name Game.

Once introduced to everyone in their class, students got to work on their writing and entered the first stage of the writing process: brainstorming. In this stage campers let their minds wander to ideas of adventure, fantasy, how-to guides, spies, and personal memoirs. No idea is marked wrong in this stage and many of the classrooms engaged in time for the campers to bounce their ideas off of their peers.

This conversation not only allowed them another opportunity to get to know the campers around them, but also allowed them the ability to begin narrowing their ideas down to a select few to further flesh out. ​

The campers enjoyed a break mid-day for some outdoor time and a snack. In this time campers could socialize amongst themselves, allowing their brains a break from the intense brainstorming going on.

At the end of the day all of the campers seemed excited for the rest of camp. Many even decided to take their planning sheets home with them in order to jumpstart their writing process.