Day 4 Camp Update

As day 4 of camp winds down I’m blown away by how much these kids have written and how much they’ve published.  Our teacher leaders are fabulous!

Today in the morning at camp the campers read “When I was Young in the Mountains” and had a lesson about word choice.  Following that they created family crest shields.  Campers used poems from the past days on their shields, and they used symbols to represent them and their families.  In the morning campers also wrote some feedback for the teachers about what they’ve enjoyed and what they would keep for next year, and what kind of revisions they would have for camp if they were to attend next year.  One of my favorite comments was from a student who wrote ” next year have more activity and crafts and a lot less writing!”  Isn’t that wonderful?

During lunch students decided to get the games down that I keep in my classroom and play board games while they ate.  There were 4 or 5 groups in the room sitting in the floor playing Monopoly, Scrabble, Checkers, and Life Stories.  It took me back to my 4th and 5th grade classroom at Mill Creek Grade School where I was a student in Mr. Ronnie Chaffin’s class.  His students could earn credits for free minutes, and several of us would bank our free minutes credits until we had a half day or whole day of time in the bank, then spend the entire day playing board games.  As we played math and word games we had NO IDEA how much we were learning.  Today as I watched the kids in the floor I know I have the next section of my journal to write tonight.

In the afternoon the campers went outside to the baseball field to do some writing, where they created “I Am” poems.  On their way back to school they passed the LES playground and spent a few minutes burning off some excess energy.  After all, who can pass a playground and NOT swing for a few minutes?  They wrote “Bio Poems” and “I Remember” poems in the afternoon, and published by decorating tissue box holders with their wonderful wizardly words.

Tomorrow is the last day of camp, and we’ll be leaving at noon.  I can’t believe 4 days have passed so quickly!

I am From by Michelle H (Hunter’s Mom)

You want to know where I am from?
I’ll tell you I’m from creeks and hollers

and good people.  I am from dressing

up for church and Sunday dinners

with extended family and friends.

 

I’ll tell you I am from Willow

tree switches you pick for yourself.

I come from the heart when I say I

am proud to be a coal miner’s daughter.

I’m from fresh laundry drying on the

line and everyone sharing the chores.

 

I’ll tell you I’m from brownies, girl scouts and

softball.  I’m from mom being my

worst enemy and best friend From

being the bossy but ever loving

big sister to being the sister who looks

to two younger brothers for comfort and assurances.

 

You want to know where I’m from?

My answer seems an endless

journey of words and memories.  I’m from

a happy childhood with an overabundance

of love from a tight knit family.

That is where I’m from.

I am From by Hunter N

I am from the land where the dog chases you to the fence

I smell the flowers we grow each day

 

I am from the land of athletics

Where everyone is competitive

I tasted the dirt; it tasted like turnips

 

I am from a big brother

And a little brother who does everything I do

I hate lightning bugs

I Am From by Christi H

I am from tire swings and tickles

from laughter and love

I am from homemade applesauce

lip puckering as it was

I am from warm baths and bedtime stories

every night before I sleep

I am from church on Sunday

from “hush” and “sit still”

I am from bedtime prayers and baby dolls

and sometimes GI Joe

I am from teasing brothers and cousins

fun in every way.

I am from Christmas Church plays

and Cotton Tails and ears, crawling on the floor to say “bah”.

I am from helping those in need

sometimes giving my own clothes to those who have none

I am from Daddy in the pulpit, Mommy in the pew

that look from him would stop you in the tracks

I am from vacations with pools and palm trees

Grandpa and Grandma Reed always having fun

I am from weekends in Parkersburg with family

Grandma Noland’s house full

I am from friendship, love, and laughter

warmth from others and the sun

The Perfect Brother (Baby) by Ashton H.

Ingredients:

1 adorable baby brother

1 older sister

1 mom and dad – great

No diseases – great health

A good athlete

A truckload of very smart

A dollop of great listener

A pocketful of great secret keeper

Years of best friends

A wink of annoyingness

 

Directions:

• Place adorable baby brother in a bowl
• Mix in 1 older sister, till watery
• Blend in mom and dad for 2 minutes
• Chop up good health and stir in tell clumpy
• Season with good athlete
• Blend in a truckload of smarts for an hour
• Add a dollop of great listener
• Sprinkle in a pocketful of great secret keeper
• Throw in years of best friend
• Slowly add in a wink of annoyingness
• Stir and bake for 10 days, and he is done!

The Perfect Rollercoaster by Jonathan A and Jordan W

Ingredients:

A cup of poles

A day of building

4 rails

9 loops

19 turns

2 dashes of tracks

 

Directions:

• Pour in the cup of poles
• Add 4 liters of rails
• Add in the loops and turns, and bake at 300 degrees
• Cool for 3 days

The Perfect Pet by Aerial D and Adriana F.

Ingredients:

A gallon of dog

A pinch of bark

4 feet

A smidge of fur

A carton of color

A heartbeat and heart

An ounce of teeth

A sprinkle of intestines

A truckload of personality

 

Directions:

• Pour a gallon of dog in a bowl
• Add an once of teeth
• Blend together then add in a scoop of heartbeats.
• Add the color with a quart of fur
• Throw in the 4 feet and truckload of personality
• Set the over to 349 degrees and bake for two hours

 

This dog likes to play, fetch, sleep, and tug-of-war.  It is brown with white spots.  It has hazel green eyes and a very wet nose.  It has a bobbed tail. 

The Perfect Cat by Hunter N

Ingredients:

Gallons of playfulness

Oceans of love

Hours of swimming

Years of pets

Hates human food

Purrs for petting

 

Directions:

• Put cat in a house
• Add oceans of love
• Add swimming for hours, and stir
• Add loves to be petted and hating human food, and mix
• Add gallons of playfulness and bake for 15 minutes

The Perfect Summer by Courtney R.

Ingredients:

2 quarts of tanning lotion

1 gallon of lake

1 pinch of beach

19 pints of pool

4 pair of flip flops

15 milliliters of family

1 dash of vacation

 

Directions:

• Mix pool, lake, beach and vacation for 30 minutes
• Stir in family and tanning lotion for the next 15 hours. 
• Put in flip flops

Bake for 30 minutes, then let it simmer

A Wonderful Summer Day by Ronca H.

Ingredients:

An ocean of green grass

A pinch of dragonflies

A slice of butterflies

A heap of sunshine

A bin of clouds

A portion of summer breeze

A wink of daydreaming

 

Directions:

• Place an ocean of green grass in a bowl
• Roast a heap of sunshine for 2 minutes
• Stir in a portion of summer breeze
• Roll a pinch of dragon flies for an hour
• Thaw a slice of butterflies
• Add a bin of clouds
• Chop a wink of daydreaming
• Cook for one day