Dear Bibliophile, is a weekly blog that is published by SARA’s Secretary Hannah Davis. The blog will include announcements related to SARA’s goings-on in the community, education resources, childhood development information and community resources. Interested readers are welcome to write in with questions or letters to SARA using the info email listed on the website and including “Dear SARA” in the subject line. Some blog posts may serve as responses to these letters. Book recommendations are also not excluded. Reading this blog could make a love of literature closer than it appears.
Summers are busy and often a time in which we find ourselves leaning back on a lawn chair, our children screaming through sprinklers and a well-earned but tepid drink in our hands while we say to our spouse or friend or neighbor or a mail-carrier with poor timing, “I need a vacation.”
And while we at SARA are not in fact Club Med and therefore do not specialize in parasailing excursions, bingo nights, yoga on the beach, spa packages or nightclubs, we do know how to put together a kid’s program. And what’s more, we know how to make it educational and fun, which, despite their brochures, is not a combination that Club Med has managed to embody quite yet (your move, Turks and Caicos).
This summer, as you look to fill your calendars with beneficial enrichment programs for your littles, we invite you to consider our Summer Literacy Camp. It’s a week-long day camp for children ages 3-13 that is completely free. That’s right, take that Sandals Resort! We are partnering with three local libraries to bring literacy skills and fun camp programming right to you. Our programs will be run by experienced and passionate educators and volunteers who will be in charge of small groups to prioritize the campers’ engagement and, well, joy!
Our camp will be split into three groups: Ages 3-5, ages 6-9 and ages 10-13. Each group will have their own time slot, educators and themed curriculum to prioritize the literacy skills that they need and the camp activities (arts and crafts, sign language lessons, outdoor events, etc.) appropriate for their age range.
But, SARA, when is this amazing camp?
Excellent question! That depends on the location you’d like to attend! Here’s what our schedule looks like:
Franklin County Library June 2-6
Manchester Public Library June 22-26
Coffee County Lannom Library June 30-July 3
But, SARA, are all of the kids learning together? How would you teach a 12 year old and a 3 year old at the same time?
Another great question. We are not a one-room schoolhouse and want to prioritize both the fun and the academics for each age group. Each age group will come for two hours out of the day and receive a tailor-made schedule of events to meet their needs.
Our Littles, or “Zoo Explorers” per this year’s theme, will come each day from 8-10. Our Middle Group, or our “Oceanographers”, will come from 10:30-12:30 and our Oldest Group, or our “World Travelers”, will come from 1:30-3:30 each day during the camp’s week.
We’ll be focusing on different skills for each group. For instance: in the same day, our oldest group might be working on learning to identify setting details and drawing their own maps of faraway places, but our middle group might be working on writing their own sentences and having sight word water balloon fights and our littles may be working on phonic sounds with sensory letter bins.
Our Summer Literacy Camp is all about combining fun with learning to show parents the importance of literacy skills and to show kids that literacy isn’t all just sitting and copying phrases down (move over Laura Ingalls Wilder). It can be versatile and engaging!
Okay, SARA, but how do I sign up?
Enrollment opens on May 1st and closes on June 1st. It is completely free, we just ask that parents register their children so that we can get a good count for each group to see how many volunteers and educators we need to help. Anyone interested should sign up right on SARA’s website: saraelc.org on our front page! If anyone has any questions, they can email Hannah, SARA’s Secretary and the Camp Director: [email protected] Those interested in volunteering are also encouraged to email Hannah for more information.
We can’t wait to start learning with you!
-SARA