Taking a quick break from one of the projects she was working on, Gwendolyn Cromwell stepped out of her Erwin Hall classroom to share some thoughts about her morning on campus.
“Today we’re making animals,” said Cromwell, 5, an up-and-coming kindergartner. “I made this duck and I’m going to turn it into a headband.”
Cromwell is among the 54 children attending Marietta College’s Reading Camp, which is sponsored by the College and Marietta Morning Rotary. The theme of the three-week camp is “Reading & Robots — Programmed for Fun.” The camp is centered around the book, “The Wild Robot,” by Peter Brown.
“The last time the camp was offered was in 2015,” said Dr. Carole Hancock, Professor Emerita of Education. She is co-Director of Marietta’s Reading Camp with Dr. Raven Cromwell, Assistant Professor of Education. “Today has been fabulous. I can’t imagine a day being better.”
In addition to Education faculty and staff, the camp is being led by two current college students, two recent Marietta College graduates and four local teachers — three of whom are Marietta alumni.
Before camp began, teachers met with each child to learn more about the types of books they enjoy and to assess their reading levels. The teachers then personally selected quality books to fill a drawstring bag for each child to have.
Prof. Cromwell explained that the reading camp helps stave off “summer slide” in children.
“When schools are in session, the resource tap is turned on — children have access to resources that help them learn,” Cromwell said. “But during the summer months, that tap is turned off for some students.”
The camp provides access to books, teachers and activities that keep children interested in learning and reading. To make the experience accessible to more children, Rotary and the College offered scholarships to low-income families. The College is looking to endow the camp. Doug Evans, Certified Fund Raising Executive and Marietta College’s Associate Director of Major Gifts, said the College needs $200,000 to start the fund, which will partially endow the camp.
During the camp, which runs through June 28th, children interact with guest readers, go on field trips and complete activities related to the books they read.
Seven-year-old Henry Nicely, who will enter second grade this fall, was excited about completing the cover and back cover of his journal.
“My journal is called “The Shark Team,” he said. “I named it that because I like sharks.”
Josie Jeffery, 10, was one of two girls in her reading group, and looked forward to the projects that related to what her team was reading.
“I enjoy reading ‘Nancy Drew’ and I like the autobiography, ‘Blow Out the Moon,’ (by Libby Koponen), but my favorite book is ‘The Black Stallion’ (by Walter Farley),” she said.
Hancock said the camp will have a Family Fun Night on June 27th, and the night will include plays performed by the children and an activity that programs a robot to draw.
“It’s all about motivation and practice,” Hancock says. “Reading is like anything else — you have to practice to get better at it.”
To learn more about the College’s effort to establish an endowment for the Reading Camp, contact Doug Evans at doug.evans@marietta.edu or 740-376-4402.