For two weeks every summer, my teaching partner Rick S. and writing partner Jo Knowles and I run a writing day camp for students in grades 7-12. The camp meets from 9-12 Monday through Friday for 9 days and finishes with a reading for parents and guests on the last day.
I look forward to these two weeks for lots of reasons.
- former students—I’m glad to see them again.
- repeat campers—people I’ve gotten to know through camp. It’s exciting to see their writing grow and change each year.
- fun—spending time with 20+ teens who are excited to write, try all kinds of exercises, and read to each other is exhilarating.
- food—Rick provides a great variety (dill pickles with your morning bagel, anyone?) Writing chat around the food table is always fun to hear.
- writing—We start with a quick prompt, then a longer exercise followed by free writing, and finish up with a reading. I love the surprises—mine and the campers’—of writing just for fun. You never know what you’ll come up with. I’ve had ideas for whole novels born of these moments.
I also love that we get campers from several different school districts and from all different grades—and that they tend to keep in touch with each other through the year. I would have loved a camp like this when I was their age. I would have loved knowing there were other people around who liked to write as much as I did.
This year’s camp runs from July 3-11. Let me know if you want more information!