By Jan Pease
What
I did on my summer vacation: I was a camp counselor at Camp Read a Lot in Marshall, MN. Now,
one of the jokes in our family is that my idea of camping is the Duluth
Radisson, so this camp was well within my comfort zone. Camp Read a Lot is a joint project of the
Plum Creek and Pioneerland Library Systems. Teachers and other interested persons,
librarians included, are invited to attend a conference, network with
colleagues, and learn about wonderful children's books. They can receive continuing education credits
for their time, and that component includes reading many, many books, writing a
very brief review, and sharing ideas about how to use the books in a classroom
or story time.
The first day of camp,Wednesday, was devoted
to elementary grades 2-5. The morning
speaker was Alison McGhee, an American author of books for both children and
adults. She is a dynamic speaker and the time passed
much too quickly. She emphasized how
powerful individuals are in children's lives, both negative and positive. In her writing, she says that everything goes
back to childhood experiences. She directed us in a writing exercise that was
really quite an experience.
The afternoon speaker was the great Kathy
Baxter, who is very well-known in library circles. Her
energy is infectious. Her special
emphasis was on how to get boys excited about reading by introducing them to
nonfiction. The rest of the day was
spent in book discussions. My role was to move from table to table
talking about four books with groups made up of both teachers and librarians. These
interesting, articulate people made the discussion time fly.
On Thursday the day was devoted to early
literacy. The campers were preschool and
kindergarten teachers and librarians. The
morning speakers were Jodi Wambeke and Ann Trochlil, who are very involved in
Early Family Programs in Willmar. They
gave great information that was especially useful for early childhood
classrooms.
The afternoon speaker was
simply incredible. Kimberly K. Faurot
now works at the St. Paul Public Library.
Her presentation was called
“Bring your Storytimes and Early Literacy Lessons to Life Using Props, Puppets
and Pizazz.” Kimberly led us in using
voices and excitement while reading. She
showed us how to use props and puppets. She finished her presentation by telling Helme
Heine's story, The Most Wonderful Egg in
the World. She had chickens on a
felt board, eggs, and a costume for herself as the queen. She is a treasure.
The
afternoon's discussion centered on picture books. You know the phrase, “preaching to the
choir”? Well, these teachers and
librarians love picture books and leading a discussion was very, very easy. I have the lists of books at the children's
desk if you're interested. These are
wonderful books and have made a great addition to the Litchfield collection. We own all of the early literacy books, most
of the second and third grade books, and some of the grade 4 and 5 books. Happy
reading!
