Clemson book program, now in Columbia
USC’s Camp Read-a-Rama continued on this week, focusing on increasing childhood literacy in the state. When the weather is sunny and school is out, being cooped up inside and reading a book isn’t always the most appealing to children. But, Camp Read-a-Rama provides a fun way to combine both reading and exciting summer activities.
Michelle Martin, USC’s Augusta Baker Chair in Childhood Literacy and director and founder of Camp Read-a-Rama, brought the program to USC after she was hired last year
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“The program was started in 2009 with the sole purpose to find a creative way to combat illiteracy in South Carolina,” she said.
The camp was initially started in Clemson, with around 100 participants and has gradually progressed since.
“We have found a need for the camp in Columbia as well and this year we are excited to have three new sites here,” Martin said. “We are hoping to see a total of about 150 participants as a result of our expansion.”
Martin said that though a large number of participants are desired, the camp typically wants to have a 1:5 staff to child ratio to provide the very best experience for the kids which is why a more gradual progression in the camp’s growth is preferred. Besides expanding, the camp has changed since its inception with a new theme every year. But, the curriculum stays similar because they have found that it works well and is extremely effective.
“Our mantra is ‘100 percent engagement, 100 percent of the time’ and we have applied this mantra to each year,” Martin said. “We always start out the camp with reading a lot of books, of course, and we springboard off of what we read into developing activities.”
Swimming, crafts, music and games are all tweaked a little bit to fit the theme of the year.
“This year, our theme is ‘A Zoo-rific week!’ and so we are doing a lot of animal activities,” Martin said. “For example, we are doing thumb print animals from books that the kids are reading. We are also making bird feeders that the kids can take home and hang in their own backyards.”
Martin hopes that through the crafts and experiences the kids have at Camp Read-a-Rama, they will be reminded of the books they have read and continue to read at home. But not every activity is completely reading-related.
“The kid’s favorite activity is probably swimming,” she said. “Our main focus is to increase reading but we also teach kids who can’t swim how to swim. The kids also develop a great relationship with all of their counselors. Our goal is to increase literacy but we also want to provide a certain fun-filled experience that the kids wouldn’t necessarily get at home.”
Martin, too, has a favorite part of the camp.
“There is nothing I can think of that is more rewarding than seeing all of the happy kids and most importantly happy kids excited about reading,” Martin said.