Reflections on the Younger Writing Class

Reflections on the Younger Writing Class

by Adaley, Ava, Avery, Elle, and Yana

Adaley likes the way we relax and chat, then work hard at making my sentences perfect.   The grammar cards are a fun and easy way to learn the parts of speech.   Says Adaley, “You don’t realize how much you are learning, and then when you go to write a sentence, you know  all the parts of speech.”

Ava, Adaley’s younger sister, liked hanging out with her friends and playing fun writing games.  “I liked making the thumbprint people and writing about them.”

Avery thinks writing class is fun when we play games like Ladybug and  Bagels Pico Fermi.   “I liked telling a paragraph about my dog using the colored strips.”

Elle likes to  play Novenops, which is a sentence-building game.  She also likes the activities at our final class, which consists or rootbeer floats and Wallace and Grommit short films.   She likes to do her work on the AlphaSmart.

Yana made new friends in the writing class.  She liked using the symbol cards to make sentences, and she also liked to play Novenops.  She likes to use thumbprint pictures to give her ideas about what to say or write.  Thumbprint dogs are Yanna’s specialty!

Camper Writing Pieces, part 3

By Andrew Kluth-Clark:

4th of July

On the best 4th of July, it won't be raining water, but $20, $50, and $100 bills.  It would be epic because it would be raining money.  I will never forget this because I would be rich!

Camping Story

It is like you cannot see anything.  It is dark and it is creepy.  You can hear someone walking.  There is a creaking behind me and it is scary...

to be continued...

The Cowboy Story-by Hunter Schweiger:

​A bad dude in a cowboy hat walks into a saloon in a bad western movie.  He's looking dangerous and mad.  He walks into the saloon with his hat on, but gets it knocked off.  Also, he got made fun of.  Then a cowgirl walked in with a hat on and said, “Cowboys aren't that bad.”  Then a happy ever after happened...they started to date.

Camper Writing Pieces, part 2

By Christian Riceputo:

I was on the moon for 1000 years and it was fun but the moon was haunted. So I fought for my life and tried to survive.  There was someone with me on the moon.  I was scared because he was Russian.  He was fighting against me. He had a group of Russians with him, so I was doomed. I went in their spaceship and tried to get a gun but they were everywhere so I was scared. I took a gun and put a silencer so they couldn’t hear me, but they saw me.  They started shooting at me.  I shot back and got one so I snuck out of their spaceship.  The war began and I floated back to my spaceship and got ready for the war.  I got my sniper rifle and shot at them.  They spotted me in my hiding place and started shooting at me.  I killed almost everybody, but it was me and another Russian left.  I snuck up behind him and killed him.  The war was over, but something bad was happening.  The flag was gone. There were aliens.  I was trying to kill the aliens and I killed them but there was one more head to head against an alien.  So I killed him, but he came back to life.  I shot him again and he killed me...but I woke up...it was all just a dream.

                                             What our cabin looks like by Taylor Eberts:

For a month I am living in a cabin with four other girls. We have one counsellor named Rachel and one assistant counsellor named Brittany. But she is only with us on Monday because Rachel has off all day. This is understandable as we can be pretty restless when we are tired, but we are every exciting and fun to be around. Go down the old creaking wooden stairs to our quaint red cabin, and you will see the breathtaking mountains in the background, taking over everything in sight. Then open the white door, and there is a little walkway with rocks as the floor.  Turn to the left, and there you see a medium sized room with blue carpet, and one messy bed. That is Rachael's room. Stay in the hallway area and turn to the right. You will see stairs with blue carpet on them. Try your hardest not to make them squeak because there could be five girls up there sound asleep. The rooms are all lined up in a row. Everyone has their own room but two of us. If you listen, you can hear the roaring fans all through the night and day, spinning and spinning around. Head back down the stairs and turn to the right. There you will find a living room. Half the room is covered in rocks and the other with disgusting blue carpet that covers the rest of the cabin. We have a couch that is supposed to be white...I think, but it's so disgusting that I can't tell. A one person seat is in the far right corner of the room near a speckled, huge crawl space. There is one small coffee table in the middle of the couch and the seat. Then another little table along the wall. Pass the couch and there is a table with food and scrumptious snacks to eat. Then a tiny fridge and microwave on the right. We have a gigantic window that takes up one whole side of our cabin. No privacy at all with that. Everyone can look in and see. Next to Rachael's room to the right we have a bathroom. It's not too small but not big either. There are two old sinks and one shower that is kind of grody looking. The one toilet is in the far left with a wooden door you have to go through.  

That is what our cabin looks like, but there is a twist to it. We made it more homey for all of us to live there for a month. Streamers decorate the staircase and the railing. Masks hang from hooks. Shoes are lined up in a row like at home. Shaggy old coats and new ones hang up on hooks. I miss my house and how it looks and it smells, but our cabin is feeling more like home.  

A true story

By Steffi Schneider:

Strong and Brave

            One day in climbing we went to Fume Wall and set up one climb. After we climbed we went to Baker's Bridge and jumped. I did not jump off, instead I went swimming. When it was time to go I was walking up a slippery rock and I fell and hurt my chin. I had to go get seven stitches…                              
The nurse drove me to the Clinic. I sat down and waited to be called. After they stitched my cut on my chin we left. Even though I was scared I did not cry a single tear. It also was my first time getting stitches…                       
Five days later I got the stitches out.  This entire experience made me feel less scared than I thought I would be.
  

Camper Writing Pieces, part 1

By Steven Bailey:

not much longer (i hope)                                        

March 12, 2015

I wake up in my spaceship with low oxygen in the ship. it is hard to see with the air on my glass casing.  I know that there is something or someone on this planet. 

March 13, 2015

With low oxygen, it is hard to see you all.  I will document that I know there is someone or something on this planet.  This is a something that was eating the bottom of the ship and my assistant went to look for it, but did not come back.  At first I thought it was the Russians but then I heard a startlingly sound and saw something accost the window. 

March 16, 2015 

Today I decided to go out to my station on this planet and fax my home.  I am going to need
Energy but it is no emergency. 

March 18, 2015 

For the first time,  to my surprise there's nothing to do.

The best 4th of July by Jack V.

The best 4th of July would be scuba diving and having underwater fireworks.  I want to go scuba diving.  I want to see underwater fireworks.  It would be raining money and diamonds.  I would be very rich and I would go scuba diving with the money I have and buy a pool and diving equipment. With my extra money I would find a cure for cancer.  It would be the best 4th of July ever.

  By Mitchell Calloway:

July, 12, 2002

roger roger...no I need help...I repeat, I need help.

Is anyone  there? Ahh!  

There they were, dead on Mars. They're alone on Mars and he doesn’t know where he is. He is running out of air.

Hello Henry?  We're sending a recovery pod to get you.  Be ready.

He eventually found the pod but on the way back to Earth Henry realized he had left the dead bodies of his 2 best friends on Mars.

The   end

Good night little bro

Delayed update by Ann Webb (tutor)

July 9:

After a week of review and fireworks, I raised the bar for work from Ramone (Baker) and Alex (Leal).  They did not disappoint!   Working at the sentence level, their exercises from Wordly Wise asked for sentences using the unit's vocab, BUT these words had to be used appropriately after referencing the text that goes with each lesson.  Add to that the expectation that their work is submitted in typed form, I am happy to say they are both off to a good start!!

Christian, who is turning out to be quite the climber, still has energy to learn cursive the Orton Gillingham way, practice his math facts, AND begin to build an O-G foundation for decoding and spelling, with new terms for syllables and word division.  He starts my day off with welcome enthusiasm.  Thanks, Christian!!

The Younger Writing Class is all girls this year, with two pairs of siblings including two new campers (who were only new the first day).   The girls love to build sentences using Project Read symbol cards which teach the functions of the parts of speech.  There is great cooperation around this!   Next week we will carry this into sentences when they put onto paper some stories based on their own thumbprint creations.   We relax with a great summer read-aloud called The Children of Green Knowe (pronounced Noah) by L.M Boston.  It's the first of a series, so parents may also want to read it, should their camper want to continue it at home.  All in all, they are a wonderful, responsive group!