Camp Read to be Ready provides students with a total reading experience where books take life in relation to our community. Students are given the opportunity to read, think, talk, and write about various texts in relation to our focus of learning. The second session of Camp Read to be Readyallows students to experience Camp Reading River. Twenty five students have spent their third week of camp as freshwater explorers. Students are learning about and discussing animals, insects, and plants in freshwater habitats. We have dug deep into the following books: Only One You written by Linda Kranz, A Wetland Habitat written by Bobbie Kalman, You be You written by Linda Kranz, and Water Rolls, Water Rises written by Pat Mora.
The ultimate goal for Camp Read to be Readyis to make books come to life for our students. Co-directors Melisha Simmons and MaryBeth Young as well as Troop Leaders Kathy Gannon, Emily Hughes, Beth Mathis and Joy Pope are working toward this goal by creating movements, songs, and art that relate to our books. Campers have created their own bird feeders and examined the life in a wetland. Troop leaders have created experiences where campers became conchologists in order to study and compare snails. Campers also identified invertebrates and vertebrates that make their homes in wetlands.
Campers continue to visit the Adams Memorial Library each week so that campers can learn more about topics that are interesting to them. We are working closely with Huff & Puff Trucking to teach students more about the geography of our state and country. Flat Stanley continues to travel to different states along his trucking route. Campers are able to Skype daily in order to see landscapes and track his progress across our country and continent.
During our first week of Camp Reading River, campers traveled to The Discovery Center at Murfree Springs in Murfreesboro, TN. Campers toured the wetlands at Murfree Springs with Heather Mullican from the Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department. Ms. Heather taught campers the history of Murfree Springs and how it was used by Native Americans during the Trail of Tears. We were able to explore the wetlands to see numerous plants and animals that we had read about earlier in the week. Campers were also able to see how the watershed brings trash and pollution into the wetlands. This was an excellent firsthand experience with the importance of taking care of our water for plants, animals, and even our own water supply.
