new posts in all blogs
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: summer camp, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 23 of 23
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: summer camp in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
By:
Jen Robinson,
on 6/17/2014
Blog:
Jen Robinson
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Mysteries and Thrillers,
Newsletter,
thriller,
summer camp,
domestic terrorism,
allen zadoff,
The Program,
boy nobody,
teen assassin,
unknown assassin,
Reviews,
Young Adult,
Add a tag
Book: I Am the Mission (The Unknown Assassin, Book 2)
Author: Allen Zadoff
Pages: 432
Age Range: 13 and up
I Am the Mission is the second book in Allen Zadoff's The Unknown Assassin series (following Boy Nobody, which was renamed I Am the Weapon). Like the first book, I Am the Mission is a fast-paced, suspenseful book in which the reader isn't quite sure who to root for. Book 2 picks up shortly after the conclusion of the first book. The variously-named narrator (we do eventually learn his real name) has gone AWOL from his shadowy government organization, The Program. He is in hiding as a camp counselor when a crew from Homeland Security extracts him. His "Father" figure, the head of The Program, gives him a new assignment, one intended to test his loyalty.
The boy's mission is to penetrate the tryouts for an ultra-right-wing summer camp that is apparently radicalizing teens and assassinate the head of that organization, a charismatic man named Eugene Moore. He is not supposed to actually enter the camp, because a prior operative from The Program disappeared there (and is now presumed deceased). The boy ends up out of communication with The Program, and not sure who to trust. I mean, when you are a secret teenage assassin, who can you trust, really? Happily for the reader, the boy's one friend from the previous book, Howard, makes an appearance.
Like the first book, I Am the Weapon has a premise that may disturb some readers: a teen who has been taught to kill people, quickly and stealthily, and who has no semblance of a normal life. But if you can accept that premise, it's a well-constructed, twisty thriller. The boy does commit one act that I found ... disturbing, I guess, in part because it's clearly a mistake. But he shows hints of humanity, too. Zadoff also provides more background for how he ended up in The Program, and why he is the cold-blooded, fearless killing machine that he is. Fans of the first book will definitely not want to miss this one.
Zadoff has a knack for quick characterizations, like this:
"He has a masterful way of using truisms to support his ideas. One can easily agree with the truth of the surface statements without questioning the ideas themselves." Chapter "It's Moore", digital ARC (The ARC, at least, doesn't have conventional chapter titles. The first sentence of each chapter is formatted as a title, instead.)
He also muses quite a bit in this book on the nature of fear. Like this:
""The part they don't understand..." he says. "If you don't feel fear, you don't feel joy or love. Not in any real way. Without the fear, the risk is gone. And without risk, rewards don't matter. You're left with nothing much at all. You're numb." ("My Name is Francisco Gonzalez", he says.)
I Am the Mission is written in first-person present tense, which helps to keep up the suspense. The narrator is a surprisingly sympathetic character for a stone-cold killer. Attempting to figure him out is perpetually interesting. Recommended for older teen and adult readers for whom the fascinating aspects of the premise outweigh the disturbing aspects. Personally, I couldn't put it down, and eagerly await the next book.
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (@LBKids)
Publication Date: June 17, 2014
Source of Book: Advance review copy from the publisher
FTC Required Disclosure:
This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
By:
Robin Brande,
on 4/27/2014
Blog:
Robin Brande
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Summer Camp,
Home Projects,
Life List,
Inspiration,
How To,
Fulfillment,
Creating a Life List,
Writing,
motivation,
Getting Things Done,
Goals,
Happiness,
Add a tag
You never know when you might “accidentally” be inspired in a very large way by a stranger you meet at the dentist’s office.
We were both early, waiting for our cleanings, I was reading a book and she pulled out her knitting. I said, “Oh, isn’t that so relaxing? I used to love knitting.”
“It’s like a meditation,” she agreed.
“I only know how to knit,” I said. “I never learned how to purl.”
“You could take a class,” she suggested. She asked what part of town I live in, and told me about a knitting store nearby.
And that’s when it got interesting.
Because she told me that for the past few years, she’s made a point of taking classes in all the things she’s ever wanted to learn: ballroom dancing, horseback riding, knitting, etc. But here’s the key: she fully commits to learning whatever it is, but only for one month. And at the end of that month, she moves on to something else.
Back up for a second. I’m familiar with Life Lists. I made one for myself about fifteen years ago, listing all the places I wanted to go, the new skills I wanted to learn, the other changes I wanted to make. It’s why I finally ended up writing my first novel. And also seeing a real Broadway show, learning martial arts, going on a Jane Austen tour in England, and all sorts of other interesting things.
But this woman, Danetta, took the Life List concept and made it better. Simply by putting a time limit on the things she was going to try.
She started the way a lot of us do, making an exhaustive list of absolutely everything she’s ever wanted to do and to learn and all the different trips she wanted to take. After that “brain dump,” she had a list of about 100 items. Big things from exotic travels to little things like getting a pedicure. Anything that sounded interesting or fun made it onto the list.
Next she organized her list into several categories: Health & Fitness; Travel; Friends & Family; Home; and Personal Growth/Learning Adventures. (I love that term learning adventures!) Then she made herself a schedule.
She knew if she wanted to try as many things as possible during the year and still give herself sufficient time to enjoy each activity, she could commit one full month to whatever she wanted to do. Twelve new activities every year, and they could be from any of her categories.
So one month she might tackle some home project she’d been meaning to do, and the next month she might take Czech lessons or hike as many miles as she could.
In the Friends & Family category, she made a list of all the friends and members of her extended family that she wanted to see more often, and made a rotating schedule of lunches, holiday gatherings, and other ways she could guarantee she kept in touch with all of them throughout the year.
In the Travel category, maybe she couldn’t take a big trip that particular month, but she could do all the research for it: look up airline prices, look for hotels, study a little of the language if she were going abroad.
And if it turned out at the end of the month that she had had her fill of a particular activity–like reading the Classics (because face it, a little of The Iliad and The Odyssey goes a long way)–she could move on knowing she had done it, tried it, and could check it off her list.
But if it turned out to be an activity she loved, like writing a novel, she could add it to her life more permanently.
It reminds me a little bit of Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
. The difference is that Gretchen picked themes for every month, like working on her marriage, being a better parent, learning to have more fun in her life, and then worked on the whole category. I prefer Danetta’s strategy of choosing just one item on her list and really devoting herself to that. It seems easier and more doable.
And you just gotta love that whole short-term commitment thing. Get in there, try something in an intense, concentrated way, then move on. Yes, please.
I’ve done something similar by pretending every summer I’m sending myself to summer camp. I pick a few skills or crafts I want to try–like learning archery or how to make fire from scratch, or taking a beginning drawing class–and that’s something to look forward to when the temperatures here reach 117. At least I can go play at something for a while. Preferably somewhere that has air conditioning.
This summer I’m going to learn how to make lotion from scratch. I’ve already found a bunch of instructional videos on YouTube, and that will be my project for July. I might also take a sewing class. Who knows? I haven’t exactly decided on my themes for camp this year.
So there’s some inspiration that I’m happy to pass along to you. And it comes at a great time, since we’re about to enter a brand new month. What do you want to do with the remaining 8 months of this year? If you create your own list of everything you’ve ever wanted to do and try and learn, which 8 things could you start giving yourself right away?
And as always, if not now, when?
Friends, Thurberites, Parents of Potential Campers, lend me your ears.
Although the season seems to come earlier and earlier every year, there is no wavering in our excitement to announce that registration for 2014 Thurber Summer Writing Camp is officially open!
WAIT!
I know your immediate reaction is one of two things: Stop reading to go to the website and register (you know our camp fills fast) OR stop reading because this does not pertain to you.
Before you do either, let me explain why our camp is so great and important to this community. Thurber House offers a chance for students in grades 2-8 to explore the realm of creative writing beyond the classroom. We have the opportunity to supplement what they are learning in school with a form of writing that allows a young writer’s imagination to stretch beyond limits. We pride ourselves in being a unique and encouraging experience, helping to instill a sense of confidence and love for writing and learning.
Now, if you don’t know anyone who is in 2nd – 8th grade, that’s okay. You can stop reading after this paragraph. To help keep our programming available to all students, we offer scholarships for summer camp to families with financial need. We hope that although you can’t send a camper to us, you will consider making a donation to help a student come to camp whom otherwise may not be afforded the opportunity. Click here for more information about how to make a donation (and make sure to tell us that it’s for summer camp).
This all sounds great, right? So you are probably asking, who should attend our camp? Good question. Each summer we have a wide range of “types” of students come through our doors. Someone who is a good fit for our program is someone who loves to think up stories and ideas. Regardless of whether that someone is an extremely loquacious writer, or a writer looking to get better at putting those great ideas down on paper, that someone will fit in well here. If you’re unsure, give us a call at 614-464-1032 ext. 13 and we would be happy to discuss our camp with you.
The next big question is when. Not to worry, here are our 2014 dates:
2-3 Grade ($100*)
12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
June 9-13, June 16-20
4/5 Grade ($175*)
9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.,.
June 23-27, July 7-11, July 14-18
6-8 Grade ($175*)
9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
July 21-25, July 28-August 1, August 4-8
All camp sessions are held at the Thurber Center, 91 Jefferson Avenue, next door to Thurber House. Enrollment is first-come, first-served, and each week of camp is limited to 40 students. Campers will be split into four groups of ten, with one counselor per group. Grade levels refer to the grade the student will be entering in the fall.
*We do offer a limited amount of scholarship to those with financial need. See our website for more information about how to apply.
Hope to see you this summer!
By:
Jen Robinson,
on 1/30/2014
Blog:
Jen Robinson
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Reviews,
Middle School,
mystery,
mazes,
ghosts,
Newsletter,
summer camp,
kabbalah,
jewish history,
female protagonist,
ari goelman,
Add a tag
Book: The Path of Names
Author: Ari Goelman
Pages: 352
Age Range: 10-14
The Path of Names by Ari Goelman is about a girl named Dahlia Sherman who loves magic tricks, does NOT want to go to Jewish summer camp, and ends up unraveling a 78-year-old mystery involving a Yiddish rabbinical student and the ghosts of two young girls. There are camp skits, mazes, and (minor) sibling rivalries. There's a creepy camp handyman, a posse of mean girls, and a boy with the potential to be a friend (and the inclination to be more). In short, The Path of Names has a little something for everyone.
Dahlia is a strong character, a girl who doesn't care that much that the popular girls think she's weird, who likes math, and who just wants to understand things. She's at that age where she's resisting the boy-girl stuff, even as it swirls around her. She is delightfully furious when she finds out that her friend Rafe is letting people believe they are dating. I like that she uses her brain and tenacity to solve the mystery, despite making mistakes along the way.
Most of the book is told from Dahlia's limited third person viewpoint, but intermittent chapters are from the viewpoint of David Schank, a 17-year-old yeshiva student in 1940's New York City. A few sections are also told from the viewpoint of Dahlia's older brother, Tom, a counselor at the camp. Dahlia is the one that readers will relate to most of the three, through David's story is the more suspenseful one. Shifting the viewpoint between Dahlia and David will keep readers turning the pages, driven like Dahlia to understand what happened to the young student.
The camp setting and details seemed authentic to me, though I never went to sleepaway camp (Jewish or otherwise). It is certainly not an idealized portrayal - there are details that strongly indicate the author's personal experience in a camp setting. Like this:
"Dahlia went up the stairs to the cabin. It smelled familiar from visiting Tom all these years: the musty scent of old wood, mingled with the smells of clean laundry and dirty shoes and nylon sleeping bags. She had sort of liked the smell when they visited Tom, but the girls' bunk smelled different, more girly. Had someone really brought perfume to summer camp?" (Page 9)
There is also quite a lot of information in The Path of Names about Jewish history and culture, kabbala, Hebrew words, etc. All of these things are central to the book's storyline. I found the details fascinating, and I think kids will too. Goelman does a nice job of broadening the reader's perspective, while still keeping his focus on plot and character.
I do think that The Path of Names is more a book for middle schoolers than for elementary school kids. This is partly due to content (there is a small amount of drinking by the older kids, and there are deaths), but mostly due to the mystical themes, and the relatively grown-up perspective of David. Certainly, despite having a girl as the primary protagonist, The Path of Names is also boy-friendly (ghosts, mazes, magic tricks, pranks). Recommended for mystery and adventure fans, or anyone who likes the idea of seeing ghosts at summer camp.
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (@Scholastic)
Publication Date: April 30, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
FTC Required Disclosure:
This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
By: Stacy Dillon,
on 8/11/2013
Blog:
Welcome to my Tweendom
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
2013,
Friendship,
social justice,
reluctant readers,
Roaring Brook,
illustrated novels,
activism,
summer reading,
cheating,
summer camp,
Add a tag
I figured this was fitting to post today as I am sending my own 10 year old off to sleep away camp today!
Resident non-reader Charlie Joe may just have gotten himself in over his head this time. In a moment of temporary craziness and trying to please his parents, Charlie Joe agreed to 3 weeks at a camp for smarty pants kids. Camp Ritubukkee. Pronounced Read-a-Bookie. For real. Now that the time has come, he is pretty much in shock about the whole thing. At least his bud Katie Friedman will be there, and Nareem from school will be there too.
The camp schedule is filled with "workshops", which Charlie Joe knows is just code for classwork. He cannot believe that kids actually acquiesce to go to what is essentially summer school. Charlie Joe is also a bit bummed because he had just started hanging around with Zoe, and if he had the summer off like a normal kid, that might just have gone somewhere.
Charlie Joe doesn't exactly get off the a stellar start at camp. At school kids know him and know that he wields his sense of humor like a finely sharpened sword. Here, his anti-reading stance and his sarcasm aren't appreciated. Charlie Joe decides that it's going to be in everybody's best interests for him to try to de-dorkify these kids...get them to relax a little bit and enjoy the summer.
What Charlie Joe doesn't expect is to get sucked into the world of reading (just a bit), to use his devious brain for the greater good, and to genuinely like some of these campers.
Tommy Greenwald has created a reluctant reader character who is incredibly authentic. Charlie Joe doesn't have trouble reading, he just can't be bothered. I know several kids like this. By putting Charlie Joe in a camp with kids who pretty much adore learning, there is super wide appeal to this title. The writing is tight, the voice is authentic and I love the fact that unlike other series that aim for this audience, Charlie Joe isn't mean. I had the pleasure of meeting Tommy at ALA in Chicago this summer, and was super pleased to relate the story of my own real life reluctant reader really taking to this series. When kids want a step up from the Wimpy Kid titles, send them over to Charlie Joe!
by Victoria, Thurber House Intern
Hello and goodbye blog readers! It’s Victoria the Intern (at least for another eight hours) giving you the final update as to what I’ve been up to at Thurber House.
Since my last update, I’ve embraced my very limited artistic ability by creating some fun, inspirational, and only slightly lame posters for Thurber’s summer camp. I got to release my inner murderer/grand thief/CSI detective as I helped brainstorm ideas for various summer camp mysteries. And, I also connected with my inner mailman too, as I spent some time delivering and mailing out Flip the Page books.
Since this is my last day, I always try to walk away from an experience with a new quote due to my slightly unhealthy obsession with them. It’s only fitting that the one I’ve collected from Thurber House be from Mr. James Thurber himself: “Don’t get it right, get it written”.
If I’ve learned anything this week, it’s that being a writer is hard; despite whatever romantic notions people have about words effortlessly flowing onto pages (I can personally attest that that is not the case). More often than not, I try so hard to write right that I forget about what’s really important – writing. Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you write something, it’s that you did. And so, I’m going to try to apply Thurber’s words of wisdom to my future as a writer and spend less time focusing on how I’m going to phrase something and instead just write it.
All in all, I’ve had so much fun spending the week here! I was a little worried at first because I didn’t know how the other workers would react to having some awkward, lingering high school student take up space for the week, but they have all been amazing. Everyone here has been so incredibly nice, helpful, and supportive as they showered me with Snack Packs, answers, and encouragement.
And that was my final update! Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my silly, little posts. I’m so happy that I got an opportunity to intern here at Thurber House, which I now know for sure is, as my friend’s little sister said, “the best place on Earth”.
Staff Note: All of us at Thurber House loved having Victoria here! She was incredibly helpful, didn’t complain about the boring tasks and had great input in some of our camp activities (we’re a little scared at how readily she helped create our camp mysteries!). We wish we could have her for longer but we know she will do amazing things!
by Victoria, Thurber House Intern
Hello again blog readers! This is a midweek update as to what I – Victoria the Intern – have been up to here at Thurber House.
Three days into my internship and I have learned a lot of things – the life and writings of James Thurber, the importance of organization, and the superiority of Nickles Donut Fair (absolutely true). I’ve also managed to start up my own collection of pens, become an Excel spreadsheet master (which is harder than it looks, let me tell you), test out every single marker/pen/glue stick within a five-mile radius, and do a lot of inventory.
But, mostly I’ve just been helping Thurber prepare for their Summer Camp, which looks like so much fun that I’m contemplating building a time machine and going back in time to when I was a 2nd - 8th grader just to join! Seriously – awesome games, interesting writing prompts, and stories galore – what better way to spend your summer?
For my summer, I plan on reading all the books I’ve been assigned to read for school next year. This should take about the entire summer since I decided to take four different English classes (I know, I’m crazy). Here are a few books not for school that I plan on reading:
On my Want to Read List: In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust), Nine Stories (J.D. Salinger), and The Fault in Our Stars (John Green).
On my Currently Reading List (AKA the books that are collecting dust in my room): Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) and a truck full of my guilty pleasure – Sarah Dessen novels.
And that was your midweek update! Check in on Friday for the final entry!
by Rudy Garcia
Last week, Juan Felipe Herrera was appointed California poet laureate by Gov. Jerry Brown. If this is confirmed by the California Senate, Herrera will become the first Chicano to ever receive this recognition.
You can go here to read about it, here to read more about him, and you can send him felicidades via E-mail to juan.herreraATucr.edu.
La Bloga can only say: Era tiempo!
Last Call for Ice Cream?
Not as significant as Herrrera's achivement, this zany story of mine was accepted by Rudy Rucker (of cyberpunk fame) for his Ezine Flurb #13. You can access a copy for FREE to see what at least one Chicano is doing to widen our presence in the spec fiction world. You can get Flurb #13 as an ebook that can be read on any e-reading device---Kindles, iPhones, Androids, NOOKs, Windows laptops, iPads, whatever. Mobi (for Kindle) and Epub (for the others) available for download at http://www.flurb.net/ebook/
Please leave comments there.
Chicano summer arts camp
Denver's Museo de las Americas is proud to present the 2012 summer camp program, "Animales." Students will have the opportunity to discover the wild world of animals through this multidisciplinary summer arts camp.
For three consecutive weeks, participants will immerse themselves in visual arts, dance, music, and theater classes to better understand the bond between animals, humans, and the environment. Each class is conducted by a trained teacher who is committed to advancing the students' understanding of animals through arts integration techniques and cultural competencies.
Dates: June 25th -July 13, 2012
July 4th: No Camp
July 13th: Final Performance
Hours: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, snack provided
Ages: K through 6th grade
Cost: Scholarships available to DPS students on a first-come, first serve basis
If interested, contact Christina Gese, our Education Director at [email protected], (303) 571-4401, ext. 28, or in person at 861 Santa Fe Dr., Denver.
Space limited; request registration form today. Deadline May 1st, 2012.
Read It. Move It. Share It.
Each month I recommend a picture book for Maria Hanley--dance educator extraordinaire in New York City--to incorporate into her creative movement classes. Our September pick is We're Going on a Bear Hunt, written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. When you're done reading more about the book, don't forget to check out Maria's blog to see how she used it in her classes.
I still remember sitting in a big circle at summer camp, clapping one hand and then the other against my thighs and stamping my feet against the floor as our fearless leader took us on an adventurous bear hunt when I was a kid. Through fields of grass, thick mud, and dark forests we went, searching far and wide for that one elusive bear. Does this sound familiar to you, too?
Well, when I saw the picture book
We're Going on a Bear Hunt for the first time earlier this year, this childhood memory came flooding back...not so much because of the actions we did during the bear hunt, but because of how exhilarating it was to play the game. And even though we were sitting in one place, it still included a lot of movement, which I'm sure was another reason I had so much fun with it.
I can't remember the exact words to the game I played, and I'm sure there are many versions. Here's a very expressive
Michael Rosen reciting
his version--the version that he created for the book. You can see from the video that the text of the book is full of rhythm and fun sounds that could easily inspire movement, as they do for Rosen himself.
Although the words to the book are what inspire the movement for me, the book wouldn't be what it is without the beautiful drawings of Helen Oxenbury. She was able to depict the characters in the book any which way she wanted, and she chose to draw them as five members of a family. I recently found out that the five characters are actually siblings, but many readers think they are a father and his four children. Either way, I think this depiction is especially nice for young children, who will likely be "reading" this book alongside other family members of their own.
5 Tips to Prepare Your Child for Summer Camp Oh, the wonder of summer as a child … from the simplicity of sitting on the front step and licking a grape popsicle to the excitement and anticipation of heading off to summer camp and having new adventures! Bur Bur and Friends multicultural children books want [...]
By: Maryann Yin,
on 7/18/2011
Blog:
Galley Cat (Mediabistro)
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Six-Word Memoir,
audience,
summer camp,
Smith Magazine,
Ann Leary,
Ava Crawford,
Deborah Copaken Kogan,
Gerald Hayes,
Joe Iconis,
Josh Wolk,
story slam,
Susan Blackwell,
Contests,
Add a tag
On Monday July 25th, Smith Magazine will sponsor the summer edition of the Six-Word Memoir Slam. The theme for this event will be: “I’m Only Popular at Summer Camp: Six-Word Memoirs on Camp, Summer Stock, and the Family Vacation.”
Share your six-word memoir at this link for a chance to be part of the literary lineup at the reading. The slam will include author Ann Leary, actress Susan Blackwell, writer Joe Iconis, novelist Deborah Copaken Kogan, NYMag.com editor Josh Wolk, comedian Gerald Hayes, teen scribe Ava Crawford.
Here’s more about the memoir slam: “The night starts at 6 p.m. with a Happy Hour at the 92YTribeca’s amazing bar, where you can meet other six-lovers over drink specials. At 7pm, the show begins: six performers, six minutes each to tell their story. The evening ends with an audience participation Six-World Slam: you’re invited to share your own six words on this hot, fun, miraculous and messy thing called summer.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Today's post is prompted by Nicole, a reader who wrote to tell me about an article called Boys Gone Wild in baystateparent: Massachusetts' Premier Magazine for Families. The article describes the activities of boys who attend Night Eagle Summer Camp in Vermont. I hasten to add that the boys and their leaders do a lot of playing-Indian activities...
In February 2011, I wrote about learning that a group of boy scouts from Louisiana who had been at Nambe Pueblo (that's where I'm from) to study our dances with the intent of performing them in Louisiana. I pointed out that I don't think the scouts would go to a Catholic mass, study the priest and then perform what he did. Our dances are sacred, just like the prayers offered by a priest.
Maybe (I say, with hope) those scouts did not know they were being insensitive. That is probably because they've been in the scouting program for several years where they did all kinds of "Indian" activities that, bit-by-bit, made them unaware that those activities are inappropriate.
When we tell our stories, for example, we don't tell them around a campfire as a means of entertainment. They--like stories from the Bible--are significant to us in some way. In American society, however, they aren't seen as religious stories. Instead, they're "myths" and "legends" and "folktales" that anyone can tell, anytime they want to, as shown in this page from
The Berenstain Bears Go To Camp published in 1982. At the time of its publication, the review in
Reading Teacher said
"Though Grizzly Bob's Day Camp looks exciting, Brother and Sister Bear are apprehensive. But after spending a few days trying things out, they discover they can have fun."
A chunk of that fun means doing Indian things. Or, in other words, playing Indian. On the page shown here, the cubs are gathered round as Grizzly Bob tells them a story. The clothing Grizzly Bob wears and the way he stands reflect stereotypical pop culture images of Indians.
You can see that sort of stereotypical imagery on things like council patches of the Boy Scouts of America. In
Studying Native America: Problems and Prospects (1998 Univ of Wisconsin Press)
, Russell Thornton writes (p. 299):
Of all the institutions in American society, the Boy Scouts of America have probably done the most damage in miseducating the public about Native American cultures. Although their "Indian Lore" merit badge has recently experienced a dramatic improvement through the advice of anthropologist David Hurst Thomas, the honorary society called Order of the Arrow annually initiatives thousands of boys into the martial, romantic version of Indian culture through ceremonies drawn from the writings of Longfellow and James Fenimore Cooper."
I agree with Thornton but my net is a bit wider. I think the camps children go to each summer are equally responsible. The Boy Scouts of America creates space for this sort of play-Indian activity to continue. The Y-Indian Princess program is similarly problematic. As Thornton says, the BSA has made some changes. So has the Y-Indian Princess program. But, this sort of thing continues, especially in summer camps. Every semester, students in my courses tell me about the summer camps they went to and how they played Indian. After studying American Indians---real ones, not the images of pop culture---they see the summer camp activities in a different light. Some call them embarrassing; others call them racist.
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 8/18/2010
Blog:
Ypulse
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Tweens,
summer camp,
toys "R" us,
dr. seuss,
social media,
hearing loss,
discovery,
Ypulse Essentials,
Online gaming,
i heart daily,
old spice,
Beloit mindset list,
pepsi refresh project,
sony psp,
random house children's,
Add a tag
A slideshow of the best social media campaigns (as rated by top New York advertising agencies. Unsurprisingly, the Old Spice Guy is pretty high up there — Pepsi's "Refresh" charity project and Evian's "roller babies" get mentions as well)... Read the rest of this post
By: Stacy Dillon,
on 4/27/2010
Blog:
Welcome to my Tweendom
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
basket ball,
Borzoi Book,
water polo,
Friendship,
sports,
baseball,
legends,
swimming,
ghost stories,
summer camp,
2010,
Alfred A. Knopf,
cross country,
copy from local library,
Add a tag
Eleven-year-old Riley Liston isn’t exactly a jock. Don’t get me wrong, he is good at some sports. Especially the kinds that involve distance and endurance like cross-country and swimming, but he’s not standard fare for sport’s camp.
Camp Olympia turns out not to be quite like the brochure. The “arena” was nothing more than an old barn with a cement floor and the “stadium” a plain old field with the chain link backstop. “The Camp Olympia Institute for Sports and Nutrition” was a smoky, greasy cafeteria that serves food that the kids don’t even want to eat! (They stock up on snacks at the Trading Post to survive.)
But Riley figures out a way to get by. Since all of the campers have to participate in the team sports, Riley simply tries not to screw up. All during the two weeks of camp the bunks are earning points to try to win the Big Joe Trophy, and Riley doesn’t want to be the camper who costs Cabin 3 the cup.
Rich Wallace has written a summer camp story that will snare sports enthusiasts and non-sports enthusiasts as well. The camp setting is familiar to many kids, and if not, readers will take their first journey along side of Riley. Since the sports in the camp are varied, readers will get a glimpse of softball, basket ball, water polo, cross country, and even hot dog eating contests. Readers get to see Riley’s confidence grow as the days go by. All of the trappings of summer camp are in the mix as well, including ghost stories, a famously huge and famously unseen resident snapping turtle, and cabin trashing shenanigans.
Pack this in the bag of a camp going guy you know this summer!
Today's Ypulse Author Spotlight is on Julie Kraut and her fun summer camp read Slept Away, the story of spoiled Upper East teen Laney Parker leaving behind her city comforts to face the unplugged wilderness that is sleep away camp. I figured, with... Read the rest of this post
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 7/20/2009
Blog:
Ypulse
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
allowance,
Tweens,
summer camp,
Add a tag
Today we bring you the latest installment of "Checking the Pulse," our occasional feature with the folks at Pangea, an online advertising company that operates a network of quiz sites, including youth-oriented Quibblo.com. The surveys are... Read the rest of this post
Oddly, this post picks up where the last post left off — at camp. The summer of 1969 was a special time. I was a camper at a sleep-away camp in Pennsylvania, enjoying the typical rituals of camp life, such as the “color war” sports competitions, young teen dances, having a bit role in a production of Oliver and, perhaps best of all, the great joy of horseback riding through expansive mountain meadows.
That summer was important for other reasons, however, not just for me. It was the time of the
Woodstock Music Festival; and I had the strange opportunity to pass by the site just the day before and the day after the event, on my way to and from a camp trip. On that latter day, the vast field was littered with tons of debris, and you just knew something stupendous had taken place. But, more importantly, on July 20, America’s space agency, NASA, succeeded in landing two men (Armstrong and Aldrin) on the Moon — for the first time in human history. This week marks the 40th anniversary of that Apollo 11 flight and Moon landing. And while I do remember the event occurring, I have to admit that I think I missed seeing it on television. (I guess the camp directors did not think of setting up a television for us campers!)
In honor of that historic first moon landing, numerous museums and performing arts centers will be hosting special anniversary programs.
The National Air and Space Museum has events commemorating the Apollo 11 flight that start July 16 and run for about five days. Programs include discussions with scientists who do research related to lunar geology and future Moon landings; an exhibit of paintings by Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean, who walked on the Moon; and various films, lectures, and book signings related to the astronauts and lunar landings.
NASA has also planned a “long list of celebrations” to mark this anniversary and they have “set up a special multimedia website overflowing with interactive presentations about the moon landing,” according to an Internet news site. The Web site will broadcast the actual recordings of the conversations between the Apollo 11 astronauts and ground crew, as well as President Kennedy’s speech in which he announced his goal of landing a man on the Moon during the 1960s. The Web site address is
http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/.
I read last week that NASA plans to have a permanent base on the Moon by 2020. Just think where we will be 40 years from when that first gets built!
When I was nine years old, I beat my father in a game of pool so that I could go to camp. He didn’t want to send me, and he knew how bad I was at the game, so we made a bet that if I won, I could go to camp. My guess is he just felt bad and let me win, but I did get to go to camp.
I loved summer camp. I cannot remember having a negative experience in the years that my parents sent me (or rather, the years that I begged to be sent). Not everyone’s experience is like my own, though. Some kids hate camp. They write home about how miserable they are, how terrible the food is, how they aren’t making any friends, and the list goes on . . .
The traditional camp model in the U.S. is the sleep-away camp, which can range from one week to all summer and everything in between. This gives some parents (and definitely some children) pause because it’s a long time to be away from home. There are day camps, though, for those who want the camp experience but aren’t comfortable with being away from home for too long.
While it is true that camp may not be for everybody, there are some significant advantages to the experience, aside from parents and children getting a break from each other, of course. Camp is a chance for children and adolescents to break free from their usual contexts. Often, this can lead to a greater readiness to try new things and an openness to people whom the camper might not readily befriend in “normal” circumstances. Removing children and adolescents from their usual contexts can help them to see who they really are and how their behaviors and attitudes might be shaped by their everyday surroundings. These may not always be in line with what a young person truly feels or believes, and the camp experience can reveal that.
For older teens, camp can also offer a medium for independence. Teens can work as counselors-in-training or as kitchen staff. Often, if a teen works in a camp that he/she has been attending since early childhood, this can provide a safe, familiar environment for the teen to test the adult waters, to try new ways of relating to others, and to discover new facets of his/her identity.
So, if you’ve got a kid at home who says there’s nothing to do, consider camp. The advantages go far beyond learning to wear sunscreen, singing around a campfire, and building birdhouses.
Here’s what Amsco editors had to say about their camp experiences:
Midge: “Day camp is where I learned to love rocks and minerals.”
Perhaps this was the
beginning of Midge’s career as a science editor?
Lauren: Aside from a run-in with salmonella, Lauren enjoyed camp, and she even ended up going to college where she attended summer camp, at Dartmouth.
Cindy: Things didn’t go so well for Cindy, whose clothes fell in dirty pond water the first day that the campers went swimming.
Flor: “It was fun when I was younger, but once I got older, it was kind of boring.”
Lori: “Sending me to day camp was one of the best things my mom ever did for me.”
Pat: Once, at girl-scout camp, the troupe showed up at the campsite to find just two boxes and nothing else. They had to put up their own tents, dig their own latrines, cook their own food, find their own logs to sit on, etc.
Wig: “I was happy to get out of the house.”
Madalyn: “After college, I wasn’t ready to go right to a job, so I was a camp counselor in the Berkshires. It was a Camp America program, so European students could come to the U.S. for the summer and be camp counselors. I had so much fun!”
Mike: “I’m not a big fan of camping. If I wanted to sleep outside, I could do it in my backyard.”
If you need some more evidence of what camp can do for kids, listen to
this one-hour show from "This American Life."
In last week's Essentials I linked to an AP story on the difficulty some kids and teens may have unplugging for summer camp (with a quote from Anastasia who wrote an earlier post on the subject.) We decided to turn the question over to a couple of... Read the rest of this post
by Hope Larson
Atheneum 2008
Abby has arrived at camp first (as usual, due to her mother) and as the other girls arrive everyone slips back into their camp personalities and cliques. Abby's closest friend Rose has returned as a counselor this year and her additional duties preclude her and Abby from hanging out as much.
As the bunks fill in her cabin Abby ends up with new girl Deni beneath
Last week Jules and Eisha, the clever, creative and captivating hosts of the Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast children’s book blog, featured Andrea’s side of the Just One More Book! story.
Pop over to 7imp today for the scoop on Just One More Book! co-host Mark Blevis — the technical genius who makes it all possible.
Tags:
childrens book blog,
seven impossible things before breakfastchildrens book blog,
seven impossible things before breakfast
What do Jack Gantos, Grace Lin, Adam Rex, John Scieszka, Jarrett Krosoczka and Mo Willems have in common with me, Andrea Ross?
Absolutely nothing — except that, as of today, we’re among the 56 and counting children’s book authors, illustrators and enthusiasts who have been guests of Jules and Eisha, the brainy, eloquent and always entertaining hosts of the revered Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast children’s book blog.
Pop over to 7imp today for the scoop on JOMB — and learn much more than you ever wanted to know about one half of the duo behind it.
Tags:
childrens book blog,
seven impossible things before breakfastchildrens book blog,
seven impossible things before breakfast
.jpeg?picon=3110)
.jpeg?picon=1058)
.jpg?picon=380)
I've listened to all of the Charlie Joe books-- I've been very impressed. After CJJGTSV, I listened to Patterson's new Middle School book about summer camp. I much prefer Greenwald! Much more positive, and doesn't appeal to the potty and other low brow humor, yet I think kids will still enjoy it.