by Melody Pickle, Ph.D.
Ten children walk along the rocky path, backpacks in tow. A little dusty
and a little sweaty with mostly smiles, they hike on this muggy Texas
day. "Freeze. Everybody sit right where you are, pull out your
notebooks, and write for one minute about what you see," says Beth,
the supervisor of Natural Science Education Programs at McKinney Roughs
Nature Science Center in Bastrop, Texas. This is just one typical scene
at a McKinney Roughs summer day camp. During their summer camp and school
year programs, facilitators use writing in many different ways. They
believe that it helps get the children involved in learning while they
are exploring nature and having fun. Keeping nature notebooks and doing
short intermittent writing is just one way they encourage learning. Though
this particular camp has learning objectives, any kind of camp can benefit
from creative writing activities and techniques.
Camps increase their
number of campers and see repeat visitors when they create positive lasting
impressions for each camper. They want to keep campers coming back. One
way to do that is to make sure the experience they offer is fun, experiential,
and memorable for their campers. Although a positive camp experience
cannot be guaranteed for every camper, utilizing language and writing
in camp can enhance the camp experience. Using different types of writing
activities enhances reflection, learning, and memory of either specific
or overall camp experiences.
Written words capture the thought and interpretation
of the moment. This captured moment molds the camp experience by putting
language to the experience. Using writing enhances the camp experience
by connecting language to the encounter, offering students participation
and lasting impressions because they interpret the experience through
language.
Language and writing are important (if not essential) ways
that we process and make sense of our world (Vygotsky 1986). Therefore,
connecting experience with language is a powerful tool for understanding.
Through language we name things; we categorize; we understand. Adding
language activities and tasks to the diverse experiences and activities
at camp further enhances the potential for lasting difference to the
camper.
Enhancing the Camp Experience With Writing
How to use writing
to enhance the camp experience:
- Broaden the definition of writing
in the camp setting for staff and administrators.
- Make it a natural
part of the camp setting.
- Make it tangible.
- Make it available
but optional.
Incorporating writing into the overall camp experience
is not as difficult as it may at first seem. First, think of writing
as any time a word is written down anywhere and for any length of time.
Camp writing has no rules, but is a guided form of expression. It need
not be lengthy or even written on paper.
In my recent survey of 221 outdoor
experiential educators from all areas of outdoor experiential education,
participants indicated that they thought writing was a useful tool for
learning in the outdoors. However, writing was often narrowly defined
as a long written piece such as a journal entry. Few people automatically
thought of brief activities that involved writing as writing.
How to
Make Writing Fun at Camp
The question then is how do you make that experience
fun or inviting for campers? Broadening the definition of what is considered
writing is one way to begin to understand how writing can fit into a
camp setting.
Free-Form Writing
To incorporate text activities and writing
into camp, you must make writing a natural part of a camp activity. This
can be as simple as having campers — during dinner or at the campfire — come
up with a newspaper headline that summarizes or describes their day.
They can write it on a note card or piece of paper, and hang it on a
wall, pass it around, etc. Short free-forms of written expression (combined
with drawings or stickers) easily fit into camp timelines and expectations.
Create a Memory Wall
The creation of a memory wall is another way to
incorporate writing and expression into camp seamlessly. Hang large pieces
of butcher paper on an easily accessible wall — perhaps in the
dining hall. Provide markers, crayons, or paints. Then allow campers
to write and draw during free time. This can be optional or encouraged
as a group activity. One way to encourage participation is to ask two
campers from each dinner table each evening to go to the memory wall
and to make their daily phrase or statement describing that day's
experience for that table. There are many possible variations of this
activity.
Writing can make the camp and outdoor experience memorable
because it is so tangible. When campers have a written memory — written
by them while in the midst of the experience, they have something to
take home — something that will help them remember and keep the
memory fresh. The length and form of the writing do not matter as long
as the campers can take it home. A very popular and significant piece
of tangible writing is the letter to self writing activity. In this activity,
campers write letters to themselves. The letter may record something
they have learned, how they have changed, or it may set future goals
or simply record an experience they wish to remember. This letter is
then later mailed to the camper anywhere from one month to one year after
the camp experience has concluded.
Journaling
Tangible writing might
also take the form of group notebooks or journals. These journals can
be kept by cabins, activity groups, or some other group formation. Each
day one or two people are responsible for recording the day's activities
and can contribute their own creative entry. The journal can also be
passed around at the end of each day for each person to contribute a
thought for the day, if they wish. Set up some rules and parameters — that
includes being sensitive to others, being appropriate, and only recording
positive messages to other campers. Sometimes, copies of these notebooks
are made so each group member gets to take a copy home.
You can encourage
participation in writing activities that foster memories by providing
places for campers to leave their mark. Designate one wall or other area
that is public and visible on which campers can share favorite memories,
offer encouragement to others, or tell stories. Have notebooks, scrapbooks,
or other books and pages in specific places where campers might want
to leave their thoughts. Places might include the top of a steep hike,
the end of a tough challenge course or ropes course experience, and a
quiet reflective place where campers wander. The idea is that campers
can record their thoughts and leave them there for others to read over
time. PVC pipe works great for sheltering notebooks from the weather.
Writing activities are beneficial in almost any camp setting. They enhance
reflection, learning, and creativity. Writing encourages campers to share
their experiences and to remember them. Campers love to make their mark,
so let them do it in a beneficial, thoughtful, and fun way — and
keep them coming back to your camp season after season.
Activity Ideas to Encourage Writing at Camp
Reference
Vygotsky,
L. (1986). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Originally published in the 2008 March/April
issue of Camping Magazine. |
