Every August, the Moose Jaw Literacy Network (MJLN) hosts a summer literacy camp for local students to brush up on their reading skills and while this year’s camps are still happening, they are looking a little different.
The Summer Success literacy camp is well underway already, with a dozen students gathering at Elgin Park every morning for two weeks to take part in reading and writing activities designed to help build their skills for the return to school in the fall.
But the new, green backdrop is something totally new for the MJLN’s program — usually, the camp is hosted in two different elementary schools in the city, not outside in the park.
The camps are also a little smaller this year, with six students from St. Agnes School and six students from École Palliser Heights School rather than 10 students from each school, and everyone has had to adapt to physical distancing and sanitation rules due to the pandemic.
Both Prairie South School Division and Holy Trinity Catholic School Division work with the Moose Jaw Literacy Network for the annual summer camps.
Despite all the changes, the teachers and volunteers involved in the camps are having a blast so far, and the feeling is certainly shared by all of the kids in attendance — and organizers are actually enjoying the outdoor setting as well.
“It’s just really a great program and it gets better every year,” said Moose Jaw Literacy Network board chair Jodie Bzdel.
The Moose Jaw Literacy Network began hosting the summer camp four years ago, to help students with what experts call the “summer slide” that kids experience while out of school for the summer.
“Kids slide backward [in terms of reading levels] and a lot of children need a little extra help with their literacy,” and said Christine Boyczuk, member of the Moose Jaw Literacy Network. “And that slide is really significant because every year, the gap gets wider between students.”
Boyczuk is also the host of the weekly outdoor storytime event, where kids are invited to join her in the park every Wednesday at 10 a.m. to read a story, pick up a fun craft, and even take home a book courtesy of the Moose Jaw Literacy Network.
“It’s just storytime for younger children, just to have some fun. There aren’t many programs for children this year, and here they get lots of reading practice, they get books, they hear a story,” said Boyczuk. “It turns out really lovely, for the people that come.”
For Boyczuk and the entire literacy organization, it seemed extra important to host events like these to help kids maintain their reading skills, as COVID-19 has left many kids out of school for five months now.
The Summer Success camp will finish up next week for those registered, and the morning storytime sessions will continue on throughout the rest of August and into September, said Boyczuk.
