Coleman's Camp - Weekly Journal Entry: 4/15/2013

Week of 4/15: The Thursday group started this week talking about Open House, which would be just an hour after the end of our session.  Kids shared some of the things they have been working on in their classrooms.  The Thursday group did a "pass-along story."  This setup was a unique way to challenge kids' writing and narrative skills.  Each kid started with their own piece of paper, writing a character introduction.  Next, we all folded our papers back to hide what we had just written, except for the last sentence, which was left visible.  We then passed our papers clockwise to the person next to us.  That kid then had to read the little bit of information left available and write about the setting of the story.  The paper was folded back again, hiding all but the last sentence.  Kids passed papers again.  We continued this process through different aspects of crafting a narrative, including introducing another character, creating a conflict, and finally having the story reach some type of resolution.  In the end we unfolded the accordion-like piece of paper and read the stories aloud.  The final product was exactly as bizarre and humorous as you might imagine, especially considering the surreal, unique, and sharp sense of humor this group exhibits.  The Thursday and Saturday groups both reviewed a packet of information received from the Omaha Zoo about the endangered animals we selected for a symbolic adoption.  The zoo had sent photographs of the actual animals we adopted, informational cards on each of the animals, a letter from the zoo about the program, and adoption certificates.  The Saturday group finished their session with game playing, allowing for some practice in sportsmanship and dealing with the frustrations of losing in games.