SUMMER 2014 - Coleman's Camp (NEW Wednesday session) and One-On-One Tutoring

(cross-posted with Smells Like Burning Army Men website)

Please read and pass along to anyone you feel might be interested!

Mr. Coleman, 2nd grade teacher at Prairie Elementary, will be offering two valuable learning opportunities during the 2013 summer. One-on-One Tutoring and my Coleman’s Camp Enrichment Program will both begin Monday, June 2nd, and run through Monday, July 21st. We meet at Corinth Library (81st and Mission Road). More detailed information is below:

One-on-One Tutoring:

I meet with student in Individualized one-hour sessions to maintain present skills during the summer and to prepare for the upcoming school year by addressing current academic and motivational/self-esteem struggles.  Shawnee Mission curriculum and materials are used, along with district and research-based intervention materials, all correlating to content students will see in the upcoming school year.  Frequently we work through the daily (or distributive) work from the first quarter.  This strategy ensures student comprehension, confidence, and skills are bolstered as concepts introduced to the class during the start of the year are already well practiced by the tutored student.  With parent permission, I can also meet with each student's teacher to collect test data, information on strengths and struggles, and learning goals.  Some of the specific skills I can focus on include:

·         Reading (phonics, decoding, comprehension, accuracy, motivation)

·         Math (computation, problem solving, accuracy)

·         Study skills and organization

·         Test preparation (classroom tests, basic skills, state assessments)

·         Writing skills (handwriting, sentence, paragraph and paper writing)

Summer 2014 Schedule for One-on-One Tutoring (1 hour sessions):

Tuesdays 11:00-3:00

Thursdays 11:00-3:00

Saturdays 1:00-3:00

Coleman’s Camp Enrichment Program:

Small groups of students meet as a specialized class to study, explore, and interact with their own learning process in highly individualized and personal ways.  The two-hour sessions aim toward mastery of grade-level curriculum taught in Shawnee Mission classrooms but also provide a pervasive environment and cross-pollination of wisdom, art, humor, music, and high quality endeavors.

Coleman’s Camp is an innovative tutoring and enrichment program utilizing a decade of classroom experience at nearly every grade level as well as training in administration, special education, and research-based practices to create a weekly enrichment and support camp for elementary-aged children.

Each session of Coleman's Camp has age guidelines to help facilitate age-appropriate focus and maximized benefit of learning experiences.  The Tuesday and Thursday sessions have similar themes, activities, and curriculum.  As such, students attend either the Tuesday sessions or the Thursday sessions, but not both.  In some cases, special arrangements can be made with Mr. Coleman for older students to be Peer-Leaders (example: an older student who attends the Tuesday session returns Thursday to help lead groups, provide examples, or teach parts of the lessons).  Such special arrangements should be reserved for highly motivated students wanting to take on leadership roles and increased responsibility.

Additionally, the Saturday session will be different in form and scope from the Tuesday and Thursday sessions.  These Saturday sessions are called Coleman's Camp Studio and will be an experience where kids work for a number of consecutive weeks to complete one in-depth project at a time.  These studio projects will be built around the passions of the students enrolled, and will push their natural skills, problem solving ability, and creative efforts to produce unique artifacts of significance and quality.  Coleman's Camp Studio will be limited to 10 students.  Projects might include multimedia presentations, artwork, service projects, inventions, engineering studies, plays, et cetera.  There is no specific age guidelines for Saturdays, but an adventurous attitude and willingness to make mistakes, grow, and experiment are important.

NEW THIS SUMMER!!  
Beginning Coleman's Camp Wednesday Nights

When new students join us in Coleman's Camp (on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays) there are dozens of amazing activities, projects, and learning adventures we have undertaken over the nearly 18 months since I started Coleman's Camp that these students miss out on.  An on-going frustration is that any attempt to go back and replicate earlier Coleman's Camp sessions means students who have been with me for any length of time are repeating activities.  Sometimes this is no issue as we can dig deeper or find new perspectives, but there MANY amazing sessions that work one or two times, especially if there are elements of discovery, surprise, or critical thinking exploration.

To encourage new kids to join Coleman's Camp and have them experience sessions that are otherwise done and gone, Wednesday nights will be Beginning Coleman's Camp!  I hope to have new students join me as we work our way through the most successful, enlightening, entertaining, and enriching sessions from the past 18 months.  If you are interested please ask for more information!  And please take a look at our website: http://colemanscamp.blogspot.com/

Summer 2014 Schedule for Coleman's Camp (2 hour sessions):

            Tuesdays 4:00-6:00 (for kids going into 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade)
            Wednesdays 4:00-6:00 (for NEW kids looking to give Coleman's Camp a try)

            Thursdays 4:00-6:00 (for kids going into Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade)

            Saturdays 10:00-12:00 (Coleman's Camp Studio, all ages)

More Information:

• http://www4.smsd.org/timcoleman/html32214.htm - Credentials, experience, and other district information
• http://www4.smsd.org/timcoleman/html22172.htm - all about Mr. Coleman

PLEASE E-MAIL for cost and availability.

Coleman's Camp - Weekly Journal Entry: 12/17/2012

I am excited to see we are reaching a milestone in Coleman's Camp; we are nearing the end of the current session and will start the new session in January.  If you recall, when we originally began Coleman's Camp we looked at following the school schedule to keep everything simplified.  The start of a new session is a time for me to reflect on our past learning, set new goals, and develop further learning themes (using input from parents and students).

As such, going forward I plan to offer: 1) 1st Semester 2013 Coleman's Camp (running January to the end of school year), 2) Summer Session of Coleman's Camp (running during the summer), and then 3) 2nd Semester 2013 Coleman's Camp (running August until winter break).  Each of these sessions will have specific themes and will continue to correlate to classroom learning.

The session that ended was a fantastic experimental phase of Coleman's Camp and has helped me quickly refine and direct our unique learning adventure.  This Shutterfly website, as well as my YouTube channel, are direct outcomes of my continual efforts to keep Coleman's Camp dynamic, interactive, parent and student driven, and creative.  My hope is to keep the founding students of Coleman's Camp thriving and enjoying the time for as long as it supports their needs and wants.

One final, crucial point - I have found the experience of Coleman's Camp to have been so rewarding I have cancelled plans to transfer to a new school at the end of this year.  I had believed that it would benefit my career and my prospects of becoming a principal if I transferred to an elementary school that would provide different experiences than those I have had at Prairie.  However, the parents and students involved in Coleman's Camp have made we realize I am uninterested in leaving these kids.  Thank you parents!