I would like to start by saying thanks to Prairielands for giving me the opportunity to go to these workshops without them being a financial burden. I had a very fun and fulfilled 2 days with my peers and getting to know others from Pioneerland. Marsha Chall was the author for the first day. She let us in on some secrets that helped her become a successful author/writer. When Marsha was done with her morning presentation we got in groups and had book discussions that were recommended on the early childhood list. This was my first year being a camp counselor, so I went around talking to each table and facilitating conversation about the 5 books I was assigned to. In the afternoon we had Jennifer and Leah from MN State Library Services talk to us about Early STEM and how to incorporate it into story times. We did a hands on activity and learned a lot of reading tips for toddlers and preschoolers. Marsha’s afternoon presentation was entitled, “Tail Tales: Fetch Me a Story.” Marsha presented her newest books about dogs and gave us ideas on how to expand them during story times. The day ended with supper and an escape room planned by the Meinders library called “Bugged.” If it wasn’t for Jodi and Emily giving us clues we might still be there!!
The second day, Kathleen Baxter was our speaker/author. Her first presentation was on Lovelace, Wilder, and Gag. She talked about how these three women influenced her writing and how she was a huge fan and learned everything she could about them. In the afternoon, she presented on “Nonfiction to Get Kids Excited about Reading.”
It was a fantastic couple of days meeting new people, discussing various books, and getting some new ideas to use at the library and in my story times. I also went away with a really cool shirt!!
Thank you to Rebecca, Maureen and Prarielands for making this another successful Camp Read-A-Lot.
