Dog Ears Bookstore will be offering free summer programming for students entering grades two through eight. The week-long camps are designed to help build reading and writing skills, as well as comprehensive skills that target the needs for each specific grade level. Throughout the camps, participants will learn helpful tips, skills and strategies that will carry across all subject areas and transition into the NYS Common Core Curriculum. However, lessons and activities will be fun, interactive and hands-on and will utilize multiple methods of instruction to meet the varied learning styles.
All sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are limited to 20 students per camp.
• July 8-12 for kids ENTERING grades 4-6
• July 15-19 for kids ENTERING grades 2-3
• July 22-26 for kids ENTERING grades 7-8 (Readers & Writers workshop. A more intense reading and writing experience.)
• July 29-Aug. 2 for kids ENTERING grades 4-6
• Aug. 5-9 for kids ENTERING grades 4-6
• Aug. 12-16 for kids ENTERING grades 2-3
• Aug. 19-23 Camp Kindness for kids ENTERING grades 4-8 (Participants will take part in fun service projects and then journal about their experiences. This is also an opportunity for students to meet community service hour requirements.)
Camps will be held at Dog Ears Bookstore, which is located at 688 Abbott Road, Buffalo.
Students can only do one camp at their grade level. However, Camp Kindness is open to anyone in grades 4-8, and they may do one other camp as well.
Camps for the youngest participants are open to children of all reading and writing levels and will consist of an activity in the morning which will include — but is not limited to — music, sports, animals, drama, literature, arts, community awareness and other topics. Students should bring their own bagged lunch each day. After lunch, participants will break into small groups to reflect upon, write about, and share thoughts about their morning experiences and achievements.
The camps for the two older groups will be slightly different. Participants will be introduced to “speed book dating” and book circles to broaden the scope and exposure to different types of literary genres, styles, influences, authors and cultures. Different forms of writing, along with the processes that go into each one, will also be explored. Youth will participate in Writer’s Workshops that will be based on a book that is chosen by the group. Students should bring their own bagged lunch each day.
New York State Certified English Language Arts teachers, or those with comparable credentials, will plan and facilitate all camps. All supplies and portfolios for writing pieces will be provided.
Camps will be held at Dog Ears Bookstore, which is located at 688 Abbott Road, Buffalo, near Mercy Hospital. Sessions will be held upstairs of the bookstore (enter through the front entrance). Adults must be mindful of the drop-off and pick-up times and are welcome to wait for their children at the end of the day in the café, which will be open for food and beverage purchases and will also provide a specially priced kids menu.
Pre-registration is required and participants are expected to attend the entire week that they are signed up for. Parents can register their children by stopping in the bookstore to fill out registration paperwork. No sign-ups will be taken over the phone. Applications will be available starting Thursday, May 30, and are on a first come, first served basis.
The free camps are made possible through funding by the Erie County Youth Bureau and City of Buffalo South District Councilman Christopher Scanlon. For additional information regarding the camps, please contact Tom McDonnell at tom@enlightenthedog.org.
