Ben's Story

BenBen is 10 years old and first attended Camp Spring Creek in 2012. In 2013, he and his family were delighted that he would be able to come back. Unfortunately, a change of plans in late spring prevented Ben from being able to attend. Ben and his family decided make his camp spot available to a Western North Carolina child. The silver lining is that, not only did a Mitchell County child get to experience Camp Spring Creek for the first time, but Ben will be able to return next summer. We can't wait to give him a warm welcome back!

Of his experience at camp last year, his mother shared: "Ben had a really great time. It was important for us to find a camp where he could continue the academic work he focused on during the school year, but still also be a kid. The thing we noticed the most was that his handwriting had vastly improved. He also gained a lot of confidence in reading."

In Her Own Words: Kay Oliver

First year-ChaseThis testimonial came our way from Kay Oliver, parent of 4-week camper, Chase. Chase came to us as a reluctant camper, and had a complete turnaround. He loved his time at Camp Spring Creek! In fact, when he got home, he decided that he was ready to move on from homeschool and apply to...[read on!]... I want to thank you for making this one of the best summers ever for Chase. Your camp and counselors and tutors, especially Lissa Jo, have restored our hope for Chase’s education. Chase’s progress exceeded all of our expectations. We are thrilled that he has a new desire to learn. His confidence continues to amaze us.

We have decided to apply for admission to The Kildonan School. Chase has told us he really wants to attend. We are so thankful for all of you.

~Kay Oliver

Appreciation Day

Kristy Autrey & Susie van der Vorst make Syllable Uno sets. This post is a press release written for local newspapers, as well as our worldwide blog readership.

Camp Spring Creek Outreach Center, a non-profit organization in Mitchell County, invited approximately 50 Western North Carolina principals, administrators, teachers, and assistants to their annual Appreciation Day.

Over the past several years, Camp Spring Creek has trained 25 WNC teachers and assistants in the Orton-Gillingham philosophy. Thanks to grants funded by the Samuel L. Phillips Foundation, Walmart State Giving Fund, Janirve Foundation, and Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, 11 Mitchell County teachers or assistants received free Associate Level Training. Seven educators from Yancey County and 6 from Avery County were also trained. The materials and training amounted to more than $75,000 in grant funds.

The Orton-Gillingham philosophy, or OG, as it is commonly called, uses a language-based, multisensory approach to tutoring that relies on a student’s problem-solving and creative thinking skills to circumvent processing weaknesses. Although OG is most commonly used for children with dyslexia, the method has been successfully incorporated into learning environments for students of all styles and abilities.

During Appreciation Day, Camp Spring Creek directors and founders Steve and Susie van der Vorst offered a child-free afternoon for guests to eat, swim, and share teaching ideas. Guests were also able to win free OG classroom games, or make their own teaching materials at the camp.

Harlem Shake Meets Camp Spring Creek

Ladies and Gentlemen....drums, please... The Harlem Shake video has finally been accessed from our "archives" and is ready for public viewing. Help us celebrate the conclusion of another successful summer season at Camp Spring Creek by getting your groove on:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OmHx0LvnNk&w=560&h=315]

We're taking a week off (the blog). But posts will resume with a twice weekly schedule (occasional exceptions) next week. Thanks, as always, for following along!

Summer Summary: Photo Collage

Week 8 Reflections

The end of summer is always such a bittersweet time of year for us at Camp Spring Creek. We've saiStonesd our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch. We've cleaned and swept and cleaned some more. We've taken our last group photos and squeezed Mimi one last time (well, you guys did--we get to live with her all year!). But before all that, we did stick to business and wrap a few things up during Week 8 with:

  • Final testing
  • Making paste paper journals
  • Finishing up all our clay and woodshop projects

    • Selecting a Room Inspection winner daily (instead of at the end of the week) and rewarding them with freezy pops at lunchtime.

By now, our campers have headed down new paths...back home, readying for a new school year, dreaming of next summer. Our hearts are with you and please call or email us at any time!

 

Fall Training Opportunity

We are so excited to announce that we'll be offering the Orton-Gillingham 70-hour Associate Level Training course this fall out at Camp Spring Creek. Training on-site during the beautiful fall months is an incredible opportunity! "We're going to live, eat, and breath it," says camp co-director and co-founder Susie van der Vorst. Training includes housing at the camp and lovely meals prepared by our chefs. Susie is one of just a small number of people in the country who is allowed to officially train and certify others in OG methods. More info about the September 20-30 trainingDSC01806 can be found here, and don't wait...there are only a few spots left! If you're curious about how OG training works, check out this post and video from last spring's training that we offered at our Outreach Center in Spruce Pine. Susie is available by phone or email with any questions (though it may take a day to respond, as we're entering the final week of camp). For those of you with friends and family in the education field near or far, please share this post with them and help spread the word!

Week 7 Reflections

CIT Greg at "Nerd Dance" We're in the home stretch of summer here at Camp Spring Creek and so much has happened, at times it feels like a blur. We said goodbye to campers Miles and Matthew last week and miss them both. Meanwhile, CIT Gregg (who came at the midpoint of summer), has been enjoying his new role and is thrilled that he got to overlap a little bit with Marco, who was our CIT for the first half of summer. These two first met a Camp Spring Creek as campers and have known each other for years! Greg has been helping out in the boy's cabins, assisting with lifeguarding, kitchen prep, and sometimes even woodshop and art. "I’ve been taking a lot of kids down to breakfast in the morning or helping them get ready for bed at night," Greg said. "I also make sure they brush their teeth and make their beds right."

Here's the run down of last week's news:

  • Rain, rain, and more rain. But still, we swim! We hike! We laugh!
  • Campers have been making ceramic mugs and vases in Art class and finishing up bird houses, doll houses, and bird feeders in the Woodshop.
  • We changed our Outdoors Class around a bit. Rather than having this class peppered throughout the day with small groups of campers, we now enjoy Outdoor Class together. For the final period of classes, everyone in camp gathers and chooses from several outdoor options, giving them exposure to more fun activities over a longer span of time. Lately, we've been offering rock climbing, paintballing, water polo, hiking, and basic lifeguarding skills. After Outdoor Class, everyone piles inside for Study Hall to wind down our day before dinnertime.
  • Epic games of Capture the Flag still continue...
  • And our "Announcements" song has gotten a makeover. We still have 7 verses going (one for every week of camp), but we've changed them up a bit and moved things around to keep it interesting. Phew! Just singing the song is a workout in and of itself!
  • This weekend we camped at the McDowell Nature Preserve, went wild with whitewater rafting, and even experimented with ziplining and mega jumping. Who knew there we so many different ways to have a roarin' good time--and with good friends, too!
  • Sunday, everyone went on the infamous hike to the top of the property, which involves 2-3 hours of brave bushwhacking through nettles and brambles (it's fun, we swear!). Up top, we took a break, then took the easy way home down an old logging road. Great job, everyone! Time to hit the showers!
  • Sunday night concluded with an impromptu game of poker between the boys' cabins. In the end, the winning camper earned his prize by deciding that the boys in the losing cabin would make his bed every morning for an entire week!
  • Another bonus has been Chef Kevin and Nurse Kelly's sweet, lab puppy named Oliver ("Ollie" for short). Mimi's a giant compared to this lil' pup but we have a feeling that by next summer, these two will be unstoppable giants. It's been delightful to watch them "growing up" together at camp this summer and we'll try to post a photo soon.

What We're About

The Camp Spring Creek Blog subscriber base has nearly tripled since The Big Switch a few weeks ago and our stats are up over 200%! It’s time to take a moment to orient our newest readers to the purpose of this site. During summers, we update our blog three times each week. All other times of year, we update twice weekly. Although Camp Spring Creek has had an online presence for years, investment in this blog really kicked off this spring. Our teachers, counselors, campers, and tutors come to us from all over the world. By communicating through this blog and our Facebook page, we hope to keep all the members of our community in touch more frequently. If you subscribe to this blog via email (on right hand sidebar), you’ll never miss a post and you can unsubscribe at any time. If you follow us on Facebook, you’ll see all kinds of photos and quips from our camp and training lives on-the-go.

Our official website has all the details about enrolling for camp, professional development and training opportunities, employment with us, as well as links to our seasonal newsletter. This blog is where newsworthy updates are posted with a bit more depth. Take a moment to tour the different categories we’ve established (right hand side bar) and learn about our grant funding, our local programs, and our spectacular trained teachers. We also like to recommend books and appreciate any reading ideas you have to share.

Later this fall, we hope to network with the broader world of professionals in the education, camp, and training fields for children with dyslexia. We’re even keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll be able to publish brief interviews with professionals in the field, with the intention of creating a blog that not only informs and inspires, but adds to greater dyslexia dialogue. If there is something you would like to see us discuss, someone you’d like us to interview, or a question related to dyslexia that you’d like us to consider, please let us know. It is an exciting time of growth for us at Camp Spring Creek, and you are a big part of that!

Week 6 Reflections

We're a day late getting last week's "reflections" to you, but hopefully camp photographer Anina van der Vorst's slide show kept you going while we were busy having fun. Here's the skinny on last week's adventures:

  • Our Trail of Pages is epic! During Week 6 of camp we read a total of 3,307 pages and 52 books!
  • Cabin Inspection continues to be a healthy rivalry. Week 6 went to the Senior Boys cabin and they haven't decided yet what they want their "treat" to be, but they're considering paintball.
  • We said our tearful goodbyes to tutor Chris, C.I.T. Marco, and campers Ana, Olivia, and Tyler last week. Safe travels home and keep us close to your hearts. We miss you already!
  • Buddy Beads have been effusive lately! For those who don't know, each day after lunch we take a moment to offer "Buddy Beads" to someone special. If someone made your day, or impressed you, or went out of their way to do extra work, or even just made you smile and gave you a hug at the right time, you can celebrate that person (camper, staff, tutor, counselor - even Mimi!) by offering them a "Buddy Bead" after lunch. You raise your hand and tell everyone in camp about the special act that someone did, and they get a bead and a round of applause.
  • It's also book mania here...in particular, camper Miles and his tutor are totally hooked on Warrior's Apprentice, a novel. Camper Janusz can't keep his nose out of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Of course, both stopped long enough to partake in last weekend's adventures...
  • On Friday, we had an all-camp dance with a "Black & White" theme.
  • Saturday, we hiked to Wilson's Creek with high hopes of the great, natural swimming holes there. However, a last minute downpour saw the already high waters rise up and over the ledge we like to sit on (that's 4 feet higher than normal!), so we were rained out of the swimming hole. We made the best of it on the natural rock slides down into a lower, deep pool, however, and then hiked our wet selves back to the vans.
  • Sunday, we went to Tom's Creek and everyone washed their hair in the waterfall! We concluded our weekend with bowling at Lightning Lanes and our weekly ice cream sundaes, before ending with study hall.
  • Everyone continues to get different, private tutoring sessions with Orton-Gillingham methods--so it's difficult to explain who is doing what. Suffice it to say that everyone is still tapping for sounds and chunking for syllables, an exercise they'll take home with them and hopefully practice throughout the school year.
  • Last but not least: LETTERS! Some of the kids have started writing letters to the parents of their counselors and sending them all over the world. A few have even been at camp long enough to receive letters in reply. There's just barely enough time left to get real mail to us at camp, so send away! (If for some reason a camper misses your mail, we'll gladly forward it.)

Week 5 Reflections

Rain, rain, and more rain! Even if you don't live in this part of the United States, there's a good chance you've been hearing weather news broadcasts about the record-breaking precipitation we've experienced. Last week, we had one evening that wasn't pouring down...thankfully, our spirits aren't down at all. The "new" group of campers who arrived at the mid-point of summer have fit right into the routine and are cruising along without missing a beat. Here's a recap of some of last week's highlights:

  • The great thing about the rain is that we're getting really creative with ways to spend our time indoors. We've had Bingo night and board game night already! The skies did part once this week, and we snuck in a rousing outdoor game of Capture the Flag.
  • It's been a bit too wet to mow and weed whack, so Olson has been keeping busy moving things around with the tractor and doing trash runs to town.
  • The Harlem Shake found its way to...the Camp Spring Creek pool. There's rumor of a video, but with no Internet access at the camp and closed roads in town, getting to a wi-fi connection strong enough for video is a bit tricky this summer, so you'll have to use your imagination on this one...
  • Lilja is seeing great progress in the pool with daily swimming lessons. There has even been an early morning swim crew that meets from 6-6:30am for a little exercise. Way to go, campers!
  • Those who aren't swimming first thing in the morning have been going on runs along one of the wooded trails...and a few even race down the gravel road on the mountain (and back up) to get their hearts going as the sun rises. Wow!
  • We started telling a joke a day at breakfast and the campers have been cracking up at their own, cleverly created dyslexia jokes. Here's one from a few days ago: "Somebody just heard that ten out of two people have numerical dyslexia..."
  • On Friday, we headed to Parkway Playhouse for some live theatre and received four compliments on the campers' polite behavior.
  • We spent Saturday at Lake James, hosted by camper Emily's family (they are so gracious!). We played and splashed all day long, doing every kind of water sport you can imagine: paddle boarding, paddle boating, wake boarding, you name it! We had lunch and dinner together on the lake, and came home delightfully exhausted.
  • On Sunday, we faced another huge downpour, so we drove to town to catch up on laundry (no use using the clotheslines!). Some campers decided to stay at camp and bake cookies with Chef Kevin. The evening ended with movie night and a slide show by camp photographer, Nina van der Vorst.
  • Last but not least, Mimi the camp dog looked like a tie-dye t-shirt all week because, as we were painting the walls of the new dance area, she kept rubbing up against the wet paint.
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Returning Campers Speak

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We took a moment to talk to returning campers Ana and Emily. Here's what they had to say about Camp Spring Creek: What makes you want to come back to Camp Spring Creek and why?

Ana: I want to come back because it helps me learn and it is so much fun.

Emily: It's so much fun at camp and I learn so much.

What is something that you worried about before you came to camp, that you no longer have to worry about?

Ana: That I would not be good at school work and that I would not make friends.

Emily: I had a lot of stress related to school and camp helped me. I don’t have that as much now.

When you're back at home and you think about all your fun memories from camp, what comes to mind most often? Describe that memory:

Ana: My favorite memory is when we went to the waterfalls, played capture the flag, and other activities.

Emily: I love making new friends and having great experiences.

Week 4 Reflections

Week Four was full of fun and a healthy balance of looking our finest (the Formal Dinner) and getting completely muddy (going spelunking). Here's a list of highlights:

  • We're coming off of 10 consecutive days of rain! But all the roads are open now and though the creeks are still high, we were able to get out and about this weekend for our much-anticipated adventures.
  • Awards were handed out this week to campers who were leaving, and included recognition for: Best Typist, Mr. Odipherous Feet, Mr. Gentleman, Mrs. Huggable, Mrs. Slow-Mo-Jo, and Mrs. Best Big Sister.
  • The camp fave dessert this week was, hands down, CHEESECAKE!
  • After our formal dinner, which included candle-lit tables and sparkling apple cider, we changed back into our everyday clothes and hosted a Skit Night filled with laughter.
  • And speaking of sweets, with a new crew arriving for the second half of summer, the illustrious candy bar treat awaits the first camper who can name everyone (including counselors) at lunch without a mistake.
  • Pics of this would have been impossible, so we'll just tell you that our spelunking adventure included getting to go across an in-cave lake on inflatable tubes!
  • Our famous "Announcements" song, which we sing everyday at lunch, just keeps getting longer and longer. We've added a verse for every week of camp, so you can imagine...um...how long it's starting to take. Keep your fingers crossed for a forthcoming recording of our amazing vocal projections. :-)
  • This weekend was also changeover and the first time we tried "The Big Switch" on the same day. This involved many 4-week campers leaving at the same time that many more new campers arrived, for a grand total of 42 Camp Spring Creek kids all at one meal!
  • We welcomed 17 new 4-week campers including our youngest, at age 7. This includes a camper from Italy (English is his third language!), another from Tanzania, and 3 campers from our new partnership with Open Doors in Asheville. Of course, we have 2 campers here for all 8 weeks, and several others here for 6 weeks. It's a lively bunch!
  • We're also very excited to have a full Senior Boys Cabin going into the rest of the summer!

Week Three: Reflections

Lots going on as Camp Spring Creek living wraps up Week 3 and heads into Week 4. Here's the latest dispatch:

  • A big welcome to two new campers this week: Emily and Miles! Woo-hoo!
  • The "Harlem Shake" has hit Camp Spring Creek and there's no telling when the next spontaneous outburst of dancing may occur...on the way to class, in the middle of kickball, along the pool deck...who knows? We're loving it.
  • Fave camp games as of late are Capture the Flag, Scavenger Hunt, and a new hybrid game created by Marguerite that is a half "Amazing Race" and half "Survivor."
  • Fave foods last week included: pralines and cream ice cream, a blueberry marshmallow dessert invention, pork tenderloin, and mashed sweet potatoes.
  • Last weekend included a hike down into Linville Falls Gorge and back up, a day trip to Lake James, and a special outing to see the new Disney movie called Monsters University!
  • Study Hall: For those who don't know, campers get Friday and Saturday "off" from Study Hall, but the class starts again Sunday evenings after Build Your Own Ice Cream Sundae (the ice cream helps, we swear). During this hour, students work independently on skills they have practiced with their tutors all week, with the idea that this will encourage them to practice OG lessons when they get home after camp. Each Study Hall has 2 tutors who sponsor the campers, but for the most part, campers are on their own to learn, practice, and re-enforce last week's skills.
  • In van der Vorst news, Nina the camp photographer has been offering 15-minute slide shows every Sunday evening to display her work and Marguerite came on board as a full-time counselor this week (allowing Grace to transition into full-time tutoring). Steve has also been dropping hints all week about a "big plan" for the boys' cabins next year, but so far he hasn't shared his carpenter's secrets with anyone yet. And Susie just learned she will be a featured presenter at the 2013 International Dyslexia Association Conference held in New Orleans, November 6-9. For parents, educators, and tutors alike this is a great opportunity to learn more and offer your kids the best...and meet up with Susie while you're at it!