Wow. It was another amazing summer! Steve, Susie, Marguerite, Nina, Olson, Mimi, and all the counselors, tutors, and staff thank YOU for entrusting us with your children and helping us thrive as a camp, grow as a business, expand as a family, and love like there's no tomorrow!
We're taking the rest of August off from the blog to catch our breath. We'll be back this fall with twice weekly posts, including everything from artist interviews to book recs to training videos and more. Stay tuned!
(Sorry these are posted late and out of order...our beloved camp photographer Nina was packing for college!
Today we'd like to recommend two books that Susie finds helpful and often shares with others during her training prog
rams. First, Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions & Extended Examples by Isabel L. Beck PhD, Margaret G. McKeown Phd, and Linda Kucan. Second, Bringing Words to Life, Second Edition: Robust Vocabulary Instruction by the same authors. Lead author Isabel Beck's bio reads impressively:
"Isabel Beck, Ph.D., is a Professor of Education and Senior Scientist at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teaches reading education courses and conducts reading research. She has engaged in extensive research on decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension, and has published her work in over 100 articles and chapters as well as in several books. She is a recipient of the Oscar S. Causey Award for Outstanding research from the National Reading Conference and the International Reading Association’s William S. Gray Award for lifetime contributions to the field. She is also a recipient of the contributing researcher award from the American Federation of Teachers for "bridging the gap between research and practice.”
Beck is also the author of Text Talk, a multi-approach text-to-talk learning program for three different levels, sponsored by Scholastic. Enjoy these resources!
Use this Orton-Gillingham approach activity for a multi-sensory learning experience that improves sequencing:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoxBVK2jkSE]
Today's blog is a guest post from first-time counselor at Camp Spring Creek, Conor. Thanks, Conor, for all your hard work and heartfelt reflections. We're so glad you're here!
So it’s been four weeks since camp officially started and this year’s crop of campers descended on Camp Spring Creek. I’ve now been in North Carolina a little over a month, and can honestly say it has been the quickest five weeks I have ever experienced. At the same time--and I’m aware of how contradictory this sounds--when I think back over everything that has happened since I touched down in Charlotte, it feels like I must have been here for months. Maybe even years. Since I arrived, I have acquired an American Red Cross qualification in lifeguarding and CPR (thanks to our very patient and understanding instructor), attended a genuine sidewalk street dance in Bakersville, experienced 4th of July as the Americans celebrate it and, as well as countless others, met the most amazing group of people (campers, counselors and tutors) I’ve ever encountered.
That’s what really sets this camp above its larger counterparts. Hidden up in the mountains, with no television, Internet or cell phone connection, camp becomes its own little secluded community. As I write this, we consist of approximately fifty-two people; thirty campers, eight counselors, seven tutors, assorted members of staff, and the van der Vorst family.
Before we continue, I would like to apologize for the frequent references to the passing of time in this post--how many weeks camp has been up and running, how long it has been since I arrived, the length of time until camp wraps up, etc. The reason I mention it so often is because I truly cannot believe both how fast time is passing and how much is being achieved in that time. It’s almost as if, in our little dyslexia-orientated enclave in the Blue Ridge Mountains, time is passing differently than in the rest of the world. Having such a small, intimate camp means that during the course of the last four weeks (I did warn you) I’ve really gotten to know all of the campers personally, as well as forging extremely tight bonds with my fellow counselors and colleagues. Though it can be difficult at times, I couldn’t have asked for a better or more diverse group of kids for which to be responsible.
All the children have very different personalities and skill-sets and it’s enthralling to watch as these traits slowly become apparent as camp goes on and the campers grow in confidence. As cliché as it sounds, I have probably learned more from this bunch of 6 to 15 year olds than they have from me. It can be extremely humbling to become engrossed in a debate about education, history, or even philosophy, only to realize part-way through that you are having this very mature discussion with a twelve-year-old (and even more humbling when said twelve-year-old reveals they are at least as knowledgeable, or even more knowledgeable, about the subject than you are!).
Despite only meeting them three weeks ago, the thought that many of these kids will be leaving this [last] week is a source of genuine distress to my fellow counselors and I, which is a testament to both the campers and Camp Spring Creek as a whole. Though we’re not even halfway through our stay at camp, several of the counsellors (including myself) have already decided that we would like to return again next year, provided Susie and Steve will take us back, of course!
Before I arrived in North Carolina I was, quite frankly, at a loss as to what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and where I wanted to go. Already, I can say that choosing to become a counselor at Camp Spring Creek is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I’ve learned an awful lot about myself that I never would have known if I’d stayed at home and it has given me some real direction as to what I want to do after the summer. I remember reading a previous entry on this blog prior to my arrival at camp that described a summer at Camp Spring Creek as "the hardest fun I’ve ever had," pretty much summing up my last few weeks in six words.
And I wouldn’t change a thing.
We received feedback from our trainees, tutors, and fellow parents that they wanted the "Resources" topic of this blog to be separate from the tutoring videos. We're happy to report that, after a bit of sorting and clicking, a new topic has been created on our blog. Look on the right sidebar of this page for the box titled TOPICS. At the bottom of the list, you should see "Tutoring Videos." This link will direct you to every tutoring video we have ever made. If you don't want to miss out on any videos (and don't want to have to wait to see them published on the blog), you might prefer to subscribe to our camp's YouTube channel by clicking on the link on the bottom right side of this page. Meantime, enjoy this "blast from the past" that we filmed last summer out at camp--it's so great when you can catch a camper and tutor in a teachable moment. Check this out:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_z2um_YXuA&w=640&h=360]
While nothing is as good as a fully certified and trained Orton-Gillingham Associate level tutor, these video lessons from Susie and her work through our Camp Spring Creek Outreach Office are yours for the taking. They'll work in classrooms for large or small groups. They'll work one-on-one. They'll work for homeschool. And some will even work as "games" played with your child when they don't even know the learning is taking place. Please enjoy this resources and if you have tutoring video topics you'd like to see us publish, leave your comment here and we will see what we can film this fall.
Enjoy!
The following is excerpted from this article in The Guardian. We love success stories! Sharon Hewitt, 50, left school with the words of a teacher “that if I worked really hard I might be able to get a job as a shop assistant” ringing in her ears. She was lucky, she says, to get a receptionist job in an estate agency and soon became a top-performing estate agent. Despite starting with little confidence, she realized that her ability to talk and listen, empathize with clients’ aims and discover what they really wanted from their house move gave her an edge. “It was the time when there were secretaries,” she says. “I could dictate all my letters, and delegate the things that were difficult.” So how has her dyslexia affected the way she runs the business? “I get people to speak to people, not focus on email,” she says. “Because I’m so concerned that my grammar and writing are poor l write really curt emails, so instead I always pick up the phone.”
For a company whose purpose is to grasp the holistic needs of its clients and their families, this focus on listening and understanding has been integral to its success. Hewitt was headhunted by Nationwide at a senior level, and by the end of her twenties was being employed specifically for her strategic and communication skills. On her return from maternity leave, she decided to go it alone. Her award-winning company, Chiltern Relocation, offers a bespoke employee relocation and home-finding service.
This spring, Susie and camp press manager Katey headed up the trails into the Black Mountains to scout for water and campsites appropriate for this year's first-ever Camp Spring Creek backpacking trip! Katey is an experienced hiker who grew up in Oregon and has led trips for schools in the past. She was also an AmeriCorp volunteer working in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to build, maintain, and service backcountry trails in Adirondack State Park (a park six times the size of Yellowstone!). She's excited to give the campers a positive, challenging experience, similar to the trips she was sent on as a child all over the West.
After some investigating and timing, Susie and Katey decided the campers will hike about halfway up Colbert Creek Trail the first afternoon of our hike and camp out here:
Not shown, of course, is all the gear and water we'll be huffing up there, not to mention the distant cooking site, latrine site ( = dig your own hole in the ground), and bear-bagging tree ( = really tall tree, really far away, with the perfect outstretched branch to throw a rope over).
The next day, we'll day hike up to Deep Gap and the Black Mountain Crest Trail for awesome views looking west over the South Toe River Valley and east toward the Cane River Valley. After a break, we'll hike further to summit Winter Star Mountain at 6,203 feet. Later, back at Deep Gap, we'll likely adventure around for a good water source, then hike down to "base camp" for the night. In the morning, we'll hike back down Colbert Creek Trail to the vans, hive-fiving all the way!
Fresh from camp, these clips were shot this afternoon when Katey met with the senior campers for their first introduction to backcountry basics. They rotated through stations to practice cooking a meal, packing and fitting a pack, pumping and purifying water, and digging cat holes for a backcountry latrine. They'll spend an additional hour each day this week practicing these skills, as well as time sorting and packing food and gear as they get ready to hit the trails this Friday! At the end of our afternoon, each camper shared "Hopes & Hesitations" by writing down one thing they hope for on the trip and one thing they feel hesitant about. We shared the hopes and hesitations anonymously and debriefed, getting pumped up for the trip.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbEUVxC0aV0&w=560&h=315]
The campers arrived this weekend! We're thrilled to welcome them and wish everyone safe travels back across the globe as you make your way from Bakersville, North Carolina to home. Here's a little breakdown of info about some of this year's campers: 
Thanks to our camp photographer, Nina van der Vorst, for these opening day snapshots. We're having a blast so far!
Last month, Susie led 5 women through the Orton-Gillingham Associate Level Training program out at Camp Spring Creek. After many hours of work, many tests, many flashcards, and even more observations to come, these women finished strong. We want to acknowledge their efforts in the course, as well as the support from their families who were without them for 10 days. Traveling from Pennsylvania, Alabama, and South Carolina, they gave up a lot to be here...and chose to work hard for the betterment of children with dyslexia. THREE CHEERS!
For those of you who use our YouTube channel and this blog as an educational resource, we've sorted the categories on our site (on the right sidebar) to make it easier for you to find the videos you're looking for. Camp videos and educational/training videos are separated into their own tags under Resources--please explore, and enjoy!