Creative Writing Camp

	The Creative Writing Camp offers a supportive environment where children engage in writing stories, poetry, essays, and plays, as well as simply reading for pleasure. Through these activities even the most hesitant child discovers the joy in writing, the intrigue of language, and the confidence of authorship. Each class has a low teacher-student ratios ensure individual attention and is staffed by both a professional writer and an expert teacher, selected from schools throughout the area. Workshops end with culminating events: all publish anthologies; most do performances or readings also. Creative Writing Camp is a collaboration between Writers in the Schools and Rice University's School Literacy and Culture Project.
Dates:June 11-29, 2012              Afternoon programs are available at the Shlenker and Travis campuses.  For more information and to register, click here.

Note: Class assignments are based on the grade that the student will be entering in the fall.
For updates please join our email list by emailing Sharon.Dworaczyk@rice.edu.

 

Wait List Policy
If all spaces are filled, your application will be put on a waiting list. We will hold on to your application during this time. In the event there is a cancellation and space becomes available, you will be notified to see if you are still interested in the program. Monies will not be transferred until contact is made from WITS.

Eligibility
Creative Writing Camp is open to all students who will enroll in grades K-12 in Fall 2011. Pre-Kindergarten students are able to enroll at the Montrose/Museum District Campus. Please call 713-348-5333 for further details on Pre-K eligibility.

Tuition
Tuition is $470 per student and must be paid in full when registering. Tuition for each additional sibling is $420.

Refund Policy
Refunds will be given for the full tuition minus a $75 cancellation fee per child through May 26. Refunds of 50% tuition minus a $75 cancellation fee per child will be given from May 27 through June 10. No refunds will be given after June 10. There is no prorating of tuition for students who cannot attend the full schedule of classes.

Field Trips
Students take writing tours of The Menil Collection or another local art space or cultural site. The youngest students have an artist visit their classroom. The written and visual arts nourish one another, and some of the finest writing comes from these tours.

The Curriculum
Students are placed into classrooms based on the grade they will be entering in the fall. Although we try our best to keep classrooms confined to one grade level, the Creative Writing Camp reserves the right to place students in a multi-age or multi-grade classroom based on enrollment.

The Youngest Writers, Grades K, 1, and 2 A well-rounded program of reading, dictation, journaling, and independent writing helps young children discover what it means to be a real writer. Drama and art also extend their understanding of the written word. Basic skills (such as letter formation and spelling) are addressed in context. As children explore the role of the author, they create short stories and poems for the class anthology.

The Intermediate Writers, Grades 3, 4, and 5 Workshops for the intermediate writers expose students to quality writing and assist them in writing stories, essays, poems, and plays. Daily writing exercises teach techniques such as metaphor and simile, extend student's writing vocabulary, and encourage creative expression. Students are also encouraged to write, edit, and revise self-selected pieces. Favorite pieces are "published" through in-class readings, performances, and a class anthology. The Middle/High School Writers, Grades 6 through 12 Students will have the opportunity to explore different literary genres (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) in a supportive writing environment. Students will participate in readings and one-on-one conferences and publish anthologies.

A Collaboration
Creative Writing Camp is a collaboration between Writers in the Schools and Rice University's School Literacy and Culture Project.

Writers in the Schools (WITS) engages children in the pleasure and power of reading and writing. WITS writers work in year-long residencies at 120 sites each year fostering the development of creative and analytical thinking. Although the focus of our work is with at-risk inner-city students, we also interact with children in art museums, hospitals, community centers, private schools, and juvenile detention centers. WITS is involved in national initiatives, such as mentoring other writers-in-schools programs, serving as a model for multi-disciplinary arts educators, and designing curricula for use in schools. Our writers also lead in-services and writing workshops for teachers.

The School Literacy and Culture Project(SLC) in the Rice University Center for Education is dedicated to helping children realize their potential as readers and writers through the professional development of classroom teachers. SLC promotes effective teaching through rigorous professional educational initiatives that emphasize reading and writing, culture, child development and research. SLC offers teachers in-services, week-long institutes, semester courses and year-long mentoring. School Literacy and Culture Project staff members have worked with teachers in public and private schools and other educational settings including Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, New York City.

For more information, contact the School Literacy and Culture Project at 713-348-5333, or email Sharon Dworaczyk.
If you prefer to register by fax instead of online, click here to download a registration form.

Our program named "Best of Houston" on AOL In 2011, AOL named the six best summer camps in Houston, and we made the list! Their write up: "Once upon a time there was a summer camp that inspired a passionate love affair with writing. And every camper lived happily ever after. For ages 4-18."