Camp Hawthorne

Camp Hawthorne
Posted on 02/22/2022

Camp Hawthorne Family Literacy Night is a Huge Success
By: Katie Lehnen
#BulldogNationAheadofthePack

This past week was a perfect time to celebrate reading, excite our readers, and hopefully develop a love of reading in our students.  There was excitement in the air, with the book fair and then culminating with Hawthorne's yearly Title I literacy night. As a Hawthorne parent I always looked forward to Hawthorne’s literacy night.  As a teacher, I loved to see all the families coming together to participate in and enjoy the time with their students.  As an administrator, I notice all the hard work that goes into planning, organizing, and creating a memorable experience for our families. Each year Hawthorne’s title teachers, Mindy Hudson and Kelly Whalen, work to provide an experience that is fun, engaging, and a hub of excitement.  This year's theme did not disappoint.

Hawthorne students and families, or maybe I should say campers, enjoyed a fun filled night at Camp Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s school gym was transformed into a fun filled campground including all the camping amenities, that included a campfire, tents, forest and picnic tables. During the night students received free books and a camping dinner of hot dogs and chips.

During the night, students and family were able to participate in many camp themed literacy activities that included campfire singing, making pretzel fishing rods, making wooden necklaces, making smores, building trees and then labeling them, and using puppets to tell the story We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. In addition to these fun camping activities students received various reading resources that they could then continue the learning at home. 

Literacy night is just one way we try to encourage and support a love of reading. The teachers at Hawthorne work with students individually and in small groups to help them gain new skills, reinforce comprehension of what was read, and build confidence.  We also work with parents by sending home resources that include strategies and activities to practice comprehension, phonics, sight words, vocabulary, and fluency.

Camp Hawthorne would not have been possible without the donations and support from many of our community businesses and organizations. George, our very own custodian, and the Boy Scouts from Troop 57 talked about scouting and showed an example of an eagle scout project.  I would also like to say a special thank you to Orscheln Farm and Home, Wal-Mart, United Credit Union, and Sonic for donating items and their time.