Writing Camp For Elementary Students – This fall we will host workshops on Saturday mornings starting at 9:00 am. We’ll have classes focusing on science fiction/fantasy, graphic design, and more!
We’ll be back with two new camps the week of July 15th, a STORY CAMP of all genres and, for the first time ever, a VIDEO STORY CAMP!
Writing Camp For Elementary Students
OUR STORY CAMP is our classic camp for young writers who want to create and publish a short story, as well as a featured genre. Because of course requirements, our schools often have little time for fantasy, science fiction, or historical fiction. It is not the fault of our good teachers or our good schools; that is the only requirement in our standards. This is a space for writers who love to Create! Over the course of a week, writers will develop a story idea, plan, edit, revise, and publish it in a camp writing anthology. Writers will be given multiple lessons each day to help give feedback and build confidence in their writing skills. This class will be held July 15-19 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Mayflower Church. Register here!
Badgerdog Creative Writing Programs
We are very excited to present our first VIDEO STORY! Much like our writing and book design, we will focus on short story telling. It’s not camp on TikTok, Instagram Reels, Twitch, or how to become a YouTube channel. This is all about how to make short story videos. We will go through the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production, emphasizing storytelling with a beginning, middle, and end. We will learn about composition, editing and general thinking. This class will be held July 15-19 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Mayflower Church. Register here!
All camps are for students in grades 3-6, but we will always welcome a student who is interested in writing!
Both camps are hosted by primary school teacher, Tim Saunders. Tim is a 5th grade teacher and former public school coach in West Michigan with 20 years of experience as a teacher and educator. In addition, Tim is a visiting professor at the University of Michigan-Flint and Grand Valley State University, past president of the Kent Literacy Council, a member of the National Writing Project, and a faculty advisor to the Lake Michigan writing, four-time Summer Institute participant in writing from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and published author and journalist. Prior to earning his teaching degree, Tim completed a degree in Film and Video at Grand Valley State University. Tim also worked for many local films and national distributors as well as hosting video clubs during his teaching career.
The week of June 3-7 we will have a SCIENCE FA AND FANTASY STORIES morning camp! The camp will meet from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Mayflower Church. During the week we will write short stories in different genres, learn about our favorite short stories and unlock the power of revision to make our writing as strong as possible. You can register here. 250 dollars
10 Classic Summer Camp Craft Projects
We will also be offering an afternoon boot camp from 1-4pm on GRAPHIC NOVELS! We will dive deep into creating letters, learn the basics of drawing, and making thumbprints and letters. Either way we will focus on developing stories that have a strong character. You can register here. 250 dollars
Both camps are hosted by primary school teacher, Tim Saunders. Tim is a 5th grade teacher and former public school coach in West Michigan with 20 years of experience as a teacher and educator. In addition, Tim is a visiting professor at the University of Michigan-Flint and Grand Valley State University, past president of the Kent Literacy Council, a member of the National Writing Project, and a faculty advisor to the Lake Michigan writing, four-time Summer Institute participant in writing from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and published author and journalist.
During the school year, our students write personal stories, opinion pieces, and research papers, but rarely write fantasy, science fiction, suspense, fairy tales, or history. Our camp this week will go the extra mile to create imaginative worlds, interesting characters, and compelling stories!
Throughout the week we’ll learn strategies for generating ideas, creating compelling characters, learning from our favorite short stories, and unlocking the power of self-reflection to make our writing as strong as possible. Campers need to complete one story to be included in the written anthology, a compilation of weekly writing!
Fun Creative Writing Camp For Kids Age 8-12 Years Old Offline
Tim Saunders is an elementary school teacher in East Grand Rapids. Currently working as a 5th grade teacher, Tim has 18 years of experience teaching elementary school writers in Michigan and Colorado. In addition, he is an adjunct professor and online graduate student at the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University, past president of the Kent Literacy Council, a member of the National Writing Project, and a four-time college attendee. summer teacher training. , is a published author. In all of these things, Tim loves teaching young writers.
The week of June 5-9, we will be offering a breakfast camp from 9am to 6pm STORY! During the week we will write short stories in different genres, learn about our favorite short stories and unlock the power of revision to make our writing as strong as possible. You can register here. 250 dollars
This coming Saturday, May 20th, we’ll be back at Mayflower Church from 9:00am to 6:00pm for a writing workshop focused on Learning for Writers!
How can we write more like our favorite writers? How do we write from the heart? How can we add humor? How can we construct a dangerous sentence? This workshop will explore these questions and more. We will learn how to add some creativity to our writing, but mostly we will spend time learning how
Reading, Writing And Bike Riding: How Schools Spent Summer Helping Students Recover From Pandemic
This summer, Grand Rapids Writing Camps are back with new summer offerings, and a new location.
On Saturday, May 13th, we will be offering a morning workshop from 9am to 6pm at FANTION! This three-hour workshop will help your students plan, organize and revise stories inspired by stories that inspire them. We’ll dive deep into making source material like Harry Potter and Star Wars strong, develop real characters based on the worlds they love, plan and design character-driven stories, and write, write, write! Our day will end with some of our progress and goals. You can register here. 75 dollars
Next Saturday, May 20th, we will be offering another morning workshop from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM on LEARNING ARTISTS! This workshop is for ALL GENRES AND ALL STYLES of writing. Writers can bring any book or text they like, and we’ll spend the morning studying the works of our favorite writers and authors. You can register here. 75 dollars
Finally, we are very proud to present First CAMPS! The week of June 5-9, we will be offering a breakfast camp from 9am to 6pm STORY! During the week we will write short stories in different genres, learn about our favorite short stories and unlock the power of revision to make our writing as strong as possible. You can register here. 250 dollars
Grand Rapids Writing Camps
We will also be offering an afternoon boot camp from 1-4pm on GRAPHIC NOVELS! We will dive deep into creating letters, learn the basics of drawing, and making thumbprints and letters. Along the way we will focus on developing stories with a strong character. You can register here. 250 dollars
Comic book movies dominate the box office, but did you know that comic books and graphic novels also dominate the New York Times bestseller list? Smile, Dog Man, Amulet, and Bone are some of the most popular graphic novels rooted in children’s literature.
Comics, graphics, and visual arts are all ways to describe how we tell stories with images and text. This three-hour writing workshop will give children the basic skills to write and draw their own stories, regardless of their drawing ability. First of all, we will focus on how to tell a powerful story using images and words.
On May 14th, join us for Comics I. This program will show how even drawing simple lines like Raina Telgemeier’s smile, her sister, and courage can lead to powerful and funny stories.
Summer At 826
Comedy Making I & II on May 21st will introduce new students to the techniques and strategies of the first lesson, while giving students an advanced way to develop strong stories.
Does your student like to write? Do they spend hours dreaming up a disaster for their own Jedi? Or maybe they created their skills at Hogwarts? Minecraft Survival Story? What other way to end their favorite dystopia book?
, will assist your students in planning, organizing and revising stories inspired by moving stories.
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