Spartan Writing Camp Offerings
Check out our 2023 summer writing camp offerings below! Register before April 1 and get $20 off! Enter promo code SAVE20.
To register for this summer’s camp session, you will purchase a “ticket” for a week of camp.
June 19-22 2023, 9:00-3:30 PM at Michigan State University
Creative Writing Starting with Pictures
Instructor: Mrs. Mary Wilkinson and Savannah Harris
Grade Level:Students entering 3rd–5th grade
Dates & Time: June 19-22, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 20
Do pictures tell a story? Participation in this session will send you on excursions to various locations across the MSU campus to capture pictures and gather story ideas then use them to create a unique photojournal. This session of writing camp emphasizes visual images, descriptive writing, and creative thinking. You will be taught by a National Writing Project Teacher Consultant: Mrs. Mary Wilkinson. This session is full day, so please bring snacks, water, and a lunch each day of camp. This session is for grades 3-5
Writing with Comics and Zines
Instructors: Dianna Baldwin and Rebecca Hallman
Grade level:Students entering 3rd–5th grade
Dates & Times: June 19-22, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 20
This camp will focus on writing memoir via the medium of comics or zines. Camp participants will be able to focus on one particular life event, or a combination of events that might have a running theme such as “summer adventures,” “scariest times in my life,” or whatever the camper comes up with. Grades 3-5
Wizarding World of Writing
Teacher consultants: Elana Waugh and Dawn Reed
Grade level: Students entering 3rd–5th grade
Cost: $250
Date & Time: June 19-22, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Cost: TBA
Enrollment cutoff: 20
Calling all young witches and wizards! Embrace your creativity and join us for a Wizarding World of Writing! Do you dream about attending a school for magic or having your own magical adventure? If so, then this camp is for you. Writers in this camp will grow their imagination through different types of activities including creating spellbooks, making wands, exploring the Michigan State University campus, and so much more! Join us and grow the witch or wizard within.
Genres on the Loose!
Teacher consultants: Annette Kelly and Bridget Tweedle
Grade level: Students entering 3rd–5th grade
Camp dates: $250
Dates & Time: June 19-22, 9:00-3:30
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 20
Have you ever wanted to explore new ideas for writing, but weren’t sure where to start? This is the camp for you! The emphasis is on exploring new ideas, taking risks in writing, and having fun writing in new genres. We will go on several field trips, create crafts, and read books to inspire our writing. Children will transform unforgettable experiences into unforgettable pieces of writing and art. Children will explore several genres by appealing to all five of the reader’s senses.
Photography and Nature Writing
Instructors:Grace and Chris Pregent-Halford
Grade level: Students entering 6th–8th grade
Dates & Times: June 19-22, 9:00-3:30
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 20
Are you someone who enjoys nature, photography, and writing? This camp session is for you! During your time at Spartan Writing Camp, you will learn how to take better photos and how to edit photos to make them pop. While you’ll primarily use provided iPads for photo taking and editing, you will also learn about the benefits of other cameras from instant to professional cameras with interchangeable lenses and even high tech drones. You will compose written pieces inspired by your photos and ultimately bring the visual and the textual together in a professional digital portfolio. Comfortable shoes, an open mind, and a keen eye are all that’s required. Come join us! This camp is for students in grades 6-8.
June 26-29 2023, 9:00-3:30 PM at Michigan State University
Photo by Thomas Charters on Unsplash
Telling Stories That Matter: A Journalism Camp
Instructor: Danielle Alexander
Grade level: Students entering 6th–8th grade
Dates & Times: June 26-29, 9:00-3:30 PM
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 10
In Telling Stories That Matter: A Journalism Camp, middle school students will learn to gather information effectively, ask the right questions during an interview, and organize their ideas into a story that matters. Throughout the week, campers will have the opportunity to research and interview well-known Spartans on campus and experience the editorial process firsthand.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Creative Writing
Teacher consultants: Bridget Tweedle
Grade level: Students entering 6th–8th grade
Dates & Times: June 26-29, 9:00-3:30
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 10
Are you searching to explore your creativity? Look no further… Creative Writing is so much more than the traditional writing that you see in school. Creative Writing can help a child explore and expand upon any idea that they have! Creativity unlocks so many different areas of the brain that can be used for other purposes beyond writing! We will spend the week learning about what creative writing is, what chain stories are, and how you can take one idea and create a masterpiece with your peers! Children will be taken through a transformative experience to create moments, art, and writing that is unforgettable. This adventurous camp will take you through a whirlwind of team-building activities, crafts, field trips around MSU’s campus, and so much more… Link It Together! Is a camp for 6-8th grade students who love to write and want to learn how to make their creative trademark!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Twisted Tales and Other Writing Fun
Instructors: Mrs. Mary Wilkinson
Grade level: Students entering 3rd–5th grade
Dates & Times: June 26-29, 9:00-3:30
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 10
This camp for students in grades 3-5 will emphasize writing stories from different perspectives. Most people write in first person, but have you ever tried another perspective or view? In a ‘Twisted Tale’ maybe the Big Bad Wolf isn’t so bad- just misunderstood, maybe Goldilocks accidentally arrived at the wrong address, maybe there is a better ending to your favorite story, it’s all up to you and the perspective or view you want to write. In ‘Other Writing Fun’ as a camper in this session you will take daily field trips on the MSU Campus, write sidewalk poetry, become an ice cream detective, find history mysteries, hug a tree, take a scavenger hunt and more. Come have fun seeing the world in a different way and write about what you discover. This is a full day, so campers should wear comfortable walking shoes, bring snacks, water, and lunch each day of camp.
Photo by Marjan Blan | @marjanblan on Unsplash
Hero Stories
Instructors: Rebecca Hallman & Grace Pregent
Grade level: Students entering 3rd–5th grade
Dates & Times: June 26-29, 9:00-3:30
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 20
Do you dream of far off places and magic spells? Do you feel the ocean call to you? Ready to show off your gifts? Then this camp is perfect for you! Through this camp, we will explore and complicate the idea of who is a hero through Disney movies. By exploring these movies, we will create our own hero’s story and become our own hero. This camp is for students in grades 3-5.
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Traveling through Time with Our Writing
Instructors: Maureen Chagnon
Grade level: Students entering 3rd–5th grade
Dates & Times: June 26-29, 9:00-3:30
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 10
Spend the week exploring what it might have been like to exist in the past, explore and observe the world around us in the present time, as well as what it might be like to be in the future. We will go on field trips to the historical museum, botanical gardens, and the planetarium to gather ideas and inspiration for writing in the past, present, and future. This camp is for students in grades 3-5.
Photo by Becky Phan on Unsplash
Postcards From My Imagination
Instructors: Elana Waugh and Tracy Grennell
Grade level: Students entering 1st and 2nd grade
Dates & Times: June 26-29, 9:00-12:00 (Half Day)
Cost: $150
Enrollment cutoff: 16
Does your child enjoy dramatic play? If so, this camp is for them! In this session, campers will learn about the post office, create their own mailbox, and use their imagination to explore print as they receive and send postcards and letters to stuffed animals, family, and friends. This camp is for students in grades 1-2.
Photo by J. Balla Photography on Unsplash
The Art of Writing
Instructors: Elana Waugh and Tracy Grennell
Grade level: Students entering 3rd and 4th grade
Dates & Times: June 26-29, 12:30-3:30 (Half Day)
Cost: $150
Enrollment cutoff: 20
Does your child have an imagination? Do they love creating art? In this camp, writers will explore different art genres using an array of mediums to create masterpieces that inspire stories.
Imagination: A Form of Self Discovery
Instructors: Savannah Harris
Grade level: Students entering 6th- 8th grade
Dates & Times: June 26-29, 9:00-3:30
Cost: $250
Enrollment cutoff: 10
Have you ever wanted to write about your life, but didn’t know where to start? This is a great camp for you! During your time at Spartan Writing Camp, we will focus on the memoir genre and incorporate imagination and self-love with writing your own individual story. You will learn about affirmations and different self-care techniques and interact with various memoir models. Bring shoes to walk in, an open heart, and your zen! Please join us, 6th-8th graders!