by Faith Evans, M.Ed.

Imagine your campers gathered in a circle for the beginning of their first day

at camp. You give a warm welcome; make some introductions; sing a few

lively, favorite songs; and before activities begin, you pull a poem from your

pocket to share with everyone. When the day is done, your pocket yields

another poem in celebration of a child’s birthday or a storm that whipped the

trees or a special new friend or the frogs that punctuated the day with their

croaking.

Why Poetry at Camp?

Campers receive a message in a moment, a flash of understanding, a

validation of their experience, or a new perception when a planned or

spontaneous poem is woven into their everyday experience. Poems provide a

brief but memorable bookend for the camp day. At school, children are

accustomed to ringing bells that mark the day’s beginning and ending . . .

why not the more engaging sounds of a poem, chosen and read (or even

written) by a counselor or a camper? Share poems about camp things 

bugs, night, dreams, quarrels, trees, crying, or questions. Daily or weekly

good-byes at camp may be commemorated with more poems.

Poetry at Camp Goes Beyond the Classroom Camp has long offered

activities and experiences introduced in school, but camp gives more indepth

opportunities for campers to connect with their real lives . . . poetry at

camp is a chance to “slip in the back door” with new expressions, ideas,

outlooks, links to experience, and the magic of a well-turned phrase.

Schools struggle to teach the written language, wrestling with the impact of

text messaging, which filters words to the simplest message. Even the

traditional “love note or letter” that offers a teen a chance to express his

feelings, may be text messaged. Poems provide campers with another’s view

of their common experience, spoken in words different from their own.

Poems naturally expand campers’ options for vocabulary and their expression

of daily syntax.

 

Timing Is Everything

A well-timed poem shared by a camp leader can

send a message to campers that sets a tone. Talk of friends, love, caring,

sharing, nature’s beauty, and other less tangible subjects may be more easily

communicated in a poem rather than the speaker’s less-practiced words. A

well-placed poem may support the camp leader’s request, or reprimand, or

open or close a difficult conversation. Poems of appreciation may be given as

a simple and heart-felt “thank you.” Poetry at camp takes minutes to

prepare, minutes to share, and costs nothing. . . a simple, valuable, and

perhaps, unique addition to your program.

 

Daily Camp Experiences With Poetry

Staff can begin to collect poems from the children’s section in any library. It is crammed with books of poems,

humorous and serious, about food, family, animals, nature, morals, and

more in so many subjects you will be taxed to choose just a few. Copy

them, and stuff them in your pocket. After a few readings, campers begin to

ask for more!

Give copies to campers and encourage them to read them aloud. Make extra

copies available to start camper collections. Plaster poems on bathroom

doors and bulletin boards, add them to newsletters, and use them as a basis

for camp skits and plays. A budding musician might provide background

music for a fellow camper as she recites her poem. Place books of poems in

the nurse’s station, places where campers wait, and in staff rooms give

them time to read and start their own collections. When you find creative

times and places to present poems, you may be surprised at your own

keenness for finding and sharing them.

 

Find a Poem for Every Camp Situation . . . .

From the public domain, here are a few poems to pull out of your pocket

during those teachable moments at camp:

Poetry at Play Camp playgrounds teem with rhymes and rhythms, often

passed from one generation to another. One example is Miss Polly Had a

Dolly. Young campers often jump rope longer and better while shouting

breathlessly . . . .

Miss Polly Had a Dolly Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick. So she

phoned for the doctor to be quick, quick, quick. The doctor came with his

bag and his hat, And he knocked on the door with a rat-a-tat-tat. He looked

at the dolly and he shook his head. And he said, “Miss Molly, put her straight

to bed.” He wrote on the paper for a pill, pill, pill, “I’ll be back in the

morning with my bill, bill, bill.” – Anonymous

Settling Arguments

Who goes first? Who get’s the chocolate one? Who’s IT? Camper arguments and decisions may be settled by toning nonsense

rhymes while pointing to one child per word. “Out goes you!” decides the winner or the loser.

 

Ecka, decka, donie, creak, Ecka, decka, do. Ease, cheese, butter, bread Out

goes you! – Anonymous

 

Dispelling Fears

A simple poem about the universal experience of stargazing will ring familiar to most, young and old. At camp, campers from

the urban areas may be able to see stars, previously hidden by ambient light

or pollution. Stimulate their imaginations by inviting them to lie on their

backs and title the star groups using their own creative names. Any fear of

darkness may dissipate when campers become immersed, together, in the

beauty of a starry night.

 

“Starlight Starlight, star bright, First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I

might, Have the wish I wish tonight.” – Anonymous

Teach Environmental Awareness

Written more than a century ago, Christine Rossetti’s poem gives voice to today’s Leave No Trace ethic:

 

“Hurt No Living Thing Hurt no living thing; Ladybird, nor butterfly, Nor moth

with dusty wing, Nor cricket chirping cheerily, Nor grasshopper so light of

leap, Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat, Nor harmless worms that creep.”

- Christine Rossetti

 

Active Poetry Poems can stand alone, inspire a good discussion, or be the

basis for activity and further exploration. For example, wrap cookies in copies

of Vachel Lindsay’s poem, The Moon is the North Wind’s Cookie. Invite

campers to write their own poems about the moon, or cookies, while dipping

them in milk.

 

The Moon Is the North Wind’s Cookie

The moon is the North Wind’s cookie.

He bites it day by day, Until there’s but a rim of scraps That crumble all

away. The South Wind is a baker. He kneads clouds in his den. And bakes

a crisp new moon that  greedy North Wind eats  again.

 

Consider creating a “Poetry Trail” where campers read or memorize a poem

at stations across camp, using props and costumes as desired. Other

campers follow a map or hike the trail and stop to hear poems performed by

their friends. For example, next to the water, a camper might share e.e.

cummings’ poem about four girls at the shore:

 

maggie and milly and molly and may

maggie and milly and molly and may went down to the beach (to play one

day) and maggie discovered a shell that sang so sweetly she couldn’t

remember her troubles, and milly befriended a stranded star whose rays

five languid fingers were; and molly was chased by a horrible thing which

raced sideways while blowing bubbles: and may came home with a smooth

round stone so small as a world and large as alone. for whatever we lose

(like a you or a me) it’s always ourselves we find in the sea.”

- e.e. cummings

This “comfort” poem sets the tone for rest or sleep:

“All around me quiet. All around me peaceful. All around me lasting, All

around me home”.   – Ute Indian

 

Healing Relationships

It’s hard to lose your lover (or your friend) When your heart is full of hope.

But it’s worse to lose your towel When your eyes are full of soap.

-  Anonymous

Teaching Lessons Weather at camp is always a consideration when it

affects outdoor activities. This tongue twister communicates to campers the

invaluable attitude of perseverance. It’s a good one to memorize and recite

(to expected groans from campers who have heard it before!). Yet, campers

get the message and often join you on the last three lines.

 

Whether the Weather Whether the weather be fine Or whether the weather

be not Whether the weather be cold Or whether the weather be hot Ð We’ll

weather the weather Whatever the weather Whether we like it or not! -

                                                           – Anonymous

Find a Place for Poetry

Metaphorically, poetry at camp is like dessert it’s not essential to the

meal, but it adds delicious pleasure, and most poetry consumers feel full and

satisfied. Unlike dessert, not all poetry is sweet, yet, few desserts are

thought provoking. Both poems and desserts may be inspiring, and campers

may look forward to more! Oh, and you can’t gain weight with poetry! So

read poems, recite poems, post poems, write poems, and find a place for

them on your camp program plate. Consider making a commitment to fill

your pockets with poems and share them with campers. Use the magic of a

poem as a springboard, a place from which to plunge into the depths of the

moment, for yourself and for your campers.

Poetry Resources

WEB SITES:

•  www.Gogglepoetry.com
• www.Poetry4Kids.com
• www.Storyit.com
• www.PoetryFoundation.orgÐ Features for Children 

 

BOOKS: Anything by Jack Prelutsky, considered the Poet Laureate for Children. Find silly and unpredictable

poems at www.JackPrelutsky.com and in numerous books of poetry compiled by Prelutsky.

• Learn to write poetry with his book, Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme.
• Shel Silverstein Ðread anything by the author, plus classics, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light

             in the Attic. Highly imaginative!

• Poetry Speaks to Children edited by Elise Paschen, with wonderful illustrations, including a CD of

             poems read by their authors.

• Poetry by Heart compiled by Liz Attenborough. Find a delightful collection for many ages by well known  writers.

• Bugs Poems about Creeping Things by David L. Harrison who “revels in that which most of us

             revile.” Fun!

• A Writing Kind of Day by Ralph Fletcher who writes poems about almost anything.
• A Family of Poems compiled by Caroline Kennedy is an anthology of poems that she and her family

            cherished . . . a broad selection by famous authors, with memorable illustrations.

 

Reprinted from the November/December 2008 issue of Camping Magazine by permission of the

American Camp Association¨; copyright 2008 American Camping Association, Inc.¨