Crafting and Writing It Up With Spike Gillespie and a GIVEAWAY!
I honestly can’t remember how many years now I’ve been hosting my famously low-rent summer camps for kids here in Austin. I know I’ve taken a summer off here and there, and some years I think I’m going to be too busy to find the time to host another bunch of kids. But before you know it, there I go again because invariably, even when I think I might like some time off, I’ll hear from parents whose kids want to come back again. I find it pretty hard to say no to a request like that.
I started out leading a Writing Camp at BookPeople, a learn-by-doing experience where I quickly realized that my plans to have the kids spend all their time writing was not going to fly. Through trial and error, I finally came up with a formula that works—and I’m not talking about a business model for profit here, I’m talking about netting the payoff of having a group of children actually proclaim eagerness for a summer activity that involves something—writing—which sadly too many of them have come to negatively associate with learning by rote, writing in a particular way in response to prompts proffered to yield high scores on standardized tests.
When I was a kid, writing was so fun—it was my absolute passion, one that eventually led me to become a journalist and author. I wanted to show TAKS-weary kids a truth I still believe: writing can be a most joyful endeavor.
So what’s my secret? It’s pretty simple. I like to joke that my Writing Camp is the anti-TAKS test. I tell the kids that while it’s always important to do their best with grammar, spelling and punctuation, we aren’t working for grades in camp. We’re just here to have fun. I get skeptical looks sometimes on the first day. But by the time we get through the opening warm up writing— some silly prompt encouraging them to be as imaginative as they can be— and move on to group skits, even the most tentative camper is ready to jump in.
I might tell them we’re going to write and perform a TV ad for a product they invent—a remote control for parents, a product that makes broccoli taste like ice cream, or any other nutty thing they can think of. Then they work in groups to come up with a skit, using a handful of props and costumes I provide. (The human-size banana suit is always most popular).
Later, everyone will work on creating magazines, filling them with articles and illustrations that allow them to share with the others their sundry life passions: Harry Potter, fashion, horses, dogs, soccer, etc.
Over the years, I’ve expanded my repertoire. Several years ago, I added a Fashion Camp, which, if you saw the way I dressed, you’d probably fall on the floor laughing. This year, I’m adding an Arts & Crafts camp, since I am a craft fiend and I love sharing my kooky projects with the kids. At the heart of these camps is not a goal to get the campers to look at carefully constructed prototypes and emulate them. Oh no. We’re all about upcycling, designing dog accessories, transforming pillowcases into “evening gowns,” and pondering important questions like: What do you think you can turn this toilet paper tube into?
Every summer, watching the kids buzz around in this loose atmosphere– I like to call it organized chaos– I think back to my mother. There were nine of us kids, we grew up poor and there was barely enough to eat, never enough for new clothes, and certainly not enough to send us to camps. My mother– queen of improvising, seamstress extraordinaire, and a woman who admitted to me years later that she was driven by a need for at least a few minutes to herself— would often set us up with scraps of fabric, construction paper, scissors and glue and let us have at it. We were allowed to create whatever we wanted and this was an opportunity that served me well as I grew up and chose the life of an artist over something more “stable” and “professional.”
I adopted my mother’s attitude with my own son— we were always making stuff, often morphing one thing into another. I remember one year when a friend came by to find me stapling hundreds of feathers to “wings” I’d cut out of old poster board, working on a homemade eagle costume for Henry’s Halloween. “Where the hell do you get these ideas?” he asked.
I explained to him that all the ingenuity and creativity was born mostly of being raised poor but well by an inventive mother. Summer after summer I watch the kids bustling around—no iPads, cell phones, sports equipment, or high tech anything in sight since, except for the humming of sewing machines during Fashion Camp, we are totally unplugged. I telepath my mother loads of gratitude when I realize that her legacy is helping lots more kids find the fun big fun in small things.
About the author: Spike Gillespie is the critically acclaimed author of six books and countless magazine articles. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Real Simple, GQ, Esquire, Elle, Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, Interweave KNITS, The Christian Science Monitor, Texas Monthly, The Dallas Morning News, and other publications. In 2006, Austin Chronicle readers voted her Best Author in Austin. Spike also provides commentary for Austin’s NPR affiliate, KUT and writes a weekly column for The Austinist. And she is the President of the Office of Good Deeds, an informal group of Austinites who enjoy performing good deeds for those in need. She lives in Austin with her partner, Ori, four hyper dogs, and one very loud cat. You can find more information on her summer camps at Spike’s Summer Camp.
One last thing… I asked Spike if she has any tips for getting materials and here’s what she had to share:
I always hit up my Neighborhood List to ask folks if they’re getting rid of stuff. They’re happy to have me come haul away their old craft supplies. I also wind up with new ideas because sometimes I’ll get an unusual donation– last year someone donated about forty old coffee cans which the kids turned into all sorts of things. We covered them in construction paper and from there some made piggy banks, others made “vases” filled with tissue paper flowers, and then there were some unique… sculptures. Also, I love to hit up Top Drawer Thrift Store on Burnet — that’s where I get pillowcases that can being turned into skirts with a quick drawstring. I also get costumes– fancy dresses, hats, accessories– that I use for skit time in Writing Camp. Keeping my overhead low and finding free and used items is like a game for me and, in the process, I can teach the kids a lesson about how you don’t have to go buy shiny new supplies all the time. Upcycling is really fun.
GIVEAWAY: Would you like to win a camp session with Spike Gillespie for your child? She’s graciously giving away a one week Writing Camp for the week of July 18- 22, 2011. The camp is for ages 8-11 years old and is from 9:00am- Noon and is located at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Central Austin: 4700 Grover Avenue, Austin.
What do you have to do to win? Fill out this form below for your chance to win. Only one entry per household, please. A winner will be chosen on June 8th, 2011 and contacted via email with 24 hours to respond.
June 1st, 2011 at 9:55 am
My kid’s not old enough and already booked for Summer Wonders that week, but I kinda want to come to craft camp.
Oh and I just know the nickname WriterCrafter is somehow familiar…maybe I need to find an excuse to meet Spike!