Summer literacy camps reverse learning loss

Summer is the time kids have fun and relax, but unfortunately for some, time away from school can result in a loss of learning. On average, a child can lose up to a Grade level of reading comprehension over the summer months if they’re not reading regularly.

“The vision behind our camps is that we want to mitigate the summer learning loss,” said Mélanie Valcin, regional manager for Frontier College in Quebec and Nunavut. “We’re trying to mobilize communities around the value of literacy.”

Frontier College, in partnership with the Cree School Board, recently wrapped up their fourth cohort of summer literacy camps in the Eeeyou Istchee. This year’s edition served all nine Cree communities with a total of 646 Cree children attending – an increase of 22% over 2015.

Statistics show that boys’ reading skills often lag behind their female counterparts. Their learning loss over the summer months is also often more pronounced. According to a 2002 study by Michael W. Smith and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, boys read slower, less often, and struggle more than girls with reading comprehension.

Nonetheless, this year’s gender breakdown for the literacy camps was close to 50-50 with a few more girl campers than boys, according to Valcin.

Strong cultural grounding is a big part of the literacy effort. Many of the 2178 free books given to the children focused on Indigenous culture, while 366 adults from the Cree communities visited the kids at camp.

“We had a lot of Elders and other community members come and facilitate cultural and traditional activities,” said Valcin. “We make it a point to involve a lot of Cree culture into the camps.”

In addition, 16 of the 44 camp counselors hailed from communities in Eeyou Istchee. Charity Lacroix, from Oujé-Bougoumou was one of them. “It was a lot of fun, I learned a lot, and it was great to work with kids from my community,” she said. “The kids really enjoyed it, and they said that it helped them be more prepared for school.”  

But it’s not only about reading. The camps are meant to be fun and keep the kids active. Every day each child was encouraged to read for about an hour, followed by 90 minutes of outdoor activities that ranged from sports to music and theatre.

“We wanted it to be a fun camp with reading and writing, but we didn’t want the kids to feel like they were in summer school,” said Lacroix.       

There’s also a creative aspect. The kids are not only reading; they’re also introduced to new forms of expression. “Through the four weeks the kids are at camp, the counselors work with them to create a larger creative project that they can then present to the community,” said Valcin. “A lot of the children will write a play and perform it or produce a music video, so there’s a lot of creativity.”

The kids who attended enjoyed their experience and 99% of parents said they’d send their children back. “There’s a myth that kids, especially boys, don’t like to read, but we’ve found that when you give them books, they just devour them,” said Valcin.