The Magic of LitCamp

Throughout LitWorld’s 15 year history, we have seen time and time again how access to safe, joyful learning can transform lives. These spaces are especially critical when preventing the “summer slide”: a phenomenon where children lose significant knowledge during out-of-school time. This slide can set young learners—particularly those from low-income families—back in their education by years, depriving them of the opportunity to reach their full potential.

That’s why we developed LitCamp: a breakthrough program that redefines summer learning by using social and emotional support as the gateway to literacy. Together with Scholastic, LitCamps ensure that every child has the chance they deserve to learn, grow, and thrive.

LitCamp began as a seed idea in 2010 when our partners in Harlem, NY and Nairobi, Kenya expressed their community's needs for joyful learning during out-of-school time. That summer, the LitWorld team co-created LitCamps: safe spaces for stories flexible enough to be enjoyed anywhere, any time.

In 2015, we decided to bring the joy of LitCamp to even more children by partnering with Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. Together, LitWorld and Scholastic developed a structured version of the program for summer schools across the United States. Today, LitCamp and its many iterations (including LitCamp en Español and LitCamp at Home) are run across thousands of classrooms every summer, engaging over a million young learners since 2015.

The Importance of LitCamp

Guest post by Pam Allyn, founder of LitWorld and author of many acclaimed books for educators and families including ‘Every Child a Super Reader’, co-authored with LitWorld board member Dr. Ernest Morrell.

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This summer more than ever, LitCamp has meant so much to so many children across the country. With its social-emotional learning framework and authentic literacy skill building activities, LitCamp provides a welcoming, caring community of belonging at a time when all of us really need that - especially our nation's kids.

LitCamp began as a seed idea in Harlem, NY and Nairobi, Kenya in 2010. That summer, the LitWorld team co-created a strengths based approach to meet the needs of summertime learning with two of our cherished local partners. Together, we recognized the power of this work when many more children than the original participants started to come, more and more each and every day! It turned out everyone was telling their cousins and friends and neighbors, so everyone wanted to come to LitCamp and we made space for them all! It was the first sign of what would become a sustaining feature of this program: a powerful community of belonging and learning that wraps each and every LitCamper in an environment of serious joy.

Pam Allyn and Dick Robinson

The CEO of Scholastic, Dick Robinson left an extraordinary legacy with his dedication and support of LitCamp. After hearing the story of how much the first of our LitCampers loved their experience, he asked: "How can Scholastic help grow this amazing work?" And with that question, thousands more children were able to join into the power of LitCamp.

Many times, I have LitCampers say to me: "Only 323 days left until LitCamp... Only 12 days left.." Children count down the days. They count them down because they love that their stories matter at LitCamp. They count them because they love improving their reading and writing skills in record time. They count them because they love how LitCamp values and understand matters of the human heart: friendship, joy, optimism and courage.

This year, we see so profoundly the value of a program that intersects social emotional learning and academic development. But most of all, we see how much it matters to connect to others. LitCamp does it all.

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About LitCamp

LitCamp is LitWorld's innovative literacy program that combines engaging, motivational literacy lessons with an interactive summer camp approach for Pre-K through 8th Grade and centers our 7 Strengths. LitCamp, in English and Spanish, and deeply culturally responsive in the LItWorld core values, celebrates and builds on kids’ strengths, helping them reach their full potential as empowered literacy learners across all subject areas.

Together, LitWorld and Scholastic - the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books - bring LitCamp to thousands of classrooms every summer, reaching over a million kids across the U.S. since 2015!

How We’re Keeping Kids Learning through Covid-19 this Summer

As soon as the pandemic took hold, we knew summer learning would need to be extra innovative and responsive this year.

We moved quickly with our publisher Scholastic, creating a version of our renowned summer program to bring the strengths of LitCamp right into children’s homes in partnership with school districts across the U.S.

LitCamp at Home sent kids and families book packs, workbooks, and videos in both English and Spanish, and provided educators with flexible resources as they worked together to create safe, inspiring virtual learning spaces for their students.

Click here to watch the LitCamp at Home Read-Aloud Series featuring LitWorld founder Pam Allyn!

All summer long, LitCamp at Home has been providing schools and families alike from New York to Georgia to Texas with the resources they need to support the kids in their communities. Learn about the impact of LitCamp at Home from school leaders in Marietta, Georgia, and El Paso, Texas, in these full interviews with the Scholastic team.

We have also continued to innovate our curriculum delivered to our community-based partners around the world, which we have now made available for all!

These virtual programs are open to anyone and everyone in need of resources that are educational, socially and emotionally supportive, and—above all else—rooted in joy.

Watch the complete first edition of Virtual LitClub here, and check out our follow-up series, Virtual LitClub: LitCamp Edition!

This series is our next step in bringing safe, joyful learning to children around the world and keeping families and communities everywhere connected, engaged, and inspired—no matter the circumstances.

With new activities, prompts, and projects all centered around LitWorld’s 7 Strengths, Virtual LitClub is designed to reach kids at home, on the go, on their own, or together with others. Visit our site or social channels to see the collection, and sign up for our newsletter to have more Virtual LitClub updates delivered straight to your inbox!

Kids around the world having fun with Virtual LitClubs!

LitCamps Around the World: A Million Children Reached!

It has been a summer of wonder, learning, and powerful transformation for LitKids all around the world.

Reading is serious business at this LitCamp!

In the U.S., school districts and community partners across the country launched their own LitCamp programs, authored by LitWorld and published by Scholastic, to help students explore reading, writing, and creating in fun, engaging LitCamp spaces. Campers read a variety of literature, from picture books to Young Adult fiction and participated in diverse, engaging activities that focused on LitWorld’s 7 Strengths.

Kids, teachers and their families reported changing attitudes towards learning and literature, with LitCampers becoming more enthusiastic and responsive towards classroom activities. They also begsn reading independently and picking out their own books to read at LitCamp and at home, as this Scholastic case study shows.

When you’re at LitCamp, you have THIS much fun!

LitWorld's Founder Pam Allyn, now SVP of Innovation for Scholastic Education, has is the chief LitCamp advocate and participant! This summer, Pam traveled all over the country to visit LitCamps, engaging with LitCampers in read-alouds and witnessing creative approaches to the “camp” theme that each classroom had. From California to New Jersey, children and their teachers report having a summer of authentic, engaging reading experiences, fostering the love of learning - one LitCamp day at a time!

Ready for Reading LitCamp participants

Around the globe, LitCamps have flourished in communities from rural Zambia to Rwanda, Philippines to Honduras. LitWorld long-time partner Ready for Reading, based in Rwinkwavu, Rwanda, held their annual LitCamp from July 30th to August 2nd, with 147 children participating in the 3-day camp. The event was an incredible celebration of friendships and literacy and allowed students that usually stay at home during the summer to be involved in an exciting and engaging environment full of activities.

GoYe Therefore Zambia LitFest Participant

In Zambia, the summer was also incredibly busy with LitCamps and LitFests. GoYe Therefore Zambia, held a Kindness Summer Litfest in the Zambian capital of Lusaka. The Summer LitFest brought together over 115 participants, which included LitClub kids and their family members, parents and guardians, media, mentors and other members of the community. Participants were spread out into four groups, each lead by a GoYe Therefore mentor and all were guided through the days activities, which focused on one of our 7 Strengths - Kindness.

Sanyambe, the GoYe Therefore Partnership Coordinator shared:

“The event was so exciting and there was full participation in all activities! Members were able to express what Kindness meant to them in English and in the local language. The community building activities were engaging and all members were happy to participate and learn.”

— Sanyambe, GoYe Therefore Partnership Coordinator

Our hearts are full, inspired, and hopeful after another summer of successful LitWorld programs. We are grateful to all mentors, teachers, children, families and communities for making it possible to explore and foster a love for literacy and joy in safe, empowered spaces this summer. After all, when we all work together, we are able to create a whole new world of opportunity and hope!

Ready for Reading LitKids celebrating!

Spark a LitSummer: Contribute to the LitWorld Summer Book Drive

This Summer, LitWorld is bringing the power of story to hundreds of young people from Kenya to Harlem, and we need your help! LitWorld is calling out to the community to help by donating books and school supplies as they embark on two important summer missions:

KENYA:

On July 8, 2011, members of the LitWorld team are headed to Kenya to visit our partners at the Children of Kibera Foundation. LitWorld works very closely with the Children of Kibera Foundation’s Red Rose School, where we run programs such as the Girls Clubs for Literacy Project. The Red Rose School is a beacon of hope for the children of Kibera, and is a positive learning environment providing education for children who are HIV/AIDS orphans.

 HARLEM:

Starting this summer, LitWorld will set up the Story Power Camp project, a summer reading enrichment program for the youth of the Children’s Village, Polo Grounds Community Center. The Story Power Camp aims to engage young people in reading and writing through fun, interactive activities, while encouraging each participant to boldly share their personal stories. The Children's Village works in partnership with families to help society's most vulnerable children so that they become educationally proficient, economically productive and socially responsible members of their communities.

To contribute, view their wishlist via Amazon here (donations are being accepted until 6/30/2011): www.tinyurl.com/LitWorldDrive