Three Performance Day venues offer lively visuals—and audios—of children presenting the work they produced during summer writing camp at the University of Arkansas.

Who: 59 KidsWrite campers, grades 4 though 7

What: Performance Day on the final day of KidsWrite camp

Where & When:

Thursday, June 26

10:00 a.m. Giffels Auditorium in Old Main short stories

11:30 a.m. Fayetteville Public Library plays

12:30 p.m. Boardwalk Café, Dickson St. poetry slam

Background:

Now in its fifth year, KidsWrite is a spin-off from the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project and is organized by three NWAWP teacher consultants, Betsy Penix, Lacinda Files, and Lynette Terrell. This year’s camp was the largest ever with 59 campers, seven of whom are able to attend because of a KidsWrite scholarship.

KidsWrite enrolls students from grades 4 through 7, and they choose whether to focus on poetry, short fiction or playwriting. Children are exposed to all three types of writing, meet with guest writers, and go on field trips to learn what writers do in the workplace.

The KidsWrite program has received broad support throughout Northwest Arkansas. Scholarships are provided by, Northwest Arkansas Times, the Fayetteville Noon Kiwanis Club, Northwest Arkansas Writing Project, DeadFred.com, and Lee Elementary School in Springdale. Additional support comes from Justus Printers, Little Debbie Snacks, Harps Food Stores, Dickson Street Book Exchange, and the University of Arkansas.

Files, Penix and Terrell organized KidsWrite in conjunction with the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project, affiliated with the National Writing Project and organized locally by Samuel Totten, professor in the College of Education and Health Professions. They hope that in July KidsWrite will be able to offer a writing camp for students in grades eight, nine and ten that will allow them to work at their own level. To register students for KidsWrite II, call Candy Markum at 575-7244.

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