Seventy enthusiastic participants who will serve Camp READY! campers congregated at two different sites on Saturday, May 21. Come June and July, these folks will be in positions of camp site director, instructor, counselor or support staff. Camp READY! is LRC’s signature program for beginning or struggling kindergartners geared towards preparing them for success in the classroom.
 
During the two and a half hour training, attendees met with their camp colleagues to get acquainted and to assign roles for the upcoming four-week sessions at ten different sites across Polk County. Breakout workshops provided time and attention for practice with the curriculum for each site’s learning centers—Readiness, Cooking, Movement, and Art. This year will be the inaugural year for incorporation of Nemours’ Bright Start Program, an acclaimed pre-kindergarten language development initiative from the Nemours’ Pediatric Hospitals.
 

Camp READY! instructors practice integrating reading and math readiness skills into the practical application of making pancakes.

Art Facilitator Jacel Jones models the language of art, as well as the proper way to teach children how to hold scissors or a brush.

Master Teacher Dr. Mary Stowers introduces Nemours’ Bright Start Program to Camp READY! instructors and counselors.