Date: Saturday, March 29
Time: 6:00 — 8:00 p.m.
Speaker: Mary Virgil-Uchida
Place: Minami-ku Kumin Center (5-min. walk from Makomanai Subway Station, next to Minami Ward Office, parking available)
Cost: Free for JALT members; 500 yen for guests

JALT Teaching Children Special Interest Group Meeting

Summer Camp: A Success or Just A Lot of Hard Work?

Summer is just around the corner and in Hokkaido, summers are a great time to be outside. Whether a class in the park, a yearly day trip or a summer camp, learning outside can be a rewarding experience if done right.

In recent years many English schools have been holding "Summer Camps". Are they a lot of hard work? Are they worth the effort? YES! YES! YES! Are summer camps just for children, NO!

Mary Virgil-Uchida, who has been taking her students outside to study English for 25 years, will facilitate this meeting so teachers who have run camps and those who are thinking about it can get together and share what works and what doesn't. This meeting is for teachers of students of all ages who are interested in doing something with their students in the great outdoors.

Mary's 'Niseko English Nature Camp' finally got off the ground in 2007 and in the first half of this meeting Mary will give a presentation about how she incorporated the learning of nature with the learning of English. In addition, she will discuss different ways to set up summer events as well as the problems that can come up.

The second half will be a "My Share" time so please bring an activity, craft project, song, menu idea or just anything that might make this next summer's camps a success for Hokkaido's children. Bring enough copies to share with everyone.

Bio: Mary Virgil-Uchida is a past president of Jalt Hokkaido. She has been teaching children in Sapporo for 26 years. She is owner of ABC House an English conversation school in Sapporo and Niseko English Nature Camp.