Campers: I Spent My Summer Reading and Writing—and Liked It

If you think a camp where the main focus is on reading and writing would be a tough sell to your kids, you’re probably right. For the first summer.

“Even the children whose parents told them Camp Summerset would help them recover from a tough year in school want to come back, year after year,” said JoAnn Ferrigno, who founded the camp in 1991, which is now located at St. Matthew’s Church in Bedford.

Alessandra Angelino, 17, attributes the camp’s success in part to the “carefree, relaxed, and compassionate atmosphere” that staffers cultivate.  

“Even though the camp does sound like a school and focuses on reading and writing, the social atmosphere, energetic teachers and counselors, and the friends we all make over the three weeks makes the camp more like a close-knit family,” said Angelino, who attended the camp as a first-grader, then worked as a counselor and this year, a counselor-supervisor. “It makes learning so interesting that the kids forget they are in a reading and writing camp.”

Ferrigno said her idea was to create a safe and nurturing place for children to enjoy reading and writing and to express themselves without criticism or judgment.

For 20 years, the camp, affiliated with The Learning Institute, has served 100 kids in kindergarten through sixth grade each summer. Campers are mostly from Northern Westchester, but have come from other parts of the county, she said. Before they arrive, their academic records are reviewed by the camp staff, who are all certified teachers and counselors trained to facilitate reading and writing activities.

Barbary Foley of Bedford, has a 10 and 11 year-old who have attended Camp Summerset for four years and a 7-year-old who just finished his third year. “I wanted something academic and this was a perfect fit,” she said in an email. “My kids don’t think it feels like school at all—in fact my son corrected me when I referred to the camp as a “reading and writing camp,” saying he ‘didn’t go to a reading camp.’”

Foley described a favorite project of theirs, a scrapbook they worked on each day and were eager to complete. On the last day, she said they were so proud to show off their books. She also said an emphasis on wellness benefited her children, who learned how to make healthy smoothies, a new family favorite.

Ferrigo said each summer a theme shapes all of their work. This summer campers focused on a “magical mystery tour,” in which themes of discovery shaped their writing and book selections.

“For example, we used Cynthia Rylant’s The Islander, which is about a boy who discovered a mermaid, to get kids thinking about things they could discover,” said Ferrigno. “We incorporated the beautiful 37 acres of nature behind St. Matthews into our activities—one day kids collected frogs, and we wrote about what could be magical about them. They have ownership of their ideas and they are a part of the process—it’s organic.”

Angelino said it was the idea that all kids have something to offer that sets the camp apart.

“Counselors are taught to embrace each child’s strengths,” she said. “It always amazes me, summer after summer, to see kids who struggle with reading and writing—even extremely shy kids—build up the courage over only a three-week period to get up in front of the entire camp to showcase their talents at our talent show.”

Angelino’s experience as a camper and a counselor have even inspired her to work with children after college. She’s attending Georgetown University this fall and plans to study International Health and pre-medicine.

New this year was a mural project, in which campers went to the Ronald McDonald House in Valhalla to create a word mural around themes of determination, using phrases like 'big dreams start small,' and 'treasury of life.' Ferrigno said the project was so successful that they've been approached by other groups and hope to continue beautifying spaces each summer.

For more information on Camp Summerset, visit their website.