How to use the tents

We are confident that once children have experienced ‘Story Camp’ they will want it to come to their school again. We have provided some ideas below of the many ways you could use ‘Story Camp’ to enthuse and motivate your children to read and enjoy books.

• The Story Camp Experience
• Story time treat
• Book week
• Parents evenings
• Twilight Storytime
• Story teller
• Pre-school transition
• Reading buddies
• Interventions

The Story Camp Experience
This option provides a relaxed, open ended experience for children, supporting the following areas of learning:
• Free play – chat and chill – PSED, C&L
• Role play – camping – PSED, C&L, UtW
• Story telling – story bags/boxes – PSED, C&L, EAD, LIT
• Small world play/soft toys/puppets – PSED, C&L, EAD
• Drama – specific texts e.g. Whatever Next! – Lit, EAD, UtW
We provide a suggested 1.5 hrs time table for your session which includes some child initiated play and some focused learning. Whilst our service is a hire service and children need to be supervised at all times, the levels of engagement do allow adults time to stand back and observe interactions and behaviours, as well as time to read, talk and play with the children.
Prior to the visit we will provide a build-up scenario to the Story Camp Experience and on the day, children will receive a sticker to show they have been to Story Camp and a book to take home.

Story Time Treat/Enhanced Story Times
Another option is to use the tents to enhance your usual story time experience across the week. This could be either in your own classroom or set the tents up elsewhere in the school for both EYFS and KS1 children to share a story around the camp fire. This might be used to provide an initial impetus to reflect reading being at the heart of the curriculum or to promote the importance of reading and sharing stories together. Following the final story time children can collect their book to take home.

Book week/World Book day
Use Story Camp to add an exciting dimension to celebrating national book related events. Tents could be themed accordingly and set up in the Hall for different year groups to use. At the end of the week all children could receive a book to take home. Buddy up with a Book Consider asking KS2 children to come and read to younger children in the tents.

Parents evening
Story Camp can add a helpful visual reminder for parents/carers of the importance of books in the home and sharing stories with their children. If the children have experienced the tents in the day time they will enjoy telling their parents about it. If meetings over run, parents can enjoy time in the tents with their young children. Information for parents about the importance of the Home Learning Environment (HLE) can be made available.

Twilight story time
An extension to the option above would be for children to come back to school at 6pm in their onesies/PJ’s for twilight story time. The tents will have mattresses and duvets’ added and children can snuggle up and share a book with their parents, listen to a story read by the teacher/HT or member of the school staff or even consider inviting in a professional story teller. Again this serves the purpose of emphasising the importance of bedtime stories and parents reading to and their children.

Story teller sessions
Some schools have expressed a view that they would prefer for the teacher/adults not to lead the session. Inviting a professional story teller in would achieve this, as well as giving the children a rich story experience.

Transition
Why not enhance your transition experience and invite your feeder pre-school(s) in to enjoy the Story Camp experience. Not only will this create something unique and special but allows teachers to observe the children as part of their initial on entry assessments. It also offers partnership working and allows time for pre-school practitioners and school staff to meet, talk and observe children in a playful environment. Depending on class/group size parents could also be involved.

Interventions
Story tents work well for both small and large groups. The cosy but exciting space works well for supporting individual children with C&L needs as they provide comfortable places to talk - and just enough space for two to enjoy back and forth conversations! You may also consider using them on a termly basis to support your disadvantaged pupils who have not experienced high quality language and literacy experiences at home. The resources will support oracy and the tents provide an exciting space to talk. Termly experiences will ensure that each year at least 3 books are going into these homes.

Curriculum evening
If you are delivering a curriculum event on C&L or Literacy, Story Tents will provide an interesting focal point for the evening and keep little ones busy whilst parents listen and try out activities.