Creativity Camp Concludes with Showcase

McKENZIE (July 10) — Carroll Arts concluded Creativity Camp on Friday at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church with a final showcase for students to present their week's creations to their loved ones. Twenty-four students received "Creativity Diplomas" for their completion of the camp.

Each day throughout the week of July 6-10, students separated into their respective age groups and rotated between four different classrooms to learn about art, music, drama and creative writing.

This year's camp instructors were McKenzie Elementary music teacher Joanna Turner, Clarksburg art teacher Leann Edwards, and retired teachers Marlene Kreuter, Denise Sam and Glynda Rich.

Leann Edwards taught art by challenging students to design their own "window panes." Students created four-panel windows out of construction paper and drew their favorite things in each of the panels.

Glynda Rich and Denise Sam taught each age group different elements of theatrical acting. Pre-K through second-grade students learned to act using body language. In the final performance, these students mirrored each other's body language, in a practice Sam said was inspired by an episode of "I Love Lucy." Third- and fourth-grade students wrote and performed their own play, "The Princess and the Crown." The final group (middle school students) performed a scene from "The Wizard of Oz."

Marlene Kreuter taught creative writing to each group. She gave students different writing prompts throughout the week. The youngest group was a challenge, she said, since they were only learning to read and write. She taught them how to tell stories through drawings. "You learn a lot about these kids," Kreuter said, while prompting the students to read their stories to the audience.

Joanna Turner, music teacher at McKenzie Elementary School, led the students in a musical presentation of rain-themed songs. Using instruments borrowed from McKenzie Elementary School, the students played ukuleles, rainsticks, rhythm sticks, drums and more. Turner combined all of the age groups for the final presentation because she said, "Music is much more fun when played together."

Following the conclusion of the presentations, each child received a "Creativity Diploma."

Carroll Arts has hosted Creativity Camp for over two decades, instilling a love for art and creativity in the hearts of local children.