READING FUN — Students in the first through sixth grades were having lots of fun at the Energy Express six week long day camp at Brooke High School. The camp serves as both a summer reading and nutrition program in West Virginia. -- Amy Neeley

WELLSBURG ­– Children from all over Brooke County had a chance to avoid the “summer slide” when it comes to reading proficiency and have a good meal at the Energy Express six week summer reading and nutrition program sponsored by the West Virginia University Extension Office.

Site supervisor Dolly Kidd said the program serves approximately 50 students over the summer at Brooke High School.

The program is designed to help students maintain or increase their reading levels and provides each camper with two meals per day.

“The kids really enjoy being here,” she said. “It’s like school but it’s not. They do their reading and writing.”

The camp is staffed by AmeriCorps mentors and teen volunteers.

Brenna Smith, the community coordinator for AmeriCorps, said the program focuses on reading with a variety of different activities including art and one-on-one reading. The average ratio at the camp is eight campers to each mentor.

She said that each week the students get a book that will serve as the theme for the week. All their activities reinforce the book and on Friday the students are given a copy of the book for their personal libraries at home.

“They get the book each week and the mentors all personalize the books,” she said.

In addition to the theme books each week, Smith said she provides the campers with an extra book from her library.

Nutrition is also a big part of the camp each week.

Kidd said the campers take care of the garden located behind the Brooke Middle School and each week they harvest the vegetables.

“They pick the vegetables and then they go home to the kids in the program,” she said.

All campers are served breakfast and lunch at the school and Smith said any left over food is sent home with the children.