Camp Curiosity kids dive into reading, writing thi

Aaron Scott proudly displays the dog tag he earned through the summer reading program at Perryville Elementary School.

You'd think that the halls would be quiet at school during the summer, but that's not true at Perryville Elementary School where children from all over Perry County are enjoying Camp Curiosity.

The 4-week program is for children in Grades K-4 and offers activities from exercise and swimming to artwork and science experiments.

The big focus for many of the students, however, has been on the Camp Curiosity Summer Reading Program in the PES Library.

There, students are able to earn special dog tags for every 5 points they earn in the reading program.

"We are having a great summer," said PES Librarian Patty Wengert. "The kids love the dog tags and can't wait to earn the next one. It's been a very successful positive reinforcement for reading skills. Plus, we've had time this summer to work individually with children to strengthen their reading skills."

Aaron Scott and Justin Taylor were in line Friday to receive new dog tags as they advanced in the reading program.

"I really like reading and I love getting dog tags," Justin said.

In Rose Rosenszweig's room, the students were writing letters.

"You can write a letter to anyone you like," Rosensweig told the students, guiding them through dating the letter and writing the salutation.

"Let's tell our friends or family what we've learned about the rainforest this week."

While they composed their letters, the students talked about the people and food of the rainforest, and enjoyed a great discussion about whether snakes are cool, scary or gross.