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Photo Diary: Nerd Camp MI 2017

July 12, 2017 by Travis Jonker   3 comments

For two days in July, the small town of Parma, Michigan becomes the center of the literacy universe.

I’m off to Nerd Camp and will be sharing photos here throughout the conference. Check back and I’ll be adding to this post as the day goes along.

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What is Nerd Camp? Short versh: an “un-conference” focused on literacy. Long versh: I wrote all about it for School Library Journal.

Dear Diary . . .
Just enjoying a fresh cup of Nerd Camp roast.
Starting the day right with a hearty bowl of Nerd Camp Nerdmeal
How far to Nerd Camp? Nerdy five miles.
Made it
Nerd water
Original Art Raffle! This one is by Lauren Eldridge
IMG_2462
Another sample from the original art raffle. This one by Matthew Cordell
A packed house for the pre-conference: 30 Reasons You Need Diverse Books in Your Classroom
A packed house for the pre-conference: 30 Reasons You Need Diverse Books in Your Classroom
Pre-conference panel with Tracey Baptiste, Juana Medina, Karuna Riazi, Kathy Burnette, and Alex Gino
Pre-conference panel with Tracey Baptiste, Juana Medina, Karuna Riazi, Kathy Burnette, and Alex Gino
To the gym for the opening Nerd Talks by Chad Everett, Shannon Hale, Donalyn Miller, and Teri Lesesne
To the gym for the opening Nerd Talks by Chad Everett, Shannon Hale, Donalyn Miller, and Teri Lesesne

First Session! Storytime Breakdown with Carter Higgins and Emily Arrow
First Session! Storytime Breakdown with Carter Higgins and Emily Arrow
Second Session! Minh Lê and I talked about how blogging let to writing for kids.
Second Session! Minh Lê and I talked about how blogging let to writing for kids.
It was hard to present with this poster on the wall. I kept laughing.
It was hard to present with this poster on the wall. I kept laughing.
Surprise Guest! For the third session, R.J. Palacio showed up.
Surprise Guest! For the third session, R.J. Palacio showed up.
This guy was around.
This guy was around.
Look, nerds don't just love books - they also love tiny robots. I learned about them in the maker space session.
Look, nerds don’t just love books – they also love tiny robots. I learned about them in the maker space session.

The fun of a conference in a high school - you might come across the drama dept. storage room.
The fun of a conference in a high school – you might come across the drama dept. storage room.
A bit of promotional genius whipped up by Jess Keating for her next nonfiction book.
A bit of promotional genius whipped up by Jess Keating for her next nonfiction book.
Mike Lowery showed us how he draws.
Mike Lowery showed us how he draws.
A page from Mike Lowery's sketchbook.
A page from Mike Lowery’s sketchbook.

I managed to get a bit of recording in for future episodes of The Yarn podcast:

Jack Gantos
Jack Gantos
Nora Baskin
Nora Baskin

https://twitter.com/mrs_cmt1489/status/884963650640936960

And then, after all the grownups leave, kids arrive for Nerd Camp Jr.

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. You’ve got a real gift for the conference re-cap, my friend! Always fun to read your takeaways. Also… I was beginning to think Jack Gantos really WASN’T there! I never saw him and never saw any pics posted. Thanks for the evidence!

  2. Excellent photo and tweet recap. Glad we reconnected. There is nothing quite like Nerd Camp MI!

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