At Summer Ink, 5th-7th grade campers dive into new adventures, notebook in hand. Whatever the activity, the goal is the same.
We improve our writing skills through the daily practice of responding to our adventures in journals and longer essays. Summer Ink began when two history teachers, Debbie Reck and Arthur Unobskey, noticed that their students, especially those from underserved areas, struggled to explain themselves in their writing. Wanting to help, Debbie and Arthur began grappling with the essential questions of
06/10/2022
Another activity scheduled for this year’s session is food sampling at Time Out Market in Boston! Time Out Market Boston features some of Boston’s most beloved restaurants, each serving key items from their menus. Campers this summer can get excited to eat yummy, palate-expanding foods that will be more than enough to write home about!
06/06/2022
Meet junior counselor Anne-Sophie!
Q: What’s your wackiest memory at Summer Ink?
A: My wackiest memory is definitely learning broadway dance. When I was at summer Ink an instructor came in and taught us the dance to Grease Lightning from the musical Grease. It was so fun learning all of the dance moves and my friends and I all had a blast!
Q: What’s your favorite writing memory?
A: I love peer editing my friends' papers! It is so much fun reading what they have to say and seeing the world through their eyes.
Q: What's the last book you read? What are your thoughts on it?
A: The last book I read was Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and I loved it. It is such a great story and I felt as if I was Pheoby listening to Janie tell her tale.
Q: Tell us something about you that people wouldn't know by looking at you.
A: I am an artist! I love all kinds of art and creating all kinds of art.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not teaching/working as a junior counselor?
A: I love to learn! I am always trying to pick up new skills and enrich my experience on this planet.
06/03/2022
During previous sessions, Summer Ink campers fenced at the International Fencing Club in Boston. We’re excited to announce that this Summer, fencing at The IFC will continue to be one of many activities campers can look forward to! Stay tuned for more activity announcements!
05/31/2022
Meet junior counselor Calla!
Q: What's your wackiest memory at Summer Ink?
A: My wackiest memory at Summer Ink was trying fencing for the first time! We had to wear a helmet and shirt that looked like a beekeeper's outfit. I wasn't very good, but it was a fun experience!
Q: What's your favorite writing memory?
A: When I was in preschool I wrote a story and drew pictures about a dog that I knew and my parents helped me make it into a book by stapling the pages together.
Q: What's the last book you read? What are your thoughts on it?
A: The last book I read was Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter. It was a great book if you like heists and mysteries!
Q: Tell us something about you that people wouldn't know by looking at you.
A: From looking at me, people may not know that I am interested in design and linguistics.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not teaching?
A: I am a full-time student at Somerville High School, but in my free time I enjoy reading, acting and performing in theatre, and playing lacrosse.
05/23/2022
Meet senior counselor David Blake!
Q: What's your wackiest memory at Summer Ink?
A: I wouldn’t say there is one wackiest memory I have. I think wacky experiences happen every day at Summer Ink. I think of campers pulling out their notebooks and sitting on a sidewalk journaling about a delicious treat they’ve just enjoyed in the North End. I think of campers walking around a braille printing press and the decisions they make about what to write after that. I think of kids trying new things and then reflecting on what it was like to try those new things. So maybe those things aren’t wacky but it’s not what everyone else is doing, and that’s cool.
Q: What's your favorite writing memory?
A: I still think writing about food is my favorite thing to do. One of our trips around town took us to the north end, and I had this delicious pastry and having to put the joy of that experience into words allowed me to enjoy that pastry all over again while writing about it.
Q: What's the last book you read? What are your thoughts on it?
A: Right now I’m reading Dune and it is a major investment of time. Any book with a glossary at its back is a hefty undertaking, but even as I’m reading it and thinking how enjoyably arduous it is to complete, I’m struck by the enormity of the task it was to write it. That’s when the awe of creating something like that overwhelms me.
Q: Tell us something about you that people wouldn't know by looking at you.
A: Well, hopefully that list is long! What can you really know by looking at someone? I’d say, though, it’s impossible to know how forgiving I am of bad movies. I mean just terrible ones. My wife will often ask how I can sit through some of the movies I watch. I just love movies and will find some worth in almost anything I watch.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not teaching?
A: Grade papers, of course! When I don’t have anything to grade, though, I like to cook. It’s an activity that engages all your senses -crisp cut through raw veggies, or the sizzle of them thrown in a hot oiled skillet, the smell of garlic heating up and the golden browning of a seared scallop. I just love cooking then eating good food!
05/07/2022
While Summer Ink mostly focuses on writing from personal experiences, we do make time for creative writing too! This description of Harold’s perfect coffee makes me want to run to the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts!
05/02/2022
Meet senior counselor Christie!
Q: What's your wackiest memory at Summer Ink?
A: I have yet to make my first Summer Ink memory, but I have a feeling that I’m going to have many favorites!
Q: What's your favorite writing memory?
A: I’ve been taking Hungarian lessons for about two years and, as practice, I’ve started writing short stories in Hungarian. I will never forget the day that I was able to finally use humor and wordplay in a story. It even made my professor laugh!
Q: What is the last book you read? What were your thoughts on it?
A: The last book I read was Jenny Xie’s poetry collection “Eye Level”. It’s spectacular, and I know I’m going to be returning to this collection again and again.
Q: Tell us something about you that people wouldn't know by looking at you.
A: A fun fact? I have three sisters and one brother, and all of them are way cooler than me.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not teaching?
A: If I have any spare time, I love going hiking, rock climbing, playing piano or guitar, and painting.
04/18/2022
Meet senior counselor Caeden!
Q: What's your wackiest memory at Summer Ink?
A: I remember one summer we all took a trip to go rock climbing in the woods. After rock climbing for a while, my friends and I decided to sit on the ground and take a break. Not even five minutes later I started to feel itchy, and I looked down to see almost five daddy long legs climbing up my legs! Like the arachnophobe I am, I began to run around in circles and shake every limb in my body wildly. It was definitely not fun at the time, but when I look back on it it always makes me laugh.
Q: What's your favorite writing memory?
A: I recently had to write an autobiography for my psychology class. It was a lot of work, but writing it allowed me to explore moments of my life I had never been able to before. It was quite cathartic.
Q: What is the last book you read? What were your thoughts on it?
A: I just read Educated by Tara Westover! It’s heartbreakingly honest, but it’s also so motivating. I’d recommend it to any fellow memoir lovers.
Q: Tell us something about you that people wouldn't know by looking at you.
A: You probably wouldn’t know that I’m cat-obsessed (unless I’m wearing one of my cat t-shirts).
Q: What do you like to do when you're not a counselor?
A: I like to stay at home with my cat, read or watch documentaries, go on walks into Boston, and try out new restaurants.
04/11/2022
Kaitlyn Greenidge, former Summer Ink camper and acclaimed author, spoke of her experience at Summer Ink. Click on the link below to read her tweets!
Kaitlyn Greenidge on Twitter “If you are in the Boston-area and have a middle schooler , highly recommend checking out Summer Ink day camp. It's a writing camp that takes kids on different very exciting day trips for writing material (full disclosure, I was one of their first campers) https://t.co/8U48WfE6cx”
04/11/2022
Meet senior counselor Rachel!
Q: What's your wackiest memory at Summer Ink?
A: One summer it was raining on the day we were supposed to go canoeing. We decided to stick with the plan because the rain wasn’t that bad. When we arrived and got set up with our life jackets and boats, it started pouring. The instructors told us we could still go out as long as there was no lightening, so we actually did it. Canoeing on the Charles river in the pouring rain was not exactly fun, but it was definitely memorable.
Q: What's your favorite writing memory?
A: Seeing my students light up when they wrote something they are proud of.
Q: What is the last book you read? What were your thoughts on it?
A: I just finished a book called One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle. It takes place in Positano, and it was a beautiful story. It made me cry. A lot.
Q: Tell us something about you that people wouldn't know by looking at you.
A: I like to sew my own clothes.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not teaching?
A: I read all the time, I love to do crossword puzzles and any other word games, and I love cooking.
04/09/2022
At Summer Ink we help students become more focused, detailed, and descriptive writers. This piece from a past Summer Ink student describes an intense ultimate frisbee game! There are so many great details: “warm sweat trickled down my nose,” I can definitely imagine this feeling on a hot summer afternoon!
03/01/2022
Meet Sheila! Sheila first worked for Summer Ink in 1996, and now she's Summer Ink's executive director. We did a short Q&A with Sheila so we could get to know her even more:
Q: What's your wackiest memory at Summer Ink?
A: Well, we used to take the kids camping in the woods overnight! So I remember being in the middle of the woods with four loaves of bread making 40 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Q: What's your favorite writing memory?
A: We did watercolor paintings by the Charles River, and then we wrote about it. It was so peaceful.
Q: What is the last book you read? What were your thoughts on it?
A: It was called The Leavers! It made me feel very lucky to be a US citizen because it’s about an undocumented Mom who was separated from her child. It made me thankful that I don’t have those types of challenges.
Q: Tell us something about you that people wouldn't know by looking at you.
A: I lived in Hawaii for five years and had a daughter out there who has a Hawaiian name.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not teaching?
A: I love to be in nature, I love to travel, and I love to spend time with friends.