Troy University‘s Summer Spotlight camp has inspired creativity in children for a little over 10 years and this year children have been invited to a “Barnyard Bash” where they learn about farming and animals through the arts.

“Every year there is a common goal to teach kids about critical thinking, teamwork and creativity,” says Camp Coordinator Jenny Meadows. “So they’re learning so much and they don’t even realize it because we sing songs and they use their hands and they cooperate at Summer Spotlight.”

The children are encouraged to think critically and to use their imaginations and they use teamwork and creativity to build a barn as a part of the week’s activities.

“The children are designing a barn and then they’re going to come together and build a huge barn out of boxes,” says Meadows. “Then at night some magical farm animals come out and help get the set ready for the show.”

With the guidance of counselors, the children essentially create their own theater production.

Meadows says that this is their show and it reinforces the principles that they are learning.

“So they take ownership and pride in it and it just teaches them to use their voices and bodies and work with others to create stories and that’s essentially what this camp is all about,” says Meadows.

Though the kids are running the show, the grown-ups are also learning valuable teaching techniques that they can use in a classroom setting.

“I think it’s very effective with this hands-on teaching,” says Camp Counselor and Secondary Education Major Amy Lowery. “Because it’s structured different there’s more of a creative aspect to it. It’s more of a ‘Hey, how about you come up with something and you create what you feel.'”

For the full story watch Cailey’s report.