Tents and a campfire were set up in the middle of the library this week for a Baxter Elementary School tradition, Camp Baxter.

“This week we have Camp Baxter, which has been a loved tradition for many, many, many years. This is my first year at Baxter Elementary and one of my children went through four years at Baxter Elementary, and when I asked him what we need to keep the very first thing he said was Camp Baxter,” said Tammie Sand-Benson, Baxter Elementary Media Secretary.

The idea for Camp Baxter came years ago as a way to create a fun setting for students to enjoy reading.

“Kids get to come in with their teachers and their class and enjoy reading through a different venue and that’s the campsite. So we’re trying to promote that reading is fun anywhere,” explained Tammy Stellmach, Baxter Elementary School Principal.

All of the classes get to attend Camp Baxter during their scheduled library classes.

“We tell a story and then we have the go into their tents where they have brought with them a flashlight, a blanket, a book, they snuggle in with some friends and they get a little time to read,” Tammie Sand-Benson said.

For the staff at Baxter Elementary, it is important for them to allow students to experience that reading can be fun outside of school.

“What we look or is to make sure that kids is enjoyable and fun. It’s a pastime. It’s for pleasure and we want them to see that they can read past the classroom. So the makeshift setting of a campsite here at school is one way to get students to see that they can read outside of the walls of this school,” said Stellmach.

Camp Baxter is a tradition that students look forward to every year and that staff hope to carry on well into the future.

“It is such a loved tradition at Baxter Elementary, I can’t see ending it anytime soon,” added Sand-Benson. “I’m quite sure this is a tradition that will carry on for years and years and years.”

Camp Baxter was originally planned to only take place until Friday, but with this week’s school cancellations, it will be extended so all classes have a chance to participate.

By — Rachel Johnson

Lakeland News Lead Reporter