Children's Program

Children’s Activity Program – Pursuing Prince Caspian: Character Lessons from Narnia – Andrew Lazo & Amber Salladin

Designed for children ages 7-12 (age exceptions gladly considered on an individual basis!), this program will offer children a chance to engage with C.S. Lewis on their own level in imaginative, creative and faithful ways.  So what does that mean, how will that look, you surely ask?  So glad you did!

• Imaginative:  Following Lewis’ example of gleefully living the life of the mind, we will ask the children loads of questions, letting the answers arise from their own thoughts—how might the Prince Caspian movie look?  How might the forthcoming film differ from the book we are reading together? Which characters in the book do you recognize in yourself and others?  Who do you want to be like?

• Creative:  Each session , children will participate in a creative activity of their choosing—making up stories based on some of Lewis’ hints in the books, making pictures, or songs, or a little play—the limits in this section will be those of the imagination!

• Faithful:  Each session , after reading from the book, we will explore on a child’s level devotional aspects from the text.  We’ll memorize some verses and seek from our reading ways in which we can live as followers of Aslan in our homes and schools – in all our daily lives.

• Joyful:  We will spend time in song with the children.  Whether meant for learning memory verses, performance, or just plain fun, our song time will joyfully reinforce the creative learning happening at every session.  And being that we are in a beautiful, natural setting, we will explore the joy of nature through outdoor recreation appropriate to the weather .

Our goal is for purposeful fun, so that we might encourage children to enjoy their reading, to find little life lessons all around them, and to become better followers of Aslan in their own inimitably unique ways!

Andrew Lazo – A Ph.D. candidate at Rice University, where he studies Modernist British literature, Lazo is a Jacob K. Javits Fellow in the Humanities, as well as a visiting scholar at the Marion E. Wade Center (Wheaton, IL).  He has published several articles about Lewis and Tolkien and has lectured around the country on their books. Upon receiving his doctorate, he will pursue a career in teaching these authors around the country in seminars and retreats.  He teaches Composition at Houston Baptist University, and has taught in and out of the university for several years.  He has also taught a highly popular church-based adult education course, exploring devotional aspects of The Chronicles of Narnia.  He enthusiastically led the Children’s Track at our Southwest Regional C.S. Lewis Retreat at Camp Allen, Texas in 2004 and 2005 and at our 2006 C. S. Lewis Summer Institute at Williams College, Massachusetts.

Amber Fort-Salladin – Accompanist for the Vancouver Bach Choir, BC, Amber formerly served in similar capacities at the University of Southern California and at Wheaton College, IL.  In addition, she is director of the Youth Choir at the Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach, a free music program to children and youth at risk in Vancouver's inner city. She further serves as assistant director of music and worship at St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church. She has been a lecturer and interim director of choral activities at Whittier College, a middle school music teacher, and a church adult choir director.  She has performed at various division conventions of the ACDA and on tour in both the US and UK.  Ms. Salladin holds the M.M. in Choral Music from the University of Southern California and the B.M.Ed. from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music.  She lent her talents to co-lead the Children’s Track at our 2006 C. S. Lewis Summer Institute at Williams.

To register, please click here to visit the Camp Allen Registration site. On the Camp Allen website, please click on the “Click Here to Register” box below “C.S. Lewis Foundation.” 

or call toll-free: (866) 334-2267.