How to Create Activities for Summer Camp

Summer camp is a fun time for kids to meet new friends, try new things and enjoy just being a kid. If you are on the administrative staff at a summer camp, it is up to you to make sure the activities that your campers are participating in are fun, educational and exciting. Here are some tips for creating activities for summer camp.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Consider the campers. Since every summer camp caters to a different type of camper, the activities you present must work for your particular group of campers. If a large number of your campers have learning disabilities or physical handicaps, design activities that all of them will be able to participate in and enjoy while avoiding anyone feeling left out.

2. Keep it simple. Any activity will lose its appeal if it is too complicated for the campers to understand. If you find that the activities you are coming up with take a long time to explain or set up or are very detailed, consider streamlining them a bit. This will keep them easy for the campers and other staff to remember and will also leave more time for having fun actually doing the activity.

3. Expand horizons. Summer camp is all about trying new things and developing new skills, so design activities for your campers that allow them to enhance their knowledge. Have a day themed around campers learning about cultures around the world. The menu for that day can include ethnic foods and campers can learn about music, dancing and crafts that children in other countries do. Other themes, like outer space or the old west can also be used as a basis for a whole day of activities that can let campers learn and have fun at the same time.

4. Be creative. There are the old standby activities that happen every summer at camp, like relay races and swimming contests. Rather than stick to these same old routines, think outside the box to find new and exciting things for the campers to try. It might be an activity to make your own musical instrument or build your own tent to camp out in overnight.

5. Utilize the other staff members. One of the great things about summer camp is that it usually employs a staff of counselors and workers from a wide range of backgrounds. Take advantage of the many talents and skills of your fellow camp staff and let them help out with activities. Perhaps there is a staff member who plays a musical instrument and can teach kids music basics or an art student who can engage the campers in painting a mural or making a giant collage.

6. Enlist help from the community. If your camp facility allows it, consider activities that campers can participate in outside of the regular camp. Many community centers, museums, zoos and local theaters allow camps for children to participate in activities at their facility, and you might even be able to secure admission for a discounted rate or even free.

7. Make it fun. No matter how simple, easy or silly your activity seems to be, it is a success if the campers are having fun. It can be as simple as an ice cream party or diving for pennies in the camp pool. Whatever activities you plan, make them fun and they will be a smash.

Resources

• Ideas for Summer Camp Activities on Wilderdom.com

[scottmitzi]

on 6/20/2009 Thanks, we just got home from a week of summer church camp and love it.