camp-activities.com

It can be so much fun to plan camp fun and carry out your summer camp programs.  But often camp directors have to leave that to program staff. Their main activities usually revolve around camp budgets, raising funds, managing the managers, and marketing.  Even full time program staff members may get involved in these necessary camp activities as well.

There are many ways to increase camp income.  You may be developing new programs that meet the needs and wants of people in your community.  Many residential camps are adding day camp programs because summer child care is an increasing need in their communities.  This works for camps that are within a reasonable driving distance of populated areas.

Probably you are advertising and attending community events in order to make people in your area aware of what your camp has to offer.  You may also be coming up with incentives, new activities, and new facilities to attract more campers and retreat guests.  The more campers and retreat guests you can bring in, the more income your camp will have to work with.

Of course, various forms of fundraising are necessary for nonprofit camps.  You need to keep in contact with donors as well as find new ones.  And fundraising events can be huge time consumers, but very worthwhile when it comes to keeping your camp afloat financially.

Some camps have been rather slow to jump aboard internet advertising.  They put up websites, but do not know how to optimize them for search engine traffic or how to drive traffic to their sites.  One of the difficulties is that full-time camp staff are already overworked, and taking time to learn and put into effect internet marketing would be very difficult.  For that reason, it’s often more effective to pay for services from an internet marketing specialist who can do work for the camp on an as needed basis.

Just because someone knows how to make a website, he or she does not necessarily know how to optimize it for traffic or how to drive traffic to it.  Because I have a background in camping and in internet marketing, I am now making myself available to work with camps on a free lance basis to help them build free traffic to their websites.  I can help camps get listed on Google maps, run Adwords campaigns, and raise their organic search engine rankings.  Also I can help them add content to their sites that will help those looking for camps for their children to recognize the benefits of your camp program.

If you’d like to discuss this, contact me:

Karen Roberts
610-955-4724

It’s that time of year when camp directors are working diligently to prepare for staff training.  Here is a partial checklist of subjects to cover in order to adequately train your staff:

Your camp mission and policies

Supervisory structure – who reports to whom, who leads what, etc.

Safety and liability issues

Camper supervision

Weekly and daily schedules

Camp traditions, songs, and skits, along with rehearsals

Summer or weekly themes

Rules for various activities and areas of camp such as the waterfront and dining hall

Recognizing child abuse signs and protecting yourself from abuse allegations

Specialized training such as for ropes course, team-building, boating, target sports, etc.

Organizing skill groups, clubs, special interest groups, etc.

Camper discipline

Counseling skills

Time off schedule and staff curfews

Understanding camper age group characteristics

Emergency procedures

CPR and first aid training

Games to play with campers

Rainy day activities

Building moral character and/or spirituality in campers through the camp experience

If your camp has a Christian emphasis, you will also want to include spiritual growth activities and training for how your staff can help your campers spiritually.  You may want to read the article “How To Keep Your Christian Camp Staff Growing Spiritually.” Also you might want to take a look at the “John Comes To Camp” Staff Devotional, which includes devotions for staff training week.

Having special theme days helps make your children’s camp programs more exciting.  A fun theme for a day of activities is “B Day.”  On “B Day,” plan lots of activities that begin with the letter B.  You can have campers rotate in small groups from activity to activity.  Have each group give themselves a team name that begins with B.

If you include a Bible lesson in your camp schedule, teach on the Beatitudes – The Attitudes That Should BE In You!

Here are some ideas for activities you can do that start with B:

baseball
bubble blowing
bubble gum blowing contest
basket making
board games, like Bingo and Battleship
baking
barn dance or break dancing
basketball relays, with shooting, dribbling, and passing contests
Sing songs that start with the letter B.
big banana split  (make in gutter troughs and give everyone a spoon to dig in!)
bonfire
boondoggle (otherwise known as gimp or plastic lacing)
butterscotch or bitesized candy hunt
buddy races
banner making
bottle decorating  (with paint on the outside or colored sand on the inside)
Biggest Baby Hunt  (Certain staff members are dressed like babies with diapers and are hiding, waiting to be
found!)

Big Bug Hunt with Bug Viewers

GeoSafari Bug Patrol Sliding magnifying lens keeps the insect inside in full view from any angle. Handy full-color, 6-page booklet gives special tips on catching and caring for insects. Airholes in lid Belt clip on back clips to a belt or pocket. Ages 4 and up