20 Fun Ideas for Summer Camp

Author: Melody Shuman

Summer camp is a very lucrative customer service event. It is an opportunity for you and your staff to make a lot of money while building strong relationships with the children that participates in these events. You can also acquire additional students by opening up your camps to non-students.

In this month’s report, I have put together 20 fun ideas for you and your staff to incorporate into your camp. These ideas are fun and easy to follow. Don’t worry, I only included the cool ideas; ideas that I plan on using this summer during my summer camps.

Before we get started, let’s review some basic tips about summer camps:

  1. Begin promoting your camps no later than April 1st.
  2. Camp hours should run from 9 am to 3 pm unless you are in a demographic market where earlier drop-off and pick-up times are necessary.
  3. Charge no less than $99 per person to make it worthwhile (I plan on charging $150 per person, which comes out to $5 per hour).
  4. You can offer half-days for the younger students from either 9 am to 12 pm or 12 pm to 3 pm. In this case, you would charge half price.
  5. If you have early drop off or pick up hours available, make sure you charge at least an additional $5 per hour.
  6. You can have early-bird registration to pump up the event. I plan on offering a 10% discount for people that register before May 1st.
  7. If you are offering several weeks, I would also recommend offering a 10% discount for more than one camp.
  8. Siblings should receive 10% off their camp tuition.
  9. I plan on capping off each camp at 24 kids so that my staff and I are not too overwhelmed. This comes out to over $3k per week, even when you factor in the above discounts.

Now that we’ve covered some basic tips, let’s talk about all of the fun you and your students are going to have!

Arts and crafts
Each day of the camp reserve at least 30-minutes for some fun arts and crafts. It is recommended that you do this activity towards the end of the day so that the finished piece of art isn’t destroyed during the other daily activities. Parents will love to see that their child did something creative each day, so make sure that each student puts a lot of effort into their work of art!

Here are five arts and crafts suggestions that are fun and easy for all ages:*

  1. Paper hats
  2. Paper rings
  3. Paper necklaces
  4. Create your own flag
  5. Paper airplane

*There are many ways to create each project. Therefore, I recommend that you Google any of the above suggestions for  step-by-step tips. I recommend www.familyfun.com.

 

Novelty games
I love the Rhode Island Novelty catalog. There are plenty of great ideas that are inexpensive, yet fun. Kids love novelty games, especially if they are coordinated in group activities such as summer camps.

Here are five ideas for novelty games that I gathered from the Rhode Island Novelty catalog (www.RINOVELTY.com):

  1. Mini basket ball contest
    • Item # TY-FOAMB (3” Basketball and 7.5” Net)
    • $9.75 for a dozen
      1. Line up the students from smallest to tallest.
      2. Split the group into 6 lines according to height. Have them face the mirror approximately 3 steps from the mirror.
      3. Based on the height of the students in each line, hang the basket ball net (suction cups are included) at the head level of the tallest student in line.
      4. Each student in line will get five shots.
      5. Count the total shots made. You will need a captain for each line to count and keep track of the points.
      6. Continue until each person in line has a turn.
      7. The line with the most points wins.
  1. Bow and arrow contest
    • Item # GW-BOW 30 (30” Bow and Arrow Set)
    • $19.20 for a dozen
      1. Split the group into 6 lines facing the mirror approximately 3 steps from the mirror.
      2. Tape the targets on the mirror directly in front of each line.
      3. Give the first person in each line a bow and arrow. (You will have 6 extra bows and arrows just in case any break.)
      4. The student will get three shots at the target, than pass the items to the next student in line.
      5. Count the total points based on the area of the target the arrow lands on. You will need a captain for each line to count and keep track of the points.
      6. Continue until each person in line has had a turn.
      7. The line with the most points wins.
  1. Laser glider contest
    • Item # GD-LASE6
    • $3.50 per dozen
      1. Split the group into 6 lines.
      2. Give the first person in line a laser glider.
      3. The first student in line will throw his (her) glider as far as possible.
      4. Count how many steps the glider flies. You will need a line captain for each line to count the steps. Make sure that the steps are as even as possible for each line. If this causes too much confusion, give each person a tape measure and then measure the distance.
      5. Continue until each person in line has had a turn.
      6. Add the steps/ distance for each student in line.
      7. The line with the largest total distance wins.
  1. Paddle ball contest
    • Item # CA-PADBA
    • $3.25 per dozen
      1. Split the group into 6 lines.
      2. Give the first person in line a paddle ball.
      3. The first student will have three tries to hit the ball as many times as he (she) can. You will need a captain for each line to count and keep track of the points (amount of times the ball was hit).
      4. The line with the highest score wins.
      5. Make sure you have extra paddle balls because they tend to break.
  1. Mini bowling contest
    • Item # TY-BOWLI
    • $27.00 per dozen
      1. Split the group into 6 lines.
      2. Set up the bowling pins approximately four steps away.
      3. The first student will have two tries to knock as many pins down as possible.
      4. Count the total number of pins knocked down. You will need a captain for each line to count and keep track of the points.
      5. The line with the highest score wins.

Silly games
Summer camp should be a blend of training, learning, and fun. Children look forward to the fun activities more than the learning activities simply because they are children. Use the fun activities as an incentive for their focus and attention during the more serious drills and you will get much better results.

Here are five silly games that kids love:

  1. Sharks and fishes relay race
  1. Item # CA-FANSH (18” Shark pincher) / $6 per dozen
  2. Item # ZA-SEALI (2” Assorted Sea Life) / $8.75 per gross
      1. Split the group into 6 lines.
      2. Place equal amounts of sea life 6 cups (one per line) and place them across the training mat.
      3. Place a cup at the back of each line.
      4. Give the first students in line a shark pincher.
      5. The first student will run to the other side and grab as many sea life creatures as possible using the shark pincher and bring them back to the cup at the end of the line. 
      6. Once the student dumps all of the sea life in the cup, the next student in line will go.
      7. Continue until each person in line has a turn.
      8. The line with the most sea life wins.
  1. Freeze dance
  1. Have the student spread out on the training mat.
  2. Play some fun upbeat music for the students to dance to.
  3. Randomly stop the music. The students must freeze.
  4. The students that are caught moving when the music is off are out and must sit on the side.
  5. Continue until there are only 4 students left.
  6. Have the 4 remaining students have a “dance off”.
  7. The students that are sitting will vote on the best dancer.
  1. Pop the balloon relay race
  1. Blow up one balloon for every student
  2. Divide the students into 6 lines.
  3. The first student in line will run to the other end of the training deck and pop the balloon by either stepping on it, or sitting on it.
  4. Once the balloon pops, he (she) must run back and “high five” the next person in line.
  5. Continue until all of the students in line pop their balloons.
  6. The line that finishes the fastest is the winner.
  1. On your knees beach ball party
  1. Have all of your students spread out on the training mat, and stand on their knees.
  2. When you say “go” the students will keep the beach ball in the air by hitting it with their head, shoulders, arms, or hands.
  3. The goal is to see how long they can keep the beach ball in the air before it touches the ground.
  4. You can make this a contest by splitting them into groups and timing them with a stop watch.
  5. You can make it even more challenging by using more than one beach ball.
  1. Statue
  1. Have all of your students spread out on the training mat.
  2. When you say “go” the students will have to freeze in a silly position like a statue.
  3. Walk around and try to make each statue laugh.
  4. If they move, then they are out and must sit on the side.
  5. Continue until only one statue is left.
  6. You can make it even more fun by walking around and taking pictures of each statue.
  7. If there are several left and they are really good at being still, you can tell them not to blink or else they are out.

Camp themes
Another great way to make things fun is to have a theme each day that the students must follow. Theme days are great for each student’s individuality and sense of humor. It is also a great ice-breaker for the shy kids.

Here are five great theme days for summer camp:

  1. Silly hat day
  2. Wear your clothes backwards day
  3. Silly sunglasses day
  4. Silly hairdo day (no hair dye)
  5. Silly socks day

Conclusion
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to your summer camps. They should have a perfect balance of training, learning and fun! Don’t forget to check out archived reports by typing in the key word “summer camp” in the search bar of our site. Scroll down and read the archived reports for plenty of summer camp ideas. Keep in mind, the more fun your students have during summer camp, the more student moral you will build at your school!


 
 


  
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