It’s been a very busy and very exciting summer so far. At the top of the list for cool things that have happened is our Summer Camp.
In summers past we have hosted a number of different camp and day care programs from many different orginizations around Calgary. Everybody from SAIT to YMCA to the Calgary Bridge Foundation. This is the first time that we have hosted our own CSI Summer Camp program.
The camp was a huge success and we leared a lot! Here are a few lessons we learned from summer camp.
Give The Kids Some Control Over The Schedule
We found that the kids like to have some control over their day. We built some flexability into the schedule to allow some extra time here and there if the kids were really getting involved with something. And be able to move on to the next activity if they were loosing interest.
Have More Activities Planned Than You Need
You never know when you might need to pull out a quick game to fill some time, or replace a planned activity with something new that might be a bit more interesting to this particular group of kids.
Make It Unlike School
The mainstay of our programming is for school classes. For 10 months of the year we provide great cirriculum based programs for teachers and students. Programming a summer camp is a very different thing. We found it is important to find very hands on ways to engage the kids in some of our educational material.
Let The Kids Create Some Games
We found that when it came to our gym and outdoor time we could come prepared with some games and let the kids decide what they wanted to play. They really enjoyed this control over their day and some of the best games we played came from them.
Go To Some Really Cool Places
The kids all agreed that some of the best parts of the camp were the trips we took. We will be workin hard over the next few months to add more destinations to our list.
Dicipline By Asking Questions
Invariably, when running a week long camp, the issue of diciplining will come up. We found that the kids knew when they were doing something innapropriate and that simply asking them what the rules are was enough for them to stop what they were doing and in most cases not repeat what they were doing.
Establish A Routine Early
Setting out a consistant schedule for every day was very important for being able to give the kids the control and flexability mentioned earlier. If the kids know generally what to expect in their day, it becomes a lot easier for them to make decisions with in that framework.
Make It A Unique Experience
Being unique is what will draw people to the program, keep kids engaged while they are here and keep the program memorable and impactful once the kids have left.
