Programming

2011 and 2012, I was very hands off with programming. I came up with the themes and helped with some ideas, but I mostly let the program directors do everything. In other years, I have written and planned ALL programming. I'm good at it. I'm not bragging- it's just a fact that it is a skill I have and I LOVE doing it.

At the end of last summer, I felt like I hadn't actually been at camp. I hadn't gotten in a kayak, had barely even looked at the programming (and hadn't gone to most of it). I was disappointed in myself and felt like I'd wasted the summer.

So this year, in addition to K being new and needing more guidance, I wanted to make sure I was involved in programming because it's the part of camp I really enjoy.

I'm proud to say that programming has been outstanding. I am particularly proud of this week. This week is "Game Week" so we have created a bunch of games for the kids. But not just your typical board games or group games!

Here is a list of just some of the cool stuff the kids will be doing-

 All-Camp Twister! This was from Pinterest. I have had bad luck with ideas from Pinterest (too often, the projects look easy but end in disaster), but this one worked well! K and I made a stencil out of a big piece of cardboard and then used spray paint to make the circles. I am pretty sure we were both high by the time we were done, and the circles weren't as perfect as I'd hoped, but overall, it turned out great and the kids really enjoyed it!

Chutes and Ladders! When I'd imagined this one, it was with those small orange slides that are often in backyards. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any and I didn't have the budget to buy several so we had to use beach towels. I was a little disappointed, because it would have been so cool looking with real slides, but the kids had a lot of fun. When they hit a shoot, they had to roll on the ground to the square they were going to. We used real ladders laying on the ground for the ladders. The giant dice are cardboard boxes covered in white paper. The kids loved it.

Battleship! We hung a giant tarp over the volleyball net and made "ships" using milk crates. Some ships were made of 2 crates, some were 3 and some 4 (because in real Battleship, the ships are also different sizes). Kids threw balls over the net to try to hit the ships and "sink" each others' battleships. Ultimately we had to take down the tarp because it was basically impossible when you couldn't see the other ships, but it was really fun.

Skinny Hippos! In Hungry Hippos, you try to eat as many marbles as you can and whoever has the most, wins. We created 6 triangles on the field that cabin groups stood inside of. We were afraid if they were trying to gather balls, it would turn into a wrestling match, so our version was called Skinny Hippos! Instead of eating the balls, you were trying to get rid of them. We blew the whistle and every beach ball, kickball, football and other type ball we had at camp went FLYING through the air. Cabins attempted to keep their area ball-free while throwing balls into the other areas. When the whistle blew, whoever had the least number in their area would win the round.

Skinny Hippos was super fun, but it was approximately 100 degrees outside, so after about 4 rounds, we took out the hose and shot water straight into the air and basically let the kids run through and get soaking wet.

I am VERY proud of the creative programming this week and I am so much happier this summer being hands on again.