Structure

[Brandih]

Hey All-
I was just put in charge of a brand new summer "club" (called a club so we can run it through the elementary school w/o having to get any licenses) and have no idea where to start. There are two of us directing it, my partner deals with the money, recruitment, hiring, etc. I'm in charge of the kids and actually making everything go smooth once they all arrive. I was wondering how you all structured your day camps during the day (as far as when they did activities, ate lunch, etc.) and then if there was any structure to your weeks and how those go. Any information helps here!!

-Brandi

PS - If there are also any good books that you think would help out, send titles my way!

[Smudge]

The year I worked at day camp we followed the same structured as the res camp it was based in! The campers would arrive before breakfast, eat breakfast with the res camp and then the day would be structured the same way as res camp with 1 hour blocks of activities - there were certain activities which had to be done during the week such as arts and crafts, archery, climbing, environmental center, daily swim lessons and free swim, boating and IC course - and christian ed - in the time that was left we were free to plan what ever we wanted then!!!! We also did one cook out meal a week. The kids ate lunch and dinner at the same time as the res camp too - and then went home after the free time hour after dinner!

Hope that is the kind of info you were looking for!

[triplethreat]

Here is my daycamp schedule:

7:45 – 8:45 Extended Care
8:30 – 8:45 Staff Meeting
8:45 - 9:00 Camper Drop-Off
9:00 – 9:15 Group Time
9:15 – 9:45 Instruction Period #1
9:45 - 10:15 Instruction Period #2
10:15 – 10:30 Morning Snack
10:30 - 11:00 Instruction Period #3
11:00 - 11:30 Instruction Period #4
11:30 – 12:00 Instruction Period #5
12:00 - 12:30 Lunch Break
12:30 - 1:00 Cabin Siesta (Read a book, quiet games, etc)
1:00 - 1:30 Activity Period #1
1:30 – 2:00 Activity Period #2
2:00 - 2:30 Activity Period #3
2:30 – 2:45 Afternoon Snack
2:45 – 3:15 Activity Period #4
3:15 - 3:45 Activity Period #5
3:45 – 4:00 Group Time
4:00 – 4:15 Camper Pick-Up
4:15 – 5:15 Extended Care


Hope that helps a little!

[audur]

I worked at a day camp for kids with mental disabilities last summer. Our schedule was very flexible, depending on each kid's needs. Most days it went something like this, though:

8:00 - 9:00 Extended Day
9:00 - 10:00 Free Play/Songs/Group Games
10:00 - 10:30 Morning Snack
10:30 - 11:00 Get Ready Time
11:00 - 3:00 Field Trip
3:00 - 3:30 Afternoon Snack
3:30 - 4:00 Outside Play/Clean-Up
4:00 - 5:00 Extended Day

Because we were based out of a building in the middle of the city, we had to go on field trips for a lot of activities. We went swimming once a week, and usually we had at least two other trips each week (boating, climbing wall, fishing, petting zoo, police station...). The kids bring their own sack lunch. On Fridays we spent most of the day at the actual camp, doing various activities in the morning, BBQ for lunch and usually watched a video in the afternoon.

Having only one or two activities each day really worked for us, though, as it takes a lot of time to get the kids ready for any activity (just going swimming requires half an hour of get-ready time, half an hour on the bus, half an hour to get the kids in swimsuits...). I have no experience with mainstream day camps, but I assume that you could get a LOT of stuff done in the four hours it takes us just to go swimming!

[Shrek]

Here is what I have run the last few years. It worked really well for our camp but they tended to enjoy the large group assemblies.
Camp Schedule
7:30 - 9:00 Rides In
9:00 - 9:15 Opening Assembly
9:15 - 9:30 Huddle Time ( Attendance, Snack Report, Sunscreen )
9:30 - 10:10 Activity 1
10:20 - 10:35 AM Snack
10:40 - 11:20 Activity 2
11:30 - 12:10 Activity 3
12:15 - 12:45 Lunch ( Attendance, Sunscreen )
12:50 - 1:30 Activity 4
1:40 - 2:20 Activity 5
2:30 - 2:45 PM Snack
2:55 - 3:35 Activity 6
3:40 - 4:00 Huddle Time ( Attendance, Sunscreen, Devotion, Beads )
4:00 - 4:30 Closing Assembly
4:30 - 6:00 Rides Out

Hope that helps

Shrek