What are your **secrets** to a successful summer camp?

[CA_Scouter]

Lotsa talk about summer camp... what do you do to make it more fun and comfortable for both yourself and your scouts?

 

OK, I'll go first!!!

 

1. Adults make their own coffee every morning, before camp breakfast and that brownish black stuff they call coffee. We bring our freshly ground Peets, and some of us have those lexan french presses... mmmmmmm... just the right way to start the day.

 

2. We wake up before the scouts and don't go to sleep until after they do, so we run a little short on shuteye. I manage to sneak in a short power nap after lunch most days in my folding chair with the foot rest.

 

3. We try to bring in reinforcements ( an additional one or two adults ) on Thursday to give the rest of us a bit of a break.

 

4. We roam through camp with a fanny pack full of Jolly Ranchers and hand 'em out to our scouts now and then. They really LIKE us!

 

5. Come about Wednesday, the adult leaders start planning their Saturday night dinner, as we've had just about enough of meatless and mostly tasteless meals at that point. We get into some pretty fun conversations and afterwards have to wipe the drool off our chins.. :-)

 

6. We manage to get in a few dutch oven cobblers during the week. The scouts ( and the adults ) just love it.

 

How about you?

 

 

[Eagledad]

>>Lotsa talk about summer camp... what do you do to make it more fun and comfortable for both yourself and your scouts?

[Eamonn]

The key to any successful Scouting event is remembering why you are there.

"If it's not for the Scouts, it's for the birds"

It's worth while remembering that the Scouts paid to attend.

 

 

Remember this is the BSA not the SAS.

 

Fun is the fuel that makes this entire organization work. Be prepared to laugh long and hard, be ready to let your hair down and try to see the world as if you were a kid again.

 

If something doesn't fall under the heading of being kind it has no place at Scout Camp.

 

Treat each Scout as an individual. Each has different needs, wants and expectations.

 

Even though you are there for the Scouts try and make time to do the things that you like doing. - Read a book, take a nap, go for a walk. If you don't look after you no one else will, but everyone will suffer!!

Eamonn

[Beavah]

Bring the right adults, eh? Not the bellowers, da sort that like to play Euchre with some boys.

 

Bring a set of earplugs. Those other dastardly adults all snore!

 

Gettin' enough sleep is important to keepin' everybody happy. Help the SPL to gently enforce sleep time most nights.

 

If yer in our neck o' the woods, bring some bug netting, eh?

 

Follow Eagledad's advice and have a Troop program for camp, don't (just) rely on the camp program. Better yet, have a Troop program and a patrol program for each patrol, where they get to do their own thing.

 

Wednesday night is a great time for somethin' different and special, includin' some comfort food for younger boys.

 

Find a camp with a fun staff, and a program director that sets the right tone.

 

I'm not fond of the constant sugar-stream we feed most boys in camp, but an occasional ice cream is a good thing.

 

Figure out and manage around your camp's MB scheduling scheme, whatever it is.

 

Bring lots of cool, fun toys with you.

 

 

 

[AvidSM]

A troop rafting trip down the Delaware.

A overnighter where we sleep under the stars.

Nightly reflections with the PLC.

Careful review of MB's beforehand making sure each boy is not over or under extended.

We always try for honor troop/patrol awards.

A Troop service project for the camp.

We go to a great camp with good food, facilities and a top notch staff.

Enough adults to keep an eye on the boys to make sure they are doing OK - keeping busy - no problems with MB's - no home sickness.

All first year scouts are paired up with an older boy who reviews each days activities and signs off if in his book if needed.

 

[Sir_Scoutalot]

Three things I did to make my week more enjoyable:

 

1. Invited all the adults in camp and a few others up to participate in the scout leaders' steak dinner. It's a great way to keep adults that might not participate on a regular basis up to date with the goings on in the troop.

 

2. Participate in a class or program yourself. I have done Mile Swim the past two years and love it.

 

3. This year we set up an area of the camp just for the adults. That 15 minutes spent setting up an extra dining fly was well worth it.

[tentmaker]

Preparation

 

1. Go over the packing list a dozen times, make sure the boys have what they need.

 

2. Go over the merit badge class schedule with each boy. Each boy should have a map of camp and know when he needs to be where and which other boys in the troop will be with him. If merit badges have prerequisites or requirments that should be completed before camp have these done. If mert badges have extra cost (woodcarving kit or arrow kit) have these purchased and ready the first day.

 

3. Establish buddies before you leave.

 

4. Take swim test early if the camp will let you.

 

5. Have a list of activities of opportunity you can do during any down time - games and stories that require no equipment.

 

6. We brought equipment to make ice cream at the campsite this year. It was a big hit.

 

7. Reduce free time. Boys always want free time but I find the busier they are the happier.

 

8. Compete in any competition offered. Our goal is always to compete in every scoutmaster or troop competition available. Usually we have a preliminary troop competition. For example in the archery competition the entire troop went to shoot during free time and the best shooter represented the troop in the camp competition. The same for rifle, aquatics, scoutcraft.

[OldGreyEagle]

120 pounds of Lime (3 40lbs bags)

[EagleInKY]

Pre-planning:

 

1) Review MBs offered at camp and put together recommendations based on age and/or rank. We strongly discourage "indoor" merit badges (Cits, Communicaitons) and encourage outdoor ones (fishing, shooting sports, nature, etc.). We encourage handicraft activities for 1st & 2nd year's, this keeps their hands occupied outside of "class time". A busy mind doesn't have time to get homesick.

 

2) Have guys put together a wish list of what they want to take. Then group them together into like interests. Have those groups (3-5 boys usually) put together a schedule. This forces a "group buddy" system. This is especially good for the younger ones. It's harder for 3rd, 4th and older campers, since they have more independent ideas and there are fewer of them. (Some of our older guys go alone to their sessions since they may be the only one taking COPE or other adventure offerings).

 

3) Review pre-reqs with guys several times before camp. We reminded them of this more this time and provided it to them in writing a couple of weeks before camp. Our completion percentage was much higher this year.

 

4) We always have a COH a few weeks before camp and I start it with a parent's meeting. In it I review what they need to bring to camp. I also give them tips about preventing homesickness, review how I handle discipline issues, etc.

 

At camp, where the fun really is ....

 

1) Assign an adult(s) to keep an eye on the new scouts. Ideally this is your ASM for the NSP or a parent/Webelos leader that crossed over. These guys need more care & feeding than guys who have been there before. We didn't do that this year, and I regret it.

 

2) Promote the patrol system within your troop & campsite, since the camp usually doesn't. We group tents together by patrols, give each patrol an area for them to "hang out", encourage them to do camp gadgets, etc. We perform daily tent inspections and grade them by patrol. For the big camp inter-troop competition we have them form teams by patrols. We could put together a "super team" for our troop and score better overall, but we'd rather take a hit on our score and promote patrol spirit/unity.

 

3) We have our "adult santuary" where we model the patrol system. We make our own camp gadgets (this year we did a table, a driving range, a gateway and a privy - the last was a joke, not for real use). We spend a lot of time there just relaxing. It's at the back of the campsite, so we can keep an eye on things but stay out of the way.

 

4) This year we had a patrol that wanted to cook their own food for one dinner. They had a great time and it definitely promoted patrol spirit.

 

5) The camp treats all "full-week" adults to a delicious steak dinner on Wednesday night. It's awewsome. On Thursday night, our adults cook a meal in the campsite for ourselves. We invite a few staff members to join as well as some our "neighbors". The boys enjoy the idea that we trust them to go to dinner without any adult supervision.

 

6) We do an honor camper and honor patrol award. I've thought about others like "most improved camper", "rookie camper", etc. We haven't implemented those. The honor camper is primarily based upon something I borrowed and tweaked from another site. It's called the Scout Law Scavenger Hunt. We give each scout a sheet on Sunday. They are to write down examples of them living by the Scout Law throughout the week. They turn them in on noon Friday and we present it during family night Friday night.

 

7) We have family night on Friday. Parents drive down. They bring pizza and desserts. The boys love it. (And so do the adults).

 

8) An adult plays "banker". Scouts can turn their money in to him in an envelope with the name/amount written on the outside. When the scout needs money he gets it from him. He returns it with the amount updated. If he chooses not to give it back, it's his decision.

 

9) We don't let the guys run to the trading post whenever they want. We treat it as a privelege, not a right. It's usually hot & humid at camp, and if the guys live off ice cream and pixie sticks, they'll spend lots of time in the health lodge. Our guys don't seem to complain about this and they love "trading post nights".

 

10) This year we took one session and kept all the first scouts and Troop Guide free. They spent the time in the campsite working on early rank requirements.

 

11) Coffee for the adults, yes. That's a must. We also do cake/cobbler at least one night.

 

12) We also try to do a troop campfire around Wednesday. It didn't work out this year, but maybe next time.

 

13) Defintely do a service project at camp.

 

14) Encourage your adults to participate in activities (training, Mile swim, BSA lifeguard, COPE, etc.)

 

15) Every night I have a brief troop roundtable. We gather under the fly and talk about what's going on the next day. The SPL runs most of this. If there are discipline or camp issues, I'll address it openly here. (This year we had some issues with language). I try to give them some words of encouragement and advice. I ask scouts to complement each other on good things that they saw each other do. We try to end the night on a high note. This also calms them down and they usually go to bed right after.

 

16) Our camp offers a Quality Troop program. I give the paperwork to the SPL prior to camp and explain to him that his goal is to attain this. It's totally within his grasp, but he has to stay on top of things to do it. (It's actually a pretty good program and encourages the troop to be involved in lots of activities). On family night I always recognize the SPL with a gift and a heart word of thanks. SPL at summer camp is a challenging job. Our SPL this year said he thought he aged three years that week. I don't know if he aged three years, but he definitely matured quite a bit.

[red feather]

Patience.

 

Mostly letting the scouts know that the time at camp is their time, class schedules are theirs to keep and go to. (they never know when one of the adult leaders will sit down with them in class and participate) Letting them know that what they get out of camp is pretty much up to them.

 

The scouts have their area in camp and the leaders have theirs. Gives the scouts the opportunity to build relationships together and provide a common area for them to help each other. Also gives the adults a chance to unwind. Visits by either group to the others is by invite or permission.

 

Good daytime eyeshades (for that power nap ...) Earplugs can be helpful, but I usually do not use them as I like to be able to pick up on night noises that may need attention.

 

Patience, patience, patience with the occasional blind eye but alert ears.

 

Coffee, either good or bad.

 

Letting boys be scouts knowing what the expectations are.

 

and many of the things already mentioned

 

yis

 

 

[MaScout]

Our QM put together a list of "must haves" and went over it with each scout right before we left. That way, parents could make a quick run home for forgotten necessities. His must have list included rain gear, water bottles, books, uniforma (Field & activity), sleeping bag, medications, etc.

[Cheerful Eagle]

We had 2 honors programs going: "Tribe of Oljato", the camp program, and "Order of the Lodgepole Pine", unique to our troop.

 

The "Tribe of Oljato" (signified by a temporary patch sewn above the right pocket)has 5 different levels -- brave, warrior, chief, medicine man, and tribal council -- each earned in sucession year by year(awarded as rockers for the tribal patch). The requirements include participation in camp programs, such as mb classes, and x number of camp service hours (progressivly more each year). Working those service hours keeps many a boy very busy improving trails, helping in the kitchen, doing maintinance chores that are outside of the scope of general daily cleaning. The adults earn their tribe patches too, we worked in the kitchen and did electrical repair jobs for maintenance. Troops that achieve 100% participation in the tribe get an "Honor Troop" award at the last campfire

 

The Order of the Lodgepole Pine was started many years ago in our troop. The motto is "Rise to the Challenge", and the saying is "Stand straight and walk tall". We make "dangles", to represent lodgepole pine needle packets (about 1.5 in long, 2 in a packet)with plastic lacing of different colors to represent different recognitions. Red, white or blue, for example, to represent participation in a color guard. Three different greens for being able to identify the different evergreens in camp. Pink for bravery. Yellow for exemplarly scout behavior. Silver for leadership and gold for being the SPL at summercamp (very coveted). The scouts and scouters both wear them proudly on the uniform's left pocket, haning from the pocket button.

 

[Lynda J]

You have to remember why you are there, It is for FUN. We don't try to control their every move. Main rule Buddy system and check in before you go off roaming. And in tents and quite before 11. That's about it.

 

OUr boys have had a ball at the last three summer camps. Those are the ones I know about since I have gone with them.