The Secret Seven...

[CubsRgr8]

Day Camp Strategies That Really Work!

 

I am so pumped up about day camp for my pack this summer! I had almost half (19!) of my pack sign up Tuesday night, and this is a pack that hasn't done ANY summertime activities for years and years! How can this be, you might ask? Here are the winning strategies.

 

1) Attend your council's day camp leader orientation. That way, you really are the expert and don't have to tell people, "I'll get back to you" or the dreaded "call the council office."

2) Gather a consensus from the other den leaders as to which session works for the group. Between the four in my pack, my narrowed it down to one session that we all will all attend as leaders.

3) This becomes THE session you promote to your pack families. While you let them know there are other sessions available, you promote THE session as a fun, easy for parents, pack activity.

4) Pick a pack meeting as sign-up night that can still that take advantage of the early bird discount from your council.

5) Mail out a day-glo orange flyer to each scout. It won't get lost in their backpacks and they love getting mail.

6) Have a slide or video show playing at the signup table while you're collecting forms and fees. I rented ($17) a table top Cara-mate slide projector.

7) Be enthusiastic! Be a rah-rah! Have fun!

 

Hope the Secret Seven work for you!

[redfrecklemom]

Let me add an eighth idea that helped us this year -- we had sign-ups for carpooling right off, too. Our Day Camp is a 1/2 hour drive away, so people were reluctant last year to sign up for the travelling up there and back 4 days a week.

 

This year, at deposit time and sign-ups, we set out a carpool sheet, too. Had who can drive which days and which direction and who cannot drive at all, but would pitch in for gas $$ (The parents who both work full-time are usually game for the pitching in rather than worrying about transportation.)

 

I also (probably sadly) sold Day Camp to a few parents as cheap babysitting for the week. A couple of moms were reluctant to fork our the $55 for 4 days that ours costs -- I said where else can you drop your kids off (Only becuase my "walk-around parent" sheet is full of volunteers!) for 4 FULL days of fun activities for that kind of $$? Got a few to think about it that way! (Don't tell my DE that we promoted it as daycare -- but his ##'s were up from last year, so.......)

 

Anyway just another thought about the carpooling.........

 

 

[Eamonn]

Day Camp is one of the most wonderful events in Scouting.

Wonderful, because it really does show that Cub Scouting, works best when the entire family is involved.

Wonderful, because the boys have such a great time.

I spent five years as a Program Director, and loved every part of it from Camp School, to the final Camp Fire.

I found the best way to increase attendance was to give the parents a job to do, some just loved working with crafts, while others were happy to be Walkers (Staying with a den and walking with them.)

Another good thing was that we got all the parents who were helping to attend the Youth Protection training. Where I admit, I preached the Two Deep Leadership. This did turn a few heads, and some of the packs got a den leader or two out of it.

One strange thing was that as I talked to these parents, who had given up thier time to help me, someone who they might not have known. I asked them what they were doing in thier home pack. So often the answer was, that they had never been asked.