Ideas to Improve Day Camp

[Eagle92]

Ok folks as you know I am involved in day camp this week and we are having some "challenges and opportunities." Publicly I am telling folks it's "growing pains" as we have rapidly expanded from 18 Cubs in camp in 2008 to 55 this year. I want to see how others handle the situations I am encountering.

 

1) What do you do at orientation and how do you do it? Here the orientation consists of parents showing up within a two hour span, picking up their cub's t-shirt, and this year book with all the information for the week, and checking with the CD that all the paperwork is in. No discussion of what's going to happen. No discussion of the activities they are invited to, nada.

 

I was thinking about setting up sessions for the different groups: 2PM all the tigers and wolves, 2:30 wolves, 3:00 bears, 3:30 Webelos. Actually talk to the parents, let them know what is happening, answer any questions they have, and then turn them over to the CD to verify paperwork. Or better yet, work on a list shows what paperwork is missing, so that the DL can tell them see the CD.

 

2) How do you handle check ins? I remember as a DC way back in the day that each den had a list of scouts that parents checked in and out of. But the CD is adamant on her checking in and out the Cubs as she likes to personally see the parents. While thsi is great with 18-25 folks, it was getting rough with 38 last year, and we are getting seom frustrated looks with parents today.

 

3) How do you handle early arrivals? Now I can understand the staffer bringing their kids or carpool to camp early, but I've been told that parents are dropping off their kids 45-50 minutes early. I get there 30 minutes before camp starts, and I thought they were part of the CD's pack that she was carpooling, but apparently the parents are just dropping them off.

 

4) What are some ideas to let folks know that we really need their kids there at starting time, and that they really should wait until after the evening flag ceremony to leave with their kids?

 

[momof2cubs]

I don't have any kind of re-invent the wheel ideas for your questions, but I can try to tell you how my district did it this year. I was a den leader this year, so I got a pretty good sense on what worked (at least for me)

 

1. Orientation was actually very low key. The parents were contacted via e-mail earlier and given all the basic info (what to bring, times, some sampling of activities, etc) by the program director. They also encouraged all the den leaders to contact their parents the week before by phone or e-mail. All the kids that I had in my den were from my pack, so I knew them all, so I just sent a general e-mail. Then that Saturday we gave them a 2 hour window to come in, meet their den leader, pick up their T-shirt and water bottle, and get their last minute questions answered.

 

2. Check in: we were each given a grid that had the kids name and check in and check out column. As they came in, they got a check mark for being here. We turned them in to the PD so that he could have a quick look at who was here and who wasn't. There was the same process (reversed) for check out. It worked just fine for me as a den leader.

 

3. Early arrivals: you have GOT to be firm on this. We were absolutely adamant that we would NOT accept any child before the start up time. We made it ABSOLUTELY clear that this was not a day care and that we could not in any way, shape, or form be ready to receive children before 8:30AM (ours was a day camp, not evening). If they showed up at carpool, no one would meet them. It only happened once. You have to be very firm on this. This of course does not apply to the children of volunteers (duh).

 

4. This wasn't an issue since we used carpool lanes. So the kids weren't called out to go to the cars until we were done. In fact we had to be equally firm about not being late in picking up children.

 

As I have mentioned before in here, our area has somewhat of a hard time convincing parents that BSA does not, in fact, stand for Baby Sitters of America.

[shortridge]

>> Put den leaders in charge of check-in for their Cubs. Making 50+ people wait in a line to see one person creates an unecessary bottleneck.

 

>> Early drop-off is becoming more and more common at other summer camps and day-care programs - it's flexibility for parents who have non-flexible work hours. If your camp starts at 9 a.m. and parents have to be at work at 8:30, it's a non-starter, and they'll go elsewhere. Consider for next year offering pre-care (or "pre-camp") - for a fee. Give two early-rising DLs a discount for their kids for running some gathering activities every day.

 

>> Start the program on time - don't wait for late kids. When the tardy parents arrive, give them a map and tell them *they* have to take their kid to meet their den wherever it is. If that means walking a half-mile through the buggy woods to the archery range, they've got to do it - not you. They'll get the message.

[Eagle92]

Thanks and please keep the ideas coming. Some info on our camp.

 

1) Times are 8AM to 5PM Monday through Friday. However we are having a lot of parents pick them up early. Seem like 1/3 are gone by 4:45 Flag Ceremony.

 

2)We are at the local council camp in my district.

 

3) We have a history of 1 or 2 packs supplying leaders and not every pack coming to day camp. This year is the first time in years that every pack in the district except three SCOUTREACH have at least 2 kids at camp. We tried to get them to come, but they do a non-BSA program camp.

 

4) I wish I could pay or give a discount to our staffers. Fee is $55 on time/$70 Late and only half of that is going to specific camp budgets. Council's half pays for training, mail outs, patches, insurance, etc. Our 1/2 pays for rental fees, t-shirts (don't ask), and program supplies.So putting on a program for $.50/ hour can be challenging.

 

Now here's another question for you: Do you have all the dens meet together as one group prior to assembly, eat together as one group, etc or do you have them dived up all over your camps?

 

I ask because for the past 3 years, the dens all meet under one shelter prior to assembly, for lunch, for the afternoon break, and for dismissal. At 55 campers, the shelter is to small. One idea is to add a tarp to increase the area. another is to have the Dens meet in campsites, i.e. All Wolf Dens meet in Campsite A, All Bear Dens meet in Campsite B, etc. the campsite would be their home for the week, as well as a program area.

[Shilue]

Eagle92,

I've just finished my second year as Cub Scout Day Camp Director, and I'd be happy to talk with you sometime and help you out with any questions that you might have.

Our camp was a Day Camp, from 9am-4pm. We had 59 boys this year.

 

To answer your questions:

1) We have no orientation.I send out an email the Friday before camp to the final roster that explains the sign-in/sign out procedure, what the boys need to bring, and what paperwork the parents need to bring the first day. I also send them a copy of the BSA health form in case they don't already have it.

2) Checkins - I divide the roster in half: a-M, N-Z and have a clipboard for each. As the parents come in, they were directed to the appropriate line. One of my staff members handed each of them a card that needed to be filled out with the scouts name, parent phone number, and who was authorized (or specifically NOT authorized) to pick up their child in the afternoon. When they got to the table, we checked them off, made sure we had the card and their health form, then directed them to another table to pick up their T-shirt. Name tags were on their den tables. It went very smoothly this year.

3) We told parents that nobody would be able to watch their child until 8:30. If they wanted to bring their child early, they were welcome to, but they would not be able to leave until we had sufficient staff there to watch them. It was not a problem, fortunately.

4) We simply told the parents what time camp started and what time it ended. If they weren't able to be there on time, it was their son that would miss out. We did have some boys who were late each morning for various reasons, but we didn't worry about it.

Our signout procedure was: We set up a table OUTSIDE the main hall for signout. As parents came up, they again split into 2 lines by last name. They told us their childs name, we pulled their signout card and verified the identity of the person. If we didn't know them, they had to show id, which for some meant a walk back to the car. Once we had verified that they were allowed to pick up the child, we had them sign the signout sheet, and they could go wait inside until we were done. Again, we had no problems with it, and it ran smoothly.

 

With regards to your last question about how they meet up. We hold our Day Camp at a local church. They have a large fellowship hall that we use for our assemblies and campfires. Each den has its own table that they gather at. we divide them up by wolves/tigers, bears, and webelos. This year we had 2 dens of each type (6 total). We live in South Carolina, and during Day Camp, it typically gets up to 100 degrees each day, so our assemblies are inside, and each den alternates an inside and an outside activity, to give them a chance to cool off.

 

If you need any further information, feel free to ask.

 

[Twocubdad]

Shoot, most years we had more than 55 Tag-a-Longs. Never had fewer than 225 campers. One year we were over 325 with 100 volunteers and 75 or 80 siblings in camp. Big numbers are doable.

 

1)We used a system of "Day Camp Coordinators" from each pack. They handled registration and any orientation-like issues for the scouts in their pack. Everything a parent needs to know should be included in an info flyer the coordinator gets to the parents via best channel (email, handouts at pack meetings, etc.) We never had a parent/cub orientation and never felt the need for one.

 

2) Every den had it's own place, in our case every den had it's own table in the main gym. On Monday we had multiple staff members at the door with master rosters helping parents and cubs ID their den and point them in the right direction. If a parent felt the need to walk to the table and speak with the DL, fine. If they kissed them at the door and patted them on the butt, fine too. The DL's handled check-in for the den -- took attendance and turned attendance sheets in to HQ; collected lunches; distributed nametags, etc. At a set time all the dens assembled at the flag pole for the opening and we were off.

 

3) Lock the gate. Seriously, have a staff member at the door turning people around.

 

4) Tell them so. I like the idea of making the parent march their kid through the woods to the archery range if they're late.

 

As far as early pick-ups, I think your camp is too long. And if you only have a few kids left at 4:45, your customers are telling you camp is too long, too. If 8 to 5 is too much for sitting in school, it's for dang sure too long for a high-energy day camp. Hell, I'm exhausted just writing about it.

 

Our camp was 8:00 to 4:00 for staff, 8:30 to 3:30 for campers. To my knowledge, working parents' schedules were never a problem. As we're in a suburban area and many if not most working parents commute, for us to accommodate work schedules we would have to be open from 6:30am to 6:00pm. Um, no. We're a volunteer-run a Cub Scout program, not day care. Parents generally worked out car pool arrangements or coordinated pick-ups within their packs. Again, that was an area where the pack coordinators helped out.

 

As far as meeting space, how do you meet the standard for emergency shelter?

 

Go back to your materials from camp school. Go through the case studies of the larger camps. It's in there.

[ScoutNut]

We have room for 100 Scouts, and we will get darn close to that number. Our camp goes from 9am to 3pm. Check-in is from 8am until 9am. We have gathering games for early arrivals.

 

Scouts can not just be dropped off. Whoever drives them to camp must come up to the registration area, and sign them in personally. Scouts are not allowed to just disappear at the end of the day. Whoever is picking them up/driving them home, must come up to the registration area and sign them out. We have the Campers listed in Pack order so it is easy to split the sheets by Packs between 2, 3, or 4, people. The first day's check-in is always the most hectic as we must check in health forms for everyone, and pass out t-shirts. But with 3-4 people working check-in, it goes pretty fast. Either the CD, or PD are usually there about 30-55 minutes before check-in to make sure everything is set up and ready. Since check-in is an hour long we rarely have anyone come before that, but if they do, the CD/PD are there and can have a talk with them.

 

The Scouts register by Pack. On the registration form the Pack must include, the Pack number, and the name, and all contact information (address/phone/email), for the Pack Day Camp Coordinator. If registering individually, an adult must attend with the Scout, and the adults information is put as the Pack Day Camp Coordinator. All information is sent to the Pack Day Camp Coordinator, who then distributes it to their Pack members who are attending camp. All fliers advertising camp, and the registration form, contain needed camp information, and contact info for council, and the Day Camp Camp Director.

 

We use the facilities of a local Park District. Part of those facilities is their field house with a gym/hall with a stage, and other smaller rooms. Our main assembly area is the gym/hall. We have tables set up there for each den/group. That is also where the CD/PD/Health Officer/Registration is. We gather here in the morning for opening flag ceremony, and announcements. We gather here together for lunch break. We gather together for end of the day closing ceremony. We also have some activity areas inside so we can alternate cool air conditioned activities with outdoor swelter in the sun activities.

[5yearscouter]

I can answer your questions, but our Council day camp is all I have info on, we don't have district day camps that I know of. It runs every 3 days thru june into first week of july,not on sundays. We have about 300 scouts at each of the sessions, with 9 sessions and some sessions going into overflow we get almost 3000 cubs thru the doors.

 

It's a twilight camp from 3-9pm. There is a theme each year.

 

um, cost is $65 includes hat and tshirt, plus patches and archery and bbgun belt loops/pins if earned. Uses council property, and with the snack bar they make enough money to pay the ranger's salary for the year at last report. so definitely figure out how to get a snack bar to add extra income to your camp.

 

everyone pre-registers online and pays. parents can register just their scout, but it's recommended to register by pack.

 

about 2 or 3 weeks before the first session, a day camp orientation is held on a saturday(a day where staff is setting up stuff anyway). They go over what to wear (swim trunks, tennies, socks, day camp tshirt and hat each day), what to bring (sunscreen, towel, lunch, refillable water bottle, water balloons, squirt bottles), and they give a little blurb to those who attend about what they can expect for activities, a tour of the facilities, and required paperwork can be turne in at that time (medical forms for all participants and adults). They also have a little handout about day camp expectations, rules, what to do if you see a snake, signs of heat exhaustion, etc. the handout is emailed out to all packs, in case a pack doesn't send someone to the orientation day.

 

Each pack is responsible for sending 1 adult per every 5 boys for actual day camp, but recommend 1 adult for each 2-3 tiger/wolves age scouts. Scouts are divided up into dens of 8-12 scouts, they will keep your pack together but you may have a few scouts from another pack if you don't bring at least 8 from your own pack.

 

Tigers, wolves and bears go around together to activities. webelos go around together and get a time to do webelos activity pin activity, when the other groups have free time.

 

there is a schedule for each day that includesg opening announcements for everyone in an amphitheatre, each den writes a marching song/cheer on the theme and if time gets to do it at opening and closing ceremonies, so dens try to get their early to do their cheer. they get awards for being on time (a certificate to get free tootsie rolls at the trading post, that are otherwise 5 cents each for sale).

and a similar award for the den at the end of camp that has the best cheer, was on time the most, best decorated picnic table den sight, etc.

 

opening starts on time, if you aren't there

on time, you have to go find where you are supposed to be--but like I said, each pack brings their own adults, so it's not a drop off with camp and parent leaves kind of thing. the boys all come with the other boys of their pack in a carpool.

 

Similarly there is a closing skit that keeps everyone interested so nobody goes home. it's always a story to go with the theme, and the staff dress up and it's really cool to watch, sometimes moving dragons and fake fires and all sorts of things.

 

4 dens at a time rotate thru archery, bbguns, swimming, crafts, games, and a misc themed area, freetime or webelos time. dinner is in the middle of that. everyone goes to a set of picnic tables under a shade for their den home for the 3 days. they can decorate it and they meet there at the beginning of the day, and at lunch and the end of the day.

 

check in is that the adults in the group have to show up at the check in table in the parking lot and get a wrist band showing that they are registered and have turned in their medical form. the adults account for all the scouts being there, check their medical forms are turned in and get a certificate to go to the headquarters to get hats and tshirts with the first day's attendance sheet.

 

Each den is given a den notebook with the schedule, some cheer ideas, info about the camp activities, map, and some of the rules.

 

Since each pack has to bring their own adults, they take care of their own early arrivals. early departures must check their scout out at headquarters and go find them around camp. early check outs are discouraged with the cool closing ceremony, scouts don't want to leave until it's done.

 

oh they recruit boy scouts as staff to run much of the stuff under the guidance of an adult staff. they let staff bring their kids and do activity with a staff babysitter team for free. they don't get patches or do archery and bbguns, but they do get to go to the pool and do the games and crafts on a different schedule/different area of camp. If you work all of june, I think they let your kid go to camp for one session for free, but not sure.

 

more than you ever wanted to know, eh?(This message has been edited by 5yearscouter)

[Eagle92]

I admit I didn't read all the suggestions,I automatically came to SCOUTER.COM after checking the weather forecast and started reading before remembering I need to get ready fro Day camp, but the tagalong comment hit something. We have no tagalong, tot lot, kiddie corral, whatever you want to call it for youngersters, and I turned around 1 lady willing to help but had to bring her 3 year old daughter with her. More tonite and keep the ideas coming.

[Shilue]

We don't have a tot lot for siblings, but I don't have a problem with tagalongs. I've worked Day Camp for 4 years now (2 as den leader, 2 as Camp Director) and my daughter (now 11) has been along all 4 years. Since I've been CD, she's been "officially" on staff and has been my administrative assistant - meaning I send her on errands, or to take pictures, etc.

I've got no problem if a parent wants to bring a younger child along while they work on staff. I do tell them that it may not be possible for them to participate in the activities, but that if there is room and/or extra craft material, they can. I do also remind them that they have a job to do on staff, and that's where their focus needs to be, not on their own child. I've never had an issue with it, and its always worked out well.

[momof2cubs]

The tag along or tot lot or however you wanna call it, is actually a pretty important aspect. It would be a shame to turn down potential volunteers because they don't have anywhere to put their younger child. Plus it eliminates the excuse: "Oh, I can't, I have a toddler".

 

In our camp, the dens eat lunch in their area by themselves, but they come together for opening, assembly, and closing. This year it was in the fellowship hall of the host church. We had about 250 kids, including tots and sisters. We created a girl den for scout aged girls. The younger siblings (boys and girls) were in the tot lot. However, only volunteers could sign daughters and toddlers.

[ScoutNut]

No Tot Lot for us. The only youth allowed are registered BSA members.

 

Volunteers have to make other arrangements for non-BSA siblings. Since most of our adult volunteers work outside of the home, and take vacation days to work Cub Camps, they already have child care in place. For the stay-at-home volunteers they usually have a neighbor or relative do child care duty for them. Often adult volunteers in a Pack will share the volunteering among a group so that no one person is obligated to attend every day. I have even had adults come for half a day and switch off with a friend at lunch break. As long as the Camp Directors know who is supposed to be where, when, it works well.

[CCbytrickery]

Our daycamp had a tot lot, but they couldn't find anyone to run it, so the nurse who is supposed to stay in the first aid station ended up watching them for most of the time.

 

1. Do preregistration and orientation. Communicate. Our daycamp did prereg, but didn't keep on its "must prereg two weeks in advance" stance, so they had people registering the first day of camp. It was a mess. No one knew what was going on, no one knew what kids went where--not even the staff.

 

My husband and I both showed up for the orientation the day before--where the camp director spent an hour playing with his daughter, talking about his daughter and about what he was doing there. Not a word about what we need to do or anything. Only after we started asking questions, did he respond--and then it was more about him than the boys.

 

2. People just drove up and dropped their kids off. They checked in with their leader at their appointed site. Not a great idea. The first day, there were kids wandering everywhere--back to the archery and bb ranges, down by the lake--and no one was watching them.

 

3. No early arrivals. Don't accept the kids, you can be there curbside, and stop parents as soon as they open the door. There was no one there to watch them.

For aquatics camp, they do have before/after care, and DS will be attending both. We had to pay an extra $30 for the week, but it's worth it.

 

4. Tell them. We start at 8:30, have your kids there at 8:15 (or whatever times you want) and pick up starts at 4:45, be there by 5. Do your closing ceremony at 4:30, and take the last few minutes to pack them up.

[CCbytrickery]

One group I spoke with did give me a great idea, that we will implement next year during campouts, etc.

 

Get colored wristbands. Give each group a different color (i.e. Tiger group 1 gets orange, Tiger group 2 gets purple, Wolf group 1 gets red, etc).

 

They get them every day at check in. The parents have to drop them off with the check in group, they get their wristbands, and then proceed to their group area. (We had 10X10 tarp shelters set up for each group). The check in group has a sheet of who has signed in, the group leaders know the kids have signed in, and any staff member can tell at a glance if a scout is away from his group, and where they need to go.

[jrdalys]

I just completed cub day camp as a denleader yesterday. Our council is large enough that each district runs their own camp, but there were some great things done at this particular district's camp (Willamette in Cascade Pacific Council).

 

They insisted that the boys wear the camp provided t-shirts each day. This helped us know which kids were supposed to be there ... but even better, they provided solid color neckerchiefs for each den; a different color for each den. It was AWESOME to be able to easily see 100 feet away where your own boys were, and made doing headcounts a snap. WAY better than wristbands!

 

The camp encouraged the adults to 'play' along with the boys where appropriate (super stackers, various den games), and I can tell you that this 'Big Scout' had a fantastic time with a great groups of cubs

 

-Sean